The Redesigned, More Contemporary Oris Artelier Date 38mm

Less well known than the brand’s popular dive and pilot watches, Oris has a dressier, more formal watch line, some powered by the brand’s in-house calibres, such as the refreshed Artelier Complication we covered a few weeks ago. The Artelier Date, a classic time-and-date model, has also been selected for a design makeover. Keen to attract a younger generation, Oris has entrusted the update of the Artelier Date to Lena Huwiler, a 24-year-old product design engineer. Moving into more compact territory, the new unisex 38mm models have a sharper, more contemporary urban personality and are powered by a reliable Swiss automatic.

Compared to the previous Artelier Date models, you can appreciate how thorough the redesign has been. Shrinking from 40mm to a more versatile 38mm diameter, the new references have a slim profile of 10.9mm and a lug-to-lug of 44mm. The clean, tight lines of the case gleam with a highly polished finish, while the domed sapphire crystal adds curvature for a gentler silhouette and subtle distortions at the periphery.

Available in three colours – dark blue, white and chocolate black – the minimalist dial reflects the ongoing trend for textures and features an attractive stamped pattern at the centre. The blue and chocolate (dark brown) references are decorated with a series of graphic sunrays emanating from the centre of the dial, with alternating reliefs and recesses for added texture and dimension. The white dial, which is closer to an off-white colour, also has a textured medallion but with a swirling pattern.

The wide, slightly domed chapter ring on the periphery is smooth for contrast and hosts the newly designed hour markers whose tips reach into the central medallion. With their wedge-shaped profiles, the 3-dimensional indices are faceted and polished to catch the light. The blunt-tipped hour and minute hands match the shape of the tips of the indices and feature a thin strip of luminescent material. Completing the dial, the aperture for the date window at 6 o’clock features a disc matching the dial colour for a more harmonious look.

The mineral glass on the caseback reveals the automatic Oris 733, a Sellita SW200-1 with a customised red rotor, a 4Hz frequency and a 41-hour power reserve for the hours, minutes, central seconds (hacking) and date.

The Artelier Date is available with a dark brown leather strap with a butterfly clasp or a stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp. Although the strap or bracelet can be changed, the watches are not equipped with an interchangeable or quick-release feature. Perhaps in the future, Oris will upgrade the collection with its own tool-free quick strap change system for additional versatility.

The Artelier Date models on a leather strap retail for CHF 1,750; the steel bracelet options retail for CHF 1,950. More information at oris.ch.