June 2nd is Lou Gehrig’s Day (here in the U.S., that is), and this year, Oris has launched its latest baseball-inspired Big Crown Pointer Date paying tribute to the legendary Yankee player’s life and legacy on and off the field. In addition to special colors and details that call back to Gehrig himself, funds raised from the new Oris Lou Gehrig Limited Edition will be donated to The Lou and Eleanor Gehrig Family Foundation in support of raising ALS awareness.
Key Details
This special edition marks the third time that Oris has used its signature Big Crown Pointer Date as a vehicle to honor a baseball legend. The first was the Roberto Clemente Limited Edition in 2020, and that was followed up three years later with the Hank Aaron Limited Edition of 2023. Fittingly, the brand has followed in the footsteps of those models, tying in nods to baseball and to Gehrig himself in both subtle and more direct ways.
The real story here is all in the details. The combination of white and navy blue will be immediately recognizable to Yankees fans, but the specific choice of the silvery gray, vertically brushed dial is a little less obvious.The color chosen for the main dial backdrop is a direct call-back to Gehrig’s nickname, the “Iron Horse,” earned by his record-setting streak of 2,130 consecutive games played. And, as you’ve likely already guessed, the exact number of pieces produced is another tie-in into the player’s seminal streak.
As one of Oris’ longest-running designs, the Big Crown collection does strike as the perfect canvas to honor one of the most celebrated baseball players of the 20th century. While the brand has recently pushed the collection in a more contemporary direction, the Lou Gehrig Limited Edition fittingly returns to a more classic, obviously vintage-inspired aesthetic. Echoing the era of design that Lou Gehrig was actually playing in, we’ve got a cathedral handset and a mix of very 1920s-1930s-esque Arabic numerals and thin trapezoidal indices alternating to mark the hours — all of which are luminous and outlined in poppy, Yankees blue. Within the black, railroad-style date ring along the perimeter, the “4” has been colored a vivid blue, paying tribute to Gehrig’s uniform number, which was officially retired by the team in 1940.
Case And Wear
Despite all the vintage design cues going on dial-side, the 40mm case size (48.20mm lug-to-lug), like those of similar models, brings the watch up-to-date. While Oris has begun introducing a smooth, polished bezel into the Big Crown universe, this model returns to the decorative, coin-edged bezel that was also used on the Hank Aaron Limited Edition, and also adds another 20th-century touch.
Stylistically, Oris has also gone more of a vintage route with the strap pairings. Out of the box, the Lou Gehrig Limited Edition comes with both a brown leather strap that’s been double-stitched on each side, like a baseball glove, along with an additional NATO strap that features a Yankee-hued stripe pattern.
The Movement
In the movement department, we are working with the Oris Caliber 754 automatic. Using the Sellita SW200-1 movement as its base, this caliber has been modified for the pointer date complication and has a 4 Hz frequency, hacking seconds, hand-winding capabilities, and a 41-hour power reserve. A flip of the watch reveals the closed caseback, which has been engraved with not only Lou Gehrig’s name, but also an image of Gehrig himself during his famous farewell speech (aka, the Gettysburg Address of baseball), in which he claimed himself to be, just weeks after his ALS diagnosis, the “luckiest man on the face of the earth.”
Final Thoughts
Thoughtful, impactful, and with masterful restraint, Oris has once again hit a home run with its series of Big Crown tributes to the giants of baseball. The Lou Gehrig Special Edition is available now (once again, limited to 2,130 numbered pieces), and priced at $2,850.
For more information, visit the brand’s website here.
