The story of the big crown pointer date is the stuff of oris legend. Its genesis began in the 1930s when oris was a fast growing independent company, known around the world for its precision wristwatches. The brief was to produce a watch that would serve a new clientele with very specific needs. For pilots, a watch would need to be as precise and reliable as any, but it would also need to be easy to use and read. Cockpits were uncomfortable places cramped, hard, often cold, and always unforgiving. Oris’ solution was to produce a simple round watch in a stainless steel case, with a black dial and large arabic numerals at 12, 3, and 9, and an oversized crown that could be gripped by a gloved aviator. It would also feature a date complication, indicated by a central hand with a red arrow tip. This way, it would be functional and legible, a toolwatch for one of the most demanding jobs imaginable. Little would its creators have known, but their practical, high functioning watch of 1938 would become a design staple, one of the most recognizable watches in all of watchmaking. Today, almost 90 years since that first release, the big crown pointer date – as it’s become known – is our signature design and a swiss watchmaking icon.