# Oris Big Crown Propilot Date Review



## thejames1 (May 19, 2014)

I have had this Oris Big Crown Propilot Date for a few weeks and I thought I would share my thoughts. This will be my first review, so bear with me. 
Before purchase, I was eyeing a Damasko DA 46, but WatchMann was out of stock and I began to look around while I waited. I found this Oris with a metal bracelet for under $1000 (MSRP is $1800) and thought it seemed like a good value, so I went for it (putting the Damasko back on the wish list). Already having a Type A B-URH Pilot Watch, I liked the Oris Propilot's case and the general modern take on historical pilots watch. These details along with the cool fixed bezel is what drew me into this purchase.
Like any good pilots watch the legibility is top notch, with the clean dial and white hands. Lume leaves room for improvement, as the BGW9 lights up well right away, but fades quickly. The lume areas are pretty narrow, so not sure what could be done to improve here.
This is my nicest watch with a brushed finish, so I don't have much to compare it to, but the brushing size on the case and bracelet has a very fine texture and looks great. I got this on bracelet, but this one looks great on a variety of leather and Nato straps (see below). Getting the bracelet on and off was a little more difficult than on other watches. I figure that the end links have a tighter tolerance than I am used to, so the back sides of the lugs are getting their fair share of scratches.
The Oris 751/ Sellita SW220-1 movement is running about +10 sec/day and seems a little more noisy than some of my other automatic. This isn't rotor noise, but that the movement itself might be a little loose. Took it to my watch guy and he couldn't identify any issues, so not a big deal but worth noting.
Overall, I really enjoy that watch. The profile/turbine bezel insert are my favorite parts of this watch, along with the different style of hands, which I don't have anything like in my current collection. See below for some different strap combinations. Thanks for reading!

With stock bracelet:




















Nato Straps:




















Coal leather strap:














Olive leather Nato:








Case back:








My favorite angle on the watch:


----------



## Nokie (Jul 4, 2011)

Good review and nice pictures. Like the clean dial and the edged bezel. Enjoy!


----------



## Dr_Who (Jun 10, 2013)

I really like the typeface its sizing on these pro pilots. The hands keep it uncluttered. Without realising all my watches have indices for hour markers. This seems to be the only watch face with arabic numbers that appeals to me. I didn't like the italics they used before but ORIS do seem to be zeroing in with this style. If the day date version was the same size as the smaller date version I think it would be my first watch with Arabic numbers.


----------



## Crunchy (Feb 4, 2013)

Love the aesthetics! However, I can't stand +10s, seems a bit much. Any modern watch can do +5s?


----------



## stryker58 (Dec 5, 2010)

This one is incoming...only a day or so away. Seller told me about this 'noise'. Hope it won't be a distraction.


----------



## craig00 (Aug 27, 2015)

Nice review. very informative.


----------



## jaxexe (Aug 26, 2015)

Great review.


----------



## soroken (May 28, 2013)

Nice review!
Beautiful watch.


----------



## onij (Dec 28, 2015)

thejames, great looking watch. Tough decision I faced between this and the big crown pointer date, I went with the big crown pointer date as I am leaning towards a vintage looking watch. Anyway I'm interested with the leather straps, where did you get em?


----------



## Ginzy1234 (Sep 17, 2015)

Nice! I've always been a fan of Oris watches.


----------



## thejames1 (May 19, 2014)

onij said:


> thejames, great looking watch. Tough decision I faced between this and the big crown pointer date, I went with the big crown pointer date as I am leaning towards a vintage looking watch. Anyway I'm interested with the leather straps, where did you get em?


The Coal Leather is from Worn and Wound and the Olive Nato is from Crown and Buckle.


----------



## J.Nelson (Dec 11, 2015)

I really like this one. It's on my short list when the fun money fund grows a bit more. Size seems perfect, and I love the clean and highly legible dial layout. I just wish the day/date model wasn't 45mm.


----------



## thejames1 (May 19, 2014)

J.Nelson said:


> I really like this one. It's on my short list when the fun money fund grows a bit more. Size seems perfect, and I love the clean and highly legible dial layout. I just wish the day/date model wasn't 45mm.


Did a quick check and I could not find lug-to-lug dimensions for the 45mm day/date model, but this dimension on my watch was fairly short (lugs didn't extend far from the main body), and the watch wore a little smaller than I expected. The 45mm version might wear smaller as well.

Sent from my HTC One


----------



## J.Nelson (Dec 11, 2015)

thejames1 said:


> Did a quick check and I could not find lug-to-lug dimensions for the 45mm day/date model, but this dimension on my watch was fairly short (lugs didn't extend far from the main body), and the watch wore a little smaller than I expected. The 45mm version might wear smaller as well.
> 
> Sent from my HTC One


Fair point. I had not considered the lug to lug. I would assume that the 44mm chrono gmt might be more of an option for me as well then.


----------



## thejames1 (May 19, 2014)

J.Nelson said:


> Fair point. I had not considered the lug to lug. I would assume that the 44mm chrono gmt might be more of an option for me as well then.


