The Okavango River Delta in northern Botswana is home to some of Africa's most breathtaking landscapes, combining rivers, swamps, savannah grasslands, and thousands of small islands, forming one of the most important water sources for wildlife in southern Africa. When water levels rise during the rainy season, lions, leopards, water buffaloes, elephants, rhinoceroses, giraffes, hippos, cheetahs, crocodiles, antelopes, and a whole menagerie of smaller animals gather here.
Thanks to such incredible natural beauty, the Okavango region is a thriving center of tourism and local trade, but its remote location makes emergency medical care a challenge. As part of its ongoing efforts to preserve the world's waterways, Oris has launched its latest watch release to draw public attention to this issue. In partnership with the Okavango Air Rescue medical aviation service, the brand has created a unique variant of its signature Big Crown ProPilot design, inspired by the grasslands of the Okavango River Delta. The new limited edition Oris Okavango Air Rescue reimagines the cornerstone pilot's watch design of the independent brand, giving it a wild natural aesthetic and offering custom strap options.
The 41mm stainless steel case of the Oris Okavango Air Rescue Limited Edition shares its overall shape with the rest of the Big Crown ProPilot line. The overall form is a modern interpretation of traditional pilot watch design, with sharply defined widely spaced lugs and the signature oversized crown framing a unique split-texture bezel for this line. The bezel design gives the otherwise simple watch a character reminiscent of a jet aircraft: a clean matte inner ring contrasts with the outer fluted ring with a swept-back turbine-like pattern.
Polished raised elements of the outer turbine ring create the necessary contrast with the utilitarian, fully matte case, and Oris beautifully unifies the design by continuing this swept motif on the crown. On the caseback, the brand adds a unique engraved pattern depicting one of Okavango Air Rescue's Pilatus PC-12 aircraft flying over the islands of the Okavango River Delta during the rainy season. Like the rest of the Big Crown ProPilot line, Oris rates the water resistance of the Okavango Air Rescue Limited Edition at 100 meters.
Oris takes a more dramatic stylistic turn with the dial of the Okavango Air Rescue limited edition. 2021 was a landmark year for green dials in watchmaking, and the brand presents here one of the most unique and characteristic variants of this trend. The olive gradient surface has a nuanced and organic vertical texture with a noticeable sense of visual depth in images. Transitioning from an olive hue at the center to a deep forest green at the edge of the dial, the surface is meant to convey the color, texture, and even semi-glossy sheen of the savannah grasses growing in the Okavango River Delta. This is a strikingly detailed and complex look in photographs, and it effectively evokes the pristine and thriving character of the African savannah. Oris complements this green surface with a scarlet tip on the seconds hand, while the black and white treatment of the angular modernist alpha hands provides a stark counterpoint to the more naturalistic dial colors. The clean modern applied Arabic numerals, characteristic of the Big Crown ProPilot line, visually distinguish this watch from the rest of Oris' offerings.
The Oris Okavango Air Rescue Limited Edition is equipped with the automatic Oris 751 movement based on the Sellita SW200-1. Although the brand has shifted towards its in-house movements in recent years, many watch models still feature third-party movements, and the Oris 751 remains a common sight in the Oris lineup. While the base caliber Oris 751 is robust, reliable, and easy to service, its age begins to show with a below-average power reserve of 38 hours at a frequency of 28,800 beats per second. Oris includes a pair of straps with the watch. The first is a simple and minimal chestnut brown leather single-pass strap. For a more thematic and aggressive look, the brand also includes a unique olive and white MN strap crafted by MN strap specialists Erika’s Originals.
The Oris Okavango Air Rescue Limited Edition watch, with its new dial concept combined with one of its flagship designs, may not be the brand's most innovative release, but it should capture attention. Only 2,011 pieces of the Oris Okavango Air Rescue Limited Edition will be produced. The Oris Okavango Air Rescue Limited Edition is now available at authorized dealers at a price of $2,500. For more information, please visit the brand's website.