Oris’ latest limited edition watch is a love letter to the ‘Home of Cricket’
Jamie Weiss- Oris and Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) collaborate on a limited-edition bronze version of the Big Crown Pointer Date.
- Named after the famous ‘Father Time’ weathervane at Lord’s Cricket Ground, it comes with both a Cervo Volante leather strap and a multi-piece bronze bracelet.
- To mark the year Father Time was gifted to Lord’s, it’s limited to 1,926 pieces.
Cricket is the world’s second-most popular sport (behind soccer but ahead of hockey, tennis and basketball), but the watch industry has traditionally never given it much consideration. Until now, that is. Our editor-at-large Luke recently wrote a fantastic article exploring how watch brands like Hublot and Rado are turning their attention to cricket – now we can add Oris to that list, which has become a partner of the MCC and the first Official Timekeeper of Lord’s.
For those unfamiliar with cricket, the MCC is the sport’s foundational club. Not only is it the world’s most active cricket club and the owner of Lord’s – known as the ‘Home of Cricket’ – but it was formerly the governing body for the game, and remains the guardian of the Laws of Cricket, the game’s sporting code. Oris partnering with the MCC and Lord’s, then, is partnering with cricket royalty.
The watch they’ve come up with together – a special edition of the Big Crown Pointer Date, one of Oris’ signature models that has been in constant production since 1938 – is fittingly steeped in cricket history and ritual, while also highlighting the MCC and Oris’ modern sustainability efforts – such as Change for the Better Day the two organisations co-host, which collects polluting plastic waste from London’s streets.
The Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Father Time Limited Edition features a 40mm case, fluted bezel and of course, an oversized crown all crafted from bronze, which has been paired with an off-white dial and gilt cathedral hands. It’s the first time Oris has paired a white dial with bronze on the Big Crown Pointer Date – the off-white and bronze complement each other nicely.
Flip the watch over and you’ll find a stainless steel caseback engraved with an image of the famous ‘Father Time’ weathervane at Lord’s. One of the most iconic images in world cricket, it’s thought he represents Law 12.3 of the Laws of Cricket, which says “After the call of Time, the bails shall be removed from both wickets,” signalling the end of the day’s play.
It’s a romantic motif; emblematic of cricket’s gentlemanly and traditional character. Bronze, of course, naturally ages and develops a unique patina over time – it’s the perfect material for a watch meant to reflect the time-honoured traditions of cricket, too.
Under the hood beats the Oris calibre 754, based on the Sellita calibre SW200-1 a, which equips the watch with its signature pointer date function, indicated by a central hand with a red, crescent-shaped tip. It comes with two straps: a bronze articulated bracelet and a light brown deer leather strap produced by sustainable Swiss tannery Cervo Volante.
Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Father Time Limited Edition pricing & availability
The Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Father Time is a limited edition of 1,926 pieces – a reference to the year Father Time was gifted to Lord’s – and is available now from Oris retailers and online. Price: A$4,750.
| Brand | Oris |
| Model | Big Crown Pointer Date Father Time Limited Edition |
| Reference Number | 01 754 7741 3161-Set |
| Case Dimensions | 40mm (D) x 12mm (T) x 48mm (LTL) |
| Case Material | Bronze, stainless steel caseback |
| Water Resistance | 50 metres, screw-down crown |
| Crystal | Sapphire, domed on both sides |
| Dial | White, gilt cathedral hands, numbers and hands in Super-LumiNova |
| Lug Width | 20mm |
| Strap | Multi-piece bronze bracelet with folding clasp + light brown Cervo Volante leather strap made of sustainably sourced deer leather with bronze buckle |
| Movement | Oris 754, Sellita caliber SW200-1 a base, automatic |
| Power Reserve | 38 hours |
| Functions | Hours, minutes, seconds, date |
| Availability | Limited to 1,926 pieces |
| Price | A$4,750 |