Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Hank Aaron Limited Edition Celebrates Baseball Hall of Famer

I’m not going to pretend to be a baseball fan, the most of a game I’ve ever watched was in a Simpsons episode. But even then, it’s impossible not to be aware of the greats of the game like Babe Ruth, who held the home run record for over 40 years, and the man who eventually took that record off him, Hank Aaron. Oris have teamed up with the Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation to celebrate this American legend’s legacy with the new Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Hank Aaron Limited Edition.

To give the brief biography, Hank joined the baseball world in 1951 at a time when the sport was still segregated, meaning he had to play in the Negro Leagues. However, his immense skill saw him rapidly pull down boundaries and by 1954 he was recruited to Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee Braves (later the Atlanta Braves). Twenty years later in 1974 he finally surpassed Babe Ruth’s longstanding record with his 715th home run – finishing his career in 1976 with 755. Following retirement, he created the Chasing the Dream Foundation with the aim of providing grants and scholarships to 755 children, one for each home run. To date, the number of children helped is over 800.

I think it’s important to give context to this special edition because it’s not immediately obvious from the front of the watch that the piece is connected to Hank or that it’s a special edition at all. The case is classic Big Crown, featuring a flowing, round shape in stainless steel at a diameter of 40mm with a fluted bezel giving it a retro aviation aesthetic. There’s also the titular big crown at 3 o’clock, designed for easy use while wearing flight gloves.

When you look at the dial you get your first hint of the baseball connection, but it’s pretty subtle. The red, white and blue colourway is an homage to the uniform worn by the Atlanta Braves. The red numerals with blue outlines is the same style used by the text on the team logo, although the typography doesn’t match. Of course, if you don’t know your MLB teams, it’s just a fun colourway that has the distinct flavour of Americana even if you can’t quite place why.

However, as with the majority of special editions, the caseback reveals the truth plain and simple. It has an engraving of Hank Aaron in his signature batting pose and the inscription “Hank Aaron Limited Edition” above his head and the limited edition number below. Since we’re talking about it, the model is limited to 2,297 pieces, which is Hank’s career Runs Batted In (RBI) statistic, a record number that still stands.

There is one more nod to the world of baseball to be found on this watch and it’s actually the strap. It’s a blue leather number with white stitching in the same style as the stitching found on a catcher’s mitt. It’s another brilliant example of making a thematic design choice that will make fans of the sport happy while also looking completely natural on a watch. There’s also a second strap that comes with the set, a NATO in team colours.

On the inside, the watch houses the Oris 754 automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve. It’s not Oris’ most impressive calibre being a base Sellita SW200 movement, especially in comparison to the recent Calibre 473 model, but it’s use here is no surprise as it’s standard for the Big Crown Pointer Date.

While it shares the same movement as the core collection steel pointer dates at 40mm on leather strap, the Hank Aaron Limited Edition does cost a fair bit more. It’s £1,950 compared to £1,600. But that £350 extra gets you an additional strap, a commemorative caseback, a cool colourway and a commemorative watch box. So, I think the value adds up pretty well. Additionally, all previous winners of the Hank Aaron Award will be gifted one of the 2,297 pieces, so the public availability is actually much lower than it seems – round about 1,500, – making it very exclusive.

​Oracle Time 

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