Oris Honors Carl Brashear – January 2016

Oris is extremely honoured to introduce its first bronze watch remembering the extraordinary life of Carl Brashear, the U.S. Navy’s first African American master diver.

After a distinguished career in the U.S. Navy that lasted more than 30 years, Brashear retired in 1979. He died in 2006 aged 75. His extraordinary story was the inspiration for the 2000 film Men of Honour, in which Brashear was portrayed by Oscarwinning actor Cuba Gooding Jr. The watch marking Brashear’s life and character is the first Oris watch to be made in bronze, a naturally aging material used in deep-sea diving helmets of the 1950s. It takes its aesthetic from the Oris Divers Sixty-Five, but at 42mm in diameter. Bronze is initially bright and shiny, and then darkens as its copper content reacts with carbon dioxide and moisture. This means each of the limited run of 2,000 pieces will develop a unique patina over time – and a unique relationship with their owner. The unidirectional rotating bezel is also made of bronze, with a raised minute scale for tracking dive times, a look that recalls a number of diver’s watches in the Oris archive. The stainless steel case back shows Brashear’s helmet and his very personal claim. Under the watch’s dark blue dial is an automatic mechanical movement, and the watch is water-resistant to 100 metres.

The Oris Carl Brashear Limited Edition presents a unique opportunity to own Oris’s first bronze watch, but more importantly to pay tribute to a man whose convictions changed the course of history and to support the Carl Brashear Foundation. A man of honour.