In the end, I wished I had gotten a chrono or GMT version as they were a little bigger and had a complication and a little color. I did end up flipping this one for these reasons, but the intent of this watch was for legibility at a glance and it was very successful in that department. For reference to the photos, my wrist is about 7.25".
Overall was a great watch! Do try to get one with the bracelet.


----------



## dontomaso (Nov 16, 2014)

Great review! I love my ProPilot as well.


----------



## HB32 (Jan 8, 2012)

Nice review, love it on the Nato!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cwatchman (Aug 17, 2015)

Great review, it looks fantastic on the coal leather strap!


----------



## scosmoss (Sep 15, 2015)

Nice review. Oris is such a bang for the buck brand. My Aquis is one of my favorite watches.


----------



## jayabharath (Aug 23, 2014)

Nice review. Congrats on the Oris. And the charcoal nato is very cool


----------



## kana (Mar 3, 2016)

Enjoyed the review .. thanks :blush:


----------



## Mobashir (Sep 17, 2017)

Thank you for nice review and pictures, I have this watch with bracelet, Big Crown Propilot 41 mm, in black color (the one which is being shown in this review). I bought for 1,433 USD from an authorized dealer. I am enjoying this watch very much.

What I like: 
Mine is running around +3 second per day, and sometimes I notice it is less than +3 second or almost no loss of time. 
Very beautiful bracelet, if you put the watch in different positions and/or angles of bracelet, you will notice and enjoy the beauty of bracelet 
If you put the watch near your ear about 1-2 inch then you can notice a little beat otherwise not
Its sapphire crystal is curve so giving more strength to glass 
Watch has sturdy, sporty and masculine looks, perfect for everyday use
Reading the time is quick and a glance is sufficient, thanks to big Arabic numerals and anti-reflective coating on Sapphire Crystal
If you just ignore the dial, case and bracelet are comparable to any watch of higher brand in the similar category
See through case-back showing Sellita movement SW 220-1
Turbine Bezel insert 
Classic watch style with modern look
Excellent Clasp wing/lock to open the clasp, no irritation on thumb while pressing to open the clasp, as it is flat, feels perfect (not as two wings which are offered in other watches) 
38 hours of power reserve

What I didn't like: 
- Crown has little sharp edges, if bracelet is worn lose , the crown scratches the skin on backside of palm
- Clasp has only three holes to hold the bracelet link, if you need to shorten the bracelet without removing a link, this makes less choice for perfect size
- Dial is not beautiful, ORIS should have done the justification with this great watch to make it perfect (I think dial material and design is simple/inexpensive, say polished steel second, minute and hour hand could change the look better, or yellow/red color marks/sub brand name as offered in other ORIS ProPilot watches could also enhance the look positively, or any other shiny or attractive dial etc.)
- Oris doesn't use Sapphire Crystal on case-back 
- No power reserve indicator, which I think is must nowadays

Also to note that date change starts around 10:50-11 p.m. and completes around 12:20-25 midnight (I am not sure whether this is normal with this movement) but everyday date works fine

Overall, a great entry level watch for people who want to buy a self-winding automatic Swiss Made watch from entry level Luxury Watchmakers

Thanks ORIS.


----------



## spin_transistor (Aug 27, 2013)

Nice review! This watch is an appealing tool watch that probably stands up to any job you throw at it. Definitely has the Flieger/IWC BP DNA in it but won't set you back as much.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Today (Mar 2, 2017)

Nice review, I have always liked this Oris


----------



## wsbarr (Jun 16, 2016)

Nice review! Wear it in good health!


----------



## JonB79 (Oct 13, 2017)

Thank you. On my list!


----------



## JonB79 (Oct 13, 2017)

Beautiful Oris. I like their value proposition.


----------



## CaliMex (Jan 12, 2018)

OP, do you still have this watch? I am on the fence on purchasing this watch and would like to hear how it has held up over the years.


----------



## juanpam (Sep 26, 2010)

Thanks for the ideas for changing the straps, my pro pilot is still with the strap of origin in black


----------



## Ben93 (Aug 10, 2017)

CaliMex said:


> OP, do you still have this watch? I am on the fence on purchasing this watch and would like to hear how it has held up over the years.


I'm
not OP but I own the grey dial. Its a great watch. Highly Highly recommend it.


----------



## ttommywatches (Jan 23, 2010)

Great value prop. I don't always love a NATO, but I really like it here. Thanks for the review.


----------



## jon0830 (May 17, 2018)

My favorite everyday watch. The case finishing is superb and it's just so legible and sparse. The size is also perfect for my 6.5" wrist


----------



## illini675 (Jul 8, 2015)

Beautiful photos and nice review!! Have been craving one of these for a while, this set me dangerously close to the edge again, especially showing how versatile it is on various types of straps!


----------



## StanBuro (Jul 12, 2020)

Hey. Does
Oris offer two
TYPES of fabric strap?


----------



## StanBuro (Jul 12, 2020)




----------

