Oris Aquis Date 41,5 mm 01 733 7766 4135

Imagen: Oris, web oficial

The storyWhy this reference matters

The Aquis didn't appear out of thin air in 2011. It came out of the TT1 of 2001 — the technical sports watch Oris built around its Williams Formula 1 sponsorship — then the TT Divers of 2002, and above all the ProDiver of 2009: a 51 mm titanium piece good for a thousand metres, with a helium valve and a patented ceramic bezel that couldn't turn by itself underwater. Plenty of those ideas came down, in civilised form, to the first Aquis.

For years the collection sat at 43.5 mm. A 39.5 case followed, almost apologetically. And in February 2020 Oris did the obvious thing and put a third size straight down the middle. The 41.5 got its own case code, 7766, against the 7732 of the 39.5, and with it a 22 mm lug width instead of 21. Same ceramic ring, same 300 metres, same sapphire domed on both faces. The only thing that changed was the size — which was the whole problem.

Inside is the Oris 733, which is a Sellita SW 200-1 wearing the house's red rotor. There's a detail here that dates any spec sheet you come across: when the 41.5 launched, the press printed 38 hours of reserve; Oris's own sheet now says 41. And in November of that same year, 2020, Oris introduced its five-day calibre 400, also in an Aquis. This reference doesn't have it. It keeps the 733, which is far cheaper to look after.

SpecificationsThe numbers, in one table

IdentificationHow to tell it apart

First, learn to read the reference. In an Oris number the central block is the case code: 7766 is the 41.5 mm case, 7732 the 39.5. In the suffix — that -07 8 22 05PEB — the 8 means a steel bracelet and the 22 is the lug width in millimetres. The pattern holds right across the brand: the 40 mm Divers Sixty-Five carries a 20, the titanium ProPilot X a 7 and a 20, the 36 mm Big Crown a 17.

In the hand it's 41.5 mm across and 12.7 mm tall. The upper bezel ring is ceramic, not anodised aluminium — it scratches far less, but a sharp knock on the edge can take a chip out of it. The sapphire is domed on both faces with the anti-reflective coating on the inside. This particular reference comes with a blue dial and a steel bracelet, and it's rated to 30 bar.

If you're torn between this and the 39.5, don't measure the case — measure the lugs. Twenty-two millimetres against twenty-one. It's the figure hardest to disguise in a listing photograph, and it's the one that decides which straps will fit.

CollectingWhat collectors check

The ceramic bezel is the part that earns a loupe. It shrugs off scratching that would eat an aluminium insert, but it's brittle at the edge on impact: if you spot a nick or a chip, budget for a whole new ring, and it isn't cheap. Check the lume pip at twelve as well — on ceramic bezels it sits in a capsule, and it does sometimes work loose.

The movement works in the buyer's favour. Any competent watchmaker can open a Sellita SW 200-1 and put it right, and parts turn up without going through the official service. The trade-off is the screw-down crown: those 300 metres are only true while the gaskets are good, so if the watch hasn't seen a pressure tester in years, don't christen it in the sea.

Being a 2020-or-later model, plenty of examples are still under warranty: Oris gives two years and stretches it to three if you register the watch on MyOris. Ask for the certificate and the box. And pay attention to the bracelet, because loose links and worn integrated end pieces are what makes a repair expensive on this collection.

Common questionsWhat people ask us about this reference

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Close relativesThe ones it gets confused with