As a brand, Oris is hardly a stranger to limited-edition watches, and in addition to its already incredibly diverse standard-production catalog, Oris also frequently creates exclusive variations of its fan-favorite models. While the Hölstein-based brand’s limited edition pieces have been dedicated to everything from bodies of water to environmental initiatives, its latest new release for 2023 is the Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition, which is a fresh take on its classic Big Crown Pointer Date watch that honors the life of baseball legend and humanitarian Hank Aaron.
A baseball Hall of Famer who set numerous MLB records (some of which still stand to this day), Hank Aaron is known as one of the sport’s all-time greatest players. In 1974, Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s all-time home run record (which had stood for almost 40 years), and in 1999, the MLB created the Hank Aaron Award, which is given annually to the best overall offensive player. In addition to his numerous achievements in the sport of baseball, Hank Aaron was also a true humanitarian, and in 1994, Aaron and his wife founded the Chasing the Dream Foundation, which awards millions of dollars in scholarships to youth with limited opportunities. While Hank Aaron passed away in 2021, his legacy continues to live on through the efforts of his non-profit, and Aaron’s life could best be summed up by his famous quote, “I am not concerned with how I am perceived as a baseball player. I am concerned with how I am thought of as a human being.”
To celebrate the remarkable life and accomplishments of Hank Aaron, Oris has created the Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition, and during the week of July 25th, the Atlanta Braves will host a multi-day celebration of Hank Aaron’s legacy, where all past winners of the Hank Aaron Award will receive one of the 2,297 examples of this new watch. Those who watch baseball will have inevitably seen Oris signs present at games throughout the years, and despite being a Swiss watch brand, Oris has a fairly strong connection to the world of American baseball. Back in 2020, Oris released a different limited-edition version of the Big Crown Pointer Date that was dedicated to Roberto Clemente, who was another legendary baseball player and humanitarian. However, while the limited-edition model from 2020 featured a Roberto Clemente-inspired colorway, the new Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition embraces design details inspired by Hank Aaron and his famous white, red, and blue jersey.
In terms of its core design and functionality, the new Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition is largely the same watch as the standard Big Crown Pointer Date, which means that it features a 40mm stainless steel case that is fitted with a double domed sapphire crystal (with anti-reflective treatment on the underside surface) and a coin-edge style fluted bezel that recalls the style fitted to vintage pilot’s watches. Similarly, at the 3 o’clock location is a signed oversized winding crown (hence the “Big Crown” name), which screws down to the case to help ensure the model’s 50 meters of water resistance. However, rather than being fitted with a display-style caseback like the standard-production Pointer Date models, the new Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition features a solid screw-down caseback with an engraving of Aaron in his signature cross-handed batting stance.
The dial fitted to the Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition is arguably the single most unique feature about this new watch, and it features a white surface with subtle blue and red accents that are inspired by the jerseys that Aaron wore during his years playing for the Braves. The overall style of the dial and hands has been carried over from the standard-production models, and the polished cathedral-style handset features a bright red crescent-shaped tip on its pointer date hand. With that in mind, the use of blue-outlined red numerals for the hour markers paired with a red-outlined blue minute track adds quite a lot of visual intrigue, and it immediately separates the new Hank Aaron Limited Edition from the standard-production versions of the Big Crown Pointer Date that typically all have dials with a more traditional two-color design.
Powering the new Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition is the Oris Caliber 754 automatic movement, which is the same self-winding caliber that is found inside the standard-production versions of this model. Based upon the core architecture of the familiar Sellita SW200-1, the Oris Cal. 754 has been modified to feature the model’s signature pointer date complication, although it still runs at a frequency of 28,800vph (4 Hz) with a power reserve of approximately 38 hours. While Oris does make versions of the Big Crown Pointer Date that run on its own in-house calibers, these models cost significantly more than their Sellita-based counterparts and the use of the Oris Caliber 754 guarantees that the new Hank Aaron Limited Edition will be priced more in-line with what most people expect from the brand’s Big Crown Pointer Date collection.
Fitted to the lugs of the Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition is a blue leather strap that features a stainless steel pin buckle and white contrast stitching in the style that is traditionally found on baseball gloves. Additionally, included with this limited edition model is a secondary white, red, and blue NATO-style fabric strap, along with a springbar tool to facilitate swapping back and forth between the two options. With that in mind, based on the press photos from the brand, the leather strap appears to feature integrated quick-release springbars, meaning that removing the standard strap can even be done without using the included springbar tool.
Sold in a special edition presentation box that features Aaron’s famous “44” jersey number on the lid, the new Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition will be accompanied by an official retail price of $2,500 USD with production limited to 2,297 worldwide — a reference to his record for the most career runs batted in (RBI). Compared to the standard-production models from the Big Crown Pointer Date collection, the new Hank Aaron Limited Edition does come at a premium of several hundred dollars, although some of this is simply due to the fact that this new model is packaged as a set with a secondary strap. Additionally, it’s also worth noting that the new Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition exists in a smaller quantity than the previous Roberto Clemente Edition (which was produced as a limited edition of 3,000 examples), and some of those watches already have owners, as they will be presented to past recipients of the Hank Aaron Award at the upcoming celebration of Hank Aaron’s life and legacy. For more information on the Oris Hank Aaron Limited Edition, please visit the brand’s website.
