Oris’ new version of the Aquis dive watch is a mirror; it shows us just how different our idea of a dive watch has become.

Oris is giving us the new Aquis Date, the latest incarnation of their long-serving dive watch. By the name alone, you can tell there’s a date window, but there is more to that in the readjustment of this dive watch. The changes are not merely technological, but perceptual.

Oris has been making dive watches for a long time. They first started in the 1960s, and it has become a major area of expertise for them. Dive watches aren’t the only thing Oris makes, but they are very good at them.

To understand the Aquis of today, it helps to look back at the Aquis in its original form. The first Aquis dive watch had a uni-directional rotating bezel. It was unusually broad, and easy to manipulate while wearing gloves. The Aquis also had massive horns attaching the watch strap to the case; these were designed to be moveable, so that the strap could pivot. This meant it could not only accommodate various human wrist sizes, but also it could shift depending on whether or not the watch was being worn over a bulky wetsuit. The watch also had oversized numerals for exceptional underwater legibility. All of these were contributing factors in making the Oris Aquis a remarkable dive watch.

Today we have the new Aquis, a timepiece that carries much of the heritage from its predecessor, and yet is undeniably different. We can look at two things here with the new Aquis: we will be asking the question “What is different?” and we will also take a shot at answering the question “Why?”

The new Aquis has a slimmer look than previous versions. The watch bracelet, and the horns that hold it, are now both noticeably thinner. The screw-down crown is more subdued, as are the crown protectors that flank it. The broad bezel has been similarly reined in. The bezel is still easy to grip, but this has been accomplished now not by mere size, but by leaving a small gap between the bezel and the case. This makes the ridged bezel easier to get your fingers on, and thus manipulate.

Apart from these structural changes, there are aesthetic adjustments that have been made to the new Aquis. There’s the date window, but there is also a difference to the look of the Aquis dial. The hour and minute hands have been chaged; they look sharper. The hour indices too have been redone, losing no readability but gaining some sleekness in their look.

So that’s what’s different: the new Aquis Date is slimmer, sleeker, more elegant. And now the second question: why?

Why change a dive watch, especially when many of the changes seem to run counter to what made the original Aquis so distinctive? Oris has never shied away from making big, chunky diver’s watches. So why alter what was already a successful tool to begin with?

“…the new Aquis Date is something that can ride your wrist even when you’re not riding currents”

The answer seems to lie in the way people are utilizing their watches. That is to say, the Aquis is a dive watch, yes, but people who own one also want to be able to wear it when they are not diving. The new Aquis works fine as a dive watch, but it certainly doesn’t look out of place in the corporate environment, sliding under a shirt cuff instead of a wetsuit. Less boardwake, more boardroom.

And this is my guess as to why the new Aquis Date has a sleeker look. It’s not a watch that’s just for the open water anymore. People have always loved their watches to do double duty, wearing their sports watches even when at the office. So now the new Aquis Date is something that can ride your wrist even when you’re not riding currents, and can go with you whether you’re above water or below.