The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter is a wrist Cartier replica watches equipped with a mechanical barometric altimeter-and-barometer movement. In fact, it is the world’s first automatic mechanical altimeter watch at an affordable price. Learn more about it in this in-depth review, excerpted from my blog, Watch-Insider.com.

Here’s how Oris describes the new watch in its press release: “The Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter has been developed entirely by us to serve as a high-performance instrument for pilots, mountaineers, explorers and research scientists, who work at altitude. Its sturdy, 47-mm multi-piece stainless steel case houses an automatic movement, and a Swiss mechanical barometric altimeter and barometer movement.” The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter has two crowns. The one at 2 o’clock is a conventional crown to adjust the time and date, and to wind the watch as necessary (the automatic Sellita-movement has a 38-hour power reserve), while a second screw-down crown, at 4 o’clock, operates the altimeter.

When screwed down into “Position 0,” the altimeter is inactive and the fake Rolex watches is water-resistant to 100 meters; the altimeter is activated by unscrewing the crown into “Position 1,” which is indicated by a red ring. When the crown is pulled out into “Position 2,” the altimeter can be calibrated. Once set, the watch shows the current altitude via the yellow indicator, and the corresponding air pressure via the red indicator. The altitude scale is around the outer dial ring; it can measure altitude up to 15,000 feet or 4,500 meters (Oris is producing two different models with two different scales, one in feet, one in meters). The air-pressure scale is recessed between the altimeter scale and the central dial. Once the altimeter is no longer needed, the crown can be returned to Position 0 by screwing it down, resealing the watch’s case and ensuring it is once again water-resistant to 100 meters. One of the biggest challenges facing Oris engineers was the design of the altimeter hand itself. Making the altimeter mechanism small enough to fit inside a wristwatch meant the hand had to be extremely lightweight, but stiff enough to avoid tolerances and therefore inaccurate readings. The green area in the illustration below is the Sellita automatic caliber and the blue is the mechanical altimeter. Below the illustration, you can clearly see the clever construction of the altimeter hand, developed with the Swiss specialist Thommen. Oris’s solution was to create the hand from laminated carbon fiber, making it seven times lighter but also 10 times stiffer than the average watch hand.

Yet another challenge was figuring out how to protect the inner workings of the watch from moisture when the altimeter is activated. Oris patented a new altimeter adjustment and venting crown, which prevents moisture from entering the watch using a membrane made of PTFE (a material similar to GoreTex), which creates a vapor barrier. The above-mentioned aspects are all covered by Oris patents, including the multi-function adjustment venting crown, the co-axial layout of the watch and altimeter movements, including a skeletonized movement holder, and the carbon-fiber altimeter hand. Below is a photo of the barometric mechanism as it is integrated into the replica Rolex watches case. Beneath that you’ll find specs and prices for both references of the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter.

The Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter has a large 47-mm-diameter case and is available with a scale in feet (Ref. 733 7705 4134 TS) or in meters (Ref. 733 7705 4164 TS).

• Oris automatic mechanical movement Cal. 733, based on Sellita SW200, with date indication at 3 o’clock
• Integrated Swiss mechanical barometric altimeter and barometer movement (developed with specialist Thommen)
• Multi-piece stainless steel case, water-resistant to 100 meters
• Sapphire crystal, domed, with nonreflective coating on both sides
• Screwed caseback
• Screw-in stainless steel crowns. Patented altimeter adjustment and venting crown, including PTFE vapor barrier
• Black dial with printed Arabic numerals filled with Super-LumiNova, same as hour and minute hands
• Altimeter handmade from laminated carbon fiber
• Textile strap with stainless steel folding clasp (also available with leather strap or metal bracelet)
• U.S retail price $3,800 with textile strap, $4,100 with metal bracelet

With the El Primero Sport model, Zenith is presenting a new chronograph in its iconic collection. Interpreted through three classically sophisticated variations, this timepiece is a worthy heir to the grand tradition of sports chronographs. Its 45 mm-diameter steel case houses the famous El Primero 400 B automatic chronograph calibre beating at a rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour.

The iconic El Primero collection welcomes a new range of sophisticated chronographs embodying the grand tradition of sports chronographs. Presented in three initial versions, the new El Primero Sport model asserts a resolutely masculine personality accentuated by the generous size of its steel case and the eminently sporty nature of its functions. Its distinctive character reflects the very essence of sports Rolex replica watches sale and naturally makes it part of a proud lineage of timeless models. Powered by El Primero 400 B calibre, a chronograph movement featuring an integrated column-wheel construction and beating at a cadence of 36,000 vibrations/hour, the new El Primero Sport model has inherited the DNA of the famous 1969 El Primero chronograph, of which it is without doubt an eminently worthy descendant.

AN ATHLETIC BUILD

Presented in a rugged case with an imposing 45 mm diameter, the new El Primero Sport chronograph is made of stainless steel, the most widely favoured material for top-flight sports timepieces. Its crown and its generous ribbed pushpieces ensure optimal grip as well as enhanced security. These are screwed in to guarantee water resistance to a depth of 200 metres. Topped by a domed sapphire crystal, the athletic build of the El Primero Sport model extends through to the ergonomic lugs featuring a sloping design to ensure a perfectly smooth fit on the wrist. The transparent sapphire case-back reveals the fascinating mechanism of the El Primero 400 B calibre and its oscillating weight adorned with a Côtes de Genève motif.

THE FACE OF A NEW CLASSIC

On the dial side, the dynamic nature of the El Primero Sport chronograph is conveyed through a powerful, eminently virile design. Standing out against a a silver-toned or slate grey dial with a lamé hand finish (an updated version of an ancient technique creating a densely textured vertical-brushed pattern) the broad faceted hour-markers, rhodium-finished and coated with Super-LumiNova ® , enable easy readings of the central hours and minutes, swept over by imposing sword-shaped hands. This aesthetic is picked up on the small counter hands that are also faceted and arranged in such a way as to optimise reading. The chronograph sweep-seconds hand, bearing the star emblem, is clad in a deep red echoed by the Cartier replica watches inscription “36’000 VpH” painted in crimson red in the upper part of the dial. The tachometric scale now appears on the inner bezel ring.

SPORTING VARIATIONS

The newcomer to the El Primero collection harbours infinite potential for variations and appears in two dial colours – lame silver-toned and slate grey – matched by three different strap versions. The classically understated first model is fitted with an elegant dark brown alligator leather strap. The second model with its slate grey dial comes on a comfortable steel bracelet featuring brushed central links and polished outer links, exuding a rugged sporting appearance. The third reference presented this year pairs a black dial with a matching rubber strap. Setting the finishing touch to the steel-bracelet version of this refined timepiece is a sophisticated new clasp combining absolute comfort with optimal security.

THE WORLD’S MOST PRECISE SERIES-MADE CHRONOGRAPH

No list of the qualities possessed by the El Primero 400B calibre powering these three models would be complete without a mention of its kinship to the world’s most precise series-made chronograph, the fabled El Primero designed by Zenith in 1969 and endowed with a set of legendary attributes. This classic chronograph movement ably perpetuates its essential assets, including its integrated column-wheel construction as well as its rate of 36,000 vibrations per hour guaranteeing 1/10 th of a cheap Rolex replica second precision. Combining high frequency with a remarkable more than 50-hour power reserve, the El Primero 400B movement drives central hours and minutes hands, small seconds at 9 o’clock, along with chronograph functions and a 6 o’clock date display.