You sense Oris’s engineering obsession colliding head‑on with George Bamford’s colour‑driven, slightly irreverent design language, giving this already wild complication an extra jolt of personality. As someone who followed the rebirth of the ProPilot Altimeter in 2022, I don’t see this piece as just another colourway, but rather as a focused reinterpretation of a niche instrument watch through Bamford’s space‑odyssey lens.

Dial: instrument panel with neon accents

The dial retains the ProPilot Altimeter architecture, enabling you to read the time centrally and the date at 3 o’clock, with the altimeter scale running around the outer ring – now all framed by Bamford’s black‑as‑space base and almost fluorescent accents. Oris has printed the altitude scale on the rehaut in feet, with a clear 0–19,700‑foot layout