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INTRODUCING: A different kind of dive watch – the Oris Regulateur ‘Der Meistertaucher’ INTRODUCING: A different kind of dive watch – the Oris Regulateur ‘Der Meistertaucher’

INTRODUCING: A different kind of dive watch – the Oris Regulateur ‘Der Meistertaucher’

Cameron Wong

If you dive, or even if you don’t, then you may know that a diver’s regulator is the hub of their equipment – it is what makes breathing underwater possible, after all. We may not be referring to that type of regulator here, but the latest offering from Oris, the updated Regulateur ‘Der Meistertaucher’ (Master Diver), has been purpose-built for divers with a dial design seldom seen on a dive watch. In fact, Oris is the only manufacturer that currently offers a regulator dial on a dive watch – pioneered back in 1999 and featured in a handful of their collections, including the Aquis line, to which the ‘Der Meistertaucher’ belongs.

So, what is a regulator dial? First introduced in observatories of the 18th century, these dials were found on highly accurate clocks that clockmakers would use as a reference when setting or regulating the pieces they were working on. They’re distinctive thanks to their non-coaxial layout, meaning the hour and minute hands are separated, with the minute hand traditionally remaining in the centre while the hour hand is shown on a separate sub-dial – it’s located at three on the ‘Der Meistertaucher’. What this means is that the watch shows the time in a hierarchical nature, with the minutes and elapsed time bezel (the most vital bit of information for a diver) receiving the highest prominence. A small running seconds sub-dial is also located at 9 o’clock on the Oris in accordance with the ISO 6425 dive watch standards.

Even though it’s unconventional, the Oris Regulateur is more than a mere desk diver, it’s a proper professionally-aimed dive watch – something Oris does very well (just look at the Oris Aquis Depth Gauge). With a helium escape valve at 9 o’clock, the 43.5mm titanium case takes its style from the updated Oris Aquis line, with its sleeker design, and is water resistant to an expected 300m.

Inside you’ll find the automatic Oris cal. 749 – based off the Sellita SW220-1 with a 38-hour power reserve, date, and regulator display. Although unlike the previous version you won’t be able to see the movement as there is no display back; instead there’s a solid titanium case-back embossed with the Oris shield and the ‘Meistertaucher’ inscription.

The minute hand is outlined in bright red and corresponds to the red 15-minute scale of the black ceramic bezel, while the rest of the bezel’s markings are highlighted white, as are the outlines of the hour and seconds hands. Of course, being a dive watch, the minutes, hours and seconds hands, as well as the slightly redesigned applied indices, are filled with Super-LumiNova. On the bezel, the only lume found is on the circular pip of the zero marker – it would have been a nice touch to see all bezel markers filled with luminous material.

It’s available on a titanium bracelet with an additional red rubber strap. The new Oris Regulateur ‘Der Meistertaucher’ is a proper tool that wouldn’t look out place on the wrist of diver wannabes like us, and it continues the ‘Der Meistertaucher’ tradition – producing a safer practical dive watch with incredible readability, even in the murky depths.

Oris Aquis Regulateur ‘Der Meistertaucher’ Australian pricing

Oris Aquis Regulateur ‘Der Meistertaucher’, $4400.