With the Oris Calibre 400, hwoever, we can point to many significant upgrades. I know I’ve felt pride when strapping on my Rolex, my Grand Seiko, or even my Cartiers with their dinky quartz movements which, were they not proprietary in-house units, would probably bum me out. What watch enthusiasts do get from in-house movements is something like pride. Why watch enthusiasts love in-house movements is often hard to understand, because one often pays a premium without gaining any meaningful mechanical upgrades. With the Oris Aquis Calibre 400, I think we will have to make the Trinity a Quaternity. Each of those brands offers watches with in-house movements at unexpectedly reasonable price-points. Not long ago I stole my friend Gary Shteyngart’s notion that the original Horological Trinity of Patek Philippe, Vacheron Constantin, and Audemars Piguet could be updated and made accessible if, instead, the trinity were made up of Grand Seiko, Nomos, and Tudor. Oris will not eliminate those third-party movements, as that would prevent Oris from meeting their existing price points, but I think it’s reasonable to expect that they company will continue to release many pre-existing models with the in-house Calibre 400 movements installed. Indeed, the Calibre 400 is sized to sit in for the third-party movements that power many models. This is confirmed by the fact that Oris put the Calibre 400 into their best selling watch, the Aquis, and not into a more esoteric and expensive watch like the Pro Pilot X which houses Oris’ previous in-house release. In fact, the Calibre 400 isn’t Oris’ first in-house movement in recent history, but it is the first one that appears destined to serve in a variety of Oris’ watch models.

Typical of Oris, their approach to making an in-house movement was to offer better value and quality to their customers, not to up their brand’s profile as une manufacture. Designed from the ground up over five years, the Calibre 400 has a number of thoughtful features that add up to a 10-year service interval and warranty, robust a-magnetism and accuracy, and a 5-day power reserve.

Oris’ CEO VJ Geronimo recently came on a recent episode of the podcast to talk about a new in-house movement, the Calibre 400.

$3300 US on rubber strap, $3600 US on steel bracelet.

In-house Calibre 400 automatic mechanical with date.

Oris aquis date calibre 400 black