Within the same week, Europa Star has received news of two new Oris chronograph models, both dedicated to the world of motorsport—one to historic rallies and one inspired by modern racing cars.

The Oris RAID 2012 chronograph is a limited edition of 500 pieces that commemorates the brand’s association with the Swiztzerland-Paris rallye-raid for vintage vehicles. The role of timekeeping in such rallyes is more important than it might at first seem. Although the vehicles are required to complete individual stages and special stages to test navigation and regularity at relatively low average speeds, deviations from the planned arrival time based on these average speeds are penalised quite severely. A 1/10th of a second difference either way incurs one penalty point, which means that a close eye must be kept on the chronograph for a competitor to be in with the chance of winning.

The RAID 2012 Chronograph by Oris

Oris took the inspiration for the design of this piece from the winner of last year’s Raid, a 1942 Cadillac Series 62 saloon. The typography used in this vintage Cadillac model can be found on the Arabic numerals around the dial, which comprises chronograph counters at 12 o’clock and 6 o’clock and a 24-hour hand that displays a second time zone around the circumference of the dial. The watch is in stainless steel and has a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating and a leather strap with a folding clasp. The back is printed with the Switzerland-Paris RAID logo.

Although the Oris Artix GT has the same case design in the same metal as the RAID 2012 chronograph, it is distinguishable by its rotating black ceramic bezel with tachymeter scale, rubber surround for optimum grip and black a rubber strap, all of which give this timepiece a much more modern aspect. Furthermore, Oris has developed its own special small seconds scale at 9 o’clock in a linear form that was inspired by the rev counters in modern racing cars.

The Artix GT Chronograph by Oris