Oris’ recent collab with luxury British label Bamford is a retro-inspired beauty that will turn heads and make others jealous of the timepiece on your wrist. Named Mission Control, it’s a fresh new take on the ProPilot Altimeter, taking the Swiss watch brand’s already unconventional mechanical altimeter and launching it into the stratosphere.
The ProPilot Altimeter runs on Oris Calibre 793 with a 56-hour power reserve and houses the only mechanical altimeter complication available in an automatic Swiss watch. Step in Bamford, who decided to swap the typical steel or titanium case for a carbon fibre composite that gives the 47mm timepiece an exceptional strength-to-weight ratio.
The other highlight on this particular timepiece is the addition to the ProPilot Altimeter is the Bamford Watch Department’s electric colour treatment. George Bamford explains his vision: “I wanted an 80s sneaker vibe with colours that really pop.” The final result transforms what was once a serious instrument into something that glows with vibrancy.
Achieving a space-age aesthetic that looks this good is no mean feat, with Bamford applying vibrant yellow, lime green, and red Super-LumiNova throughout the black dial. The yellow indicator tracks altitude changes up to 19,700 feet around the outer scale, while the green marker displays absolute air pressure readings. Red calibration markers complete the spacecraft instrument panel effect, creating what Bamford calls recognition “from space.” All in all, this watch has all the required measurements for life in the clouds.
The nifty thing about how this timepiece was put together lies in Oris’ patented dual-dial construction, which separates the altimeter module from the automatic movement beneath. This innovation, first developed in 2014, prevents the rotor’s motion from interfering with pressure readings — solving a problem that had confounded other watch manufacturers for decades.
With all the tech and complication in getting everything under the hood of this timepiece, the resulting operation of the altimeter requires some procedural knowledge. The crown at four o’clock activates the system when unscrewed to position one (indicated by a red ring), then pulling to position two allows calibration against known reference pressure from sources like airport control towers. Once set, changes in altitude appear in real time on the yellow scale. You’re now good to go.
For the 47mm diameter case, Oris partnered with 9T Labs, a Swiss engineering firm specialising in aerospace materials, to create the carbon fibre composite using additive manufacturing techniques never before applied to watchmaking. The material delivers strength exceeding many metals while remaining two-thirds lighter than titanium.
Combined with grey PVD-coated titanium crowns and caseback, the 16.7mm thick case maintains water resistance to 100m when both crowns are secured. Finally, a textile strap continues the space-age theme with yellow and green leather lining that matches the dial accents — a detail that reinforces the ’80s sneaker inspiration throughout the design.
The Oris x Bamford ProPilot Altimeter Mission Control is limited to just 250 pieces, is available now for RRP £6,100.
