Oris AquisPro 4000m Enters the Ultra-Deep Ocean

The deep, deep places of the Earth are pretty hostile to both humans and wristwatches and it takes a different kind of animal (or timepiece) to survive down there. Recently the realm of ultra-deep diving watches has seen a lot of development with Rolex launching the Sea-Dweller Deep Sea Challenge, Omega’s Planet Ocean Ultra-Deep and even lesser known names like Ralf Tech’s The Beast all heading into the depths. Now though, Oris are throwing their hats into the ring with the launch of their most water-resistant watch ever, the Oris AquisPro 4000m – and yes, it’s better looking than a blobfish.

I don’t think I should have to tell you what the depth rating on the AquisPro 4000m is, I imagine it should be pretty obvious. But to spell it out just in case, it has 4,000m water resistance, which is equivalent to 400 atm or 400 bar depending on your preferred metric. That’s seriously impressive considering that the majority of their Aquis diving watches have 300m resistance and the Divers Sixty-Five has 100m resistance (that does sound particularly low but as a skin diver it’s not unexpected).

Of course, to achieve such incredible water resistance, the Oris AquisPro’s case has been developed specially. It’s made from a multi-part titanium construction that measures a pretty mammoth 49.5mm in diameter. That’s nearly two inches across. And it has a thickness to match, measuring 23.4mm from caseback to crystal. Honestly that might be the biggest thickness I’ve ever seen and the design of the piece does little to hide its huge proportions – the crystal, bezel and case are all stepped like a ziggurat. But hey, when something’s this big, you may as well embrace it.

One of the major developments included in the Oris AquisPro 4000m is the new bezel locking system. Dive watches, as you may know, typically have uni-directional rotating bezels equipped with dive timing scales that let the wearer record how long they’ve been underwater for and how long their oxygen supply will last. The idea behind the uni-directional rotation is that if it gets knocked or adjusted underwater, you can only ever use it underestimate how much oxygen you have left, meaning you’ll safely return to the surface before having to face a real shortage.

Oris have taken this safety feature a step further with their locking system to prevent any unintentional movement whatsoever. It works by raising the rubber ring around the edge of the bezel to unlock it and allow rotation and then pushing it back down to lock into place. In addition to that, the main surface of the bezel is ceramic, an incredibly hard and scratch resistant material that means the scale will never become scuffed, damaged or hard to read.

Focussing in on the dial, we see that it has a blue wave pattern with a slight gradient. It’s a nice geometric pattern and I think it would suit a regular Aquis very well. Beyond the pattern, it’s a very conventional dive watch display with large, lumed hour markers and easily readable hands for optimal legibility in the underwater dark. Or just regular dark I suppose. The display is completed by a date window at 6 o’clock for a little extra utility on land.

Housed inside this deep-sea giant is the Oris Calibre 400, their high spec in-house movement with 120-hour power reserve and 10-year recommended service intervals. It’s a great movement and it’s good to see it here. Not that you can actually see it since it’s protected by a solid caseback engraved with a 4000m depth gauge.

Oddly, one of the best features of the AquisPro 4000m is its price. At £4,900 it’s certainly a serious bit of kit but considering that a regular Aquis can be anywhere up to £2,900 depending on its specs, it’s not an outrageous jump in price considering that it’s a big jump in performance and materials. Plus, it’s a damn sight more accessible than the Omega Ultra-Deep and Rolex Deep Sea, which both sit around £11,000. I wouldn’t say it’s a watch everyone will want to, or even should, buy but it’s definitely an intriguing novelty. I’d put it in the same category as the Oris ProPilot Altimeter, it’s not for me but I’m glad it exists.