Introducing the new Oris ProPilot Altimeter in Carbon Fiber

Bright markers, numerals and scales in white, yellow and red are contrasted by a pitch dark dial and case. An outer ring reads altitude, up to 19,700 feet or 6,000 meters, while the inner ring displays corresponding air pressure. This is a vast improvement as previous Oris ProPilot Altimeter scales measured up to only 15,000 feet or 4,500 meters.

Housing the slim Caliber 793 with 56-hour power reserve, the new Oris ProPilot Altimeter’s carbon fiber case was developed by a specialized company called 9T Labs, which is a Red Dot Design Award-winning Swiss engineering company founded in 2018. Its altimeter, too, is made of carbon fiber.

“We introduced a thinner automatic movement with a 56-hour power reserve, Oris Caliber 793, and housed it in a unique carbon fiber composite material case with a titanium bezel and caseback. The carbon composite is two thirds lighter than titanium,” says Oris’s product development engineer Richard Siegrist. “The result is a watch with improved performance that’s also 1mm slimmer than the previous model and 70g lighter. At 47mm, it’s still a substantial watch, but we’ve created a beautifully balanced tool that works even on a smaller wrist. Of course, there are electronic altimeters out there, but this is all about the joy of mechanics!”