A diver with an inspiring personality
We have already spoken about this model in a previous blog post so you might have seen it before, I’ll give you a hint to see if you can get it… Karl Brashear. This is the second mondel that international Swiss watch brand Oris have released to pay homage to this incredibly inspiring national hero. Karl Brashear was a famous U.S Navy diver who defied all odds to become a record holder and national hero. This second release is a stunning limited-edition bronze watch dedicated to Master Diver Carl Brashear.
Karl Brashear was probably one of the best divers of the twentieth century, he fought racial discrimination to become the first African-American Master Diver in U.S. Navy history. He accomplished all of this with only one leg due to losing it in the line of duty. If you visit the Oris stand at Baselworld you can see this incredible new model premiering over the duration of the show. Carl Brashear also had his inspirational story turned into an amazing film called “Men of Honour”. The new watch features a 43-millimetre-diameter case which has been manufactured from genuine bronze so each and every watch will have a different exposure and become truly individual over time. Also you can be part of the exclusive homage as this watch is a limited edition of 2,000 timepieces.
The new model has a number of little hints to the first tribute model for example the first timepiece was presented at Baselworld and so has this one to keep the tradition going. It has been based on the same Divers Sixty-Five model just like the first, this is a very famous collection. The material of the case for this watch has been specially chosen to reference the equipment that Karl Brashear would have dived with all those years ago. It’s almost like wearing a piece of his very own kit. The bronze is such an amazing material and one that is perfect for watches, it also has a natural patina which ensures that every single model they sell with be unique and will change over time depending on what elements it is exposed too.
The watches movement is an Oris Calibre 771 which has been based on a Sellita SW510 and ticks just inside the watches bronze case carefully protected by the stainless steel back. Even the case back is engraved with a depiction of a similar diving helmet to the one Karl Brashear wore and it bears the motto that Carl Brashear lived by:
“It’s not a sin to get knocked down; it’s a sin to stay down.”
“We are very proud to be collaborating again with the Carl Brashear Foundation”, says Oris’ CEO Ulrich W. Herzog. “Carl Brashear is an inspiring personality who achieved trailblazing and meaningful changes in his lifetime. His goals and values likewise stand behind the mission of #OrisChangeForTheBetter.”
