Oris Der Meistertaucher

[johnswatch]

Big watches are silly. They are ridiculous 'look at me' watches for fat overweight men. There, I've just said what everyone's thinking.

So why the hell have I (a fat overweight man) just bought a watch that's an incredible 49mm in diameter?

Sit down by the fire and I'll tell you a story.......

I'd bought a Sea Dweller 4000 for everyday use and a two-tone Datejust for dress watch duties. I saw my first large watch about 2 years ago when I saw a colleague wearing a Panerai that looked like a clock.

Now watch sizes are geting larger I found myself wanting a larger fashion watch to wear with jeans and a t-shirt. Something about 42mm I thought. I had tried on a GMTIIC and thought it too big. I tried on a Panerai base luminor and again thought it looked like a dinner plate. Whilst browsing the stock at a local AD I saw the Oris Der Meistertaucher at an advertised 49mm diameter.

I had no intention of purchasing one and simply asked to try it on for the novelty.

I was really surprised. The Sea Dweller and the Deepsea are watches. Very nice dive watches but watches non the less. The Der Meistertaucher (Master Diver in German) immediately felt like a scientific instrument rather than a watch.

This was my first impression:



Blimey - it's very thick.

The rounded profile of the case looks like it's designed to resist pressure. The case and bracelet are made of titanium rather than steel. Titanium is very light and strong but scratches very easily and has a grey colour. Not normally the material used in watches.



It comes with a screw down crown and a screw down helium release valve.



The titanium case back has some nice machined logos and text, certanly beats the sea dweller engravings



Now on to the face - the most important part.








While the total diameter of the watch is 49mm it wears much smaller. This is because the case tapers in towards the top. For example, the Oris 44mm dive watches wear like a 40mm Rolex.

The dial uses a 'Regulator' layout wih the hour and minutes hands on separate axis.



This is unique for a dive watch and the idea is that your attention is directed to the minutes hand without the distraction of the hours hands.

The Der Meistertaucher does this very well. Sometimes too well. I often glance at my watch and go 'oh, it's quarter past' then think 'quarter past what?' and have to look at the watch again.

Having worn the watch for a few days I'm beginning to re-learn how to tell the time and it's not too difficult now to tell the time at a fairly quick glance. Not sure how it would be after a few beers though!

The Der Meistertaucher comes in probably the best packaging I've seen for a watch, a nice waterproof ABS case with a pressure release valve. It's good to know that if I drive my car off a cliff into the ocean on the way back from the AD my receipt will not get wet. That should enable my widow to at least get a refund.






Inside the case is the original titanium bracelet, a couple of strap changing tools along with some spare strap pins.




I wear the watch on a rubber strap which has a very nice titanium clasp and divers extension. My only gripe is about the fitting. The strap requires it to be cut to length and micro adjustment is only avalable if you do not use the divers extension.

Not a major problem but be aware before you start cutting.

The strap has the Oris logo set into it and is made of natural rubber with a lovely vanilla smell.




The strap and bracelet are attached to the watch head now with spring bars but with tubes and screws similar to Panerai. There is no way that the strap is going to come away from the head so a Nato strap is not necessary.

The good parts:

The watch looks and feels like a very expensive diving tool. It oozes quality. The finish is superb and the extra strap, tools and strap screws that come with it make it a great package.
The titanium is really light and for such a large watch it is amazingly comfortable. The dial has a wonderful wave imprint and the hour markers and hands are just stunning to look at.

The bad parts:

There is a tiny tiny speck of dust on the dial. I'm taking it in to the service centre in Sydney to remove it. I also looked at a watch in another jewellers were the 60 minute marker didn't line up perfectly.
The Der Meistertaucher's regulator dial is a little hard to read the hours at a glance. This however is the whole point of the regulator dial so I'm reluctant to mark that against it.

Overall I love this watch and for the money you can't beat it. I purchased at over 30% discount and would happily have paid full price.

[R1@160@alltimes]

Very nice

[Skullring]

Very nice watch. Good review. Thanks

[Latrodectus]

Very nice watch. I like it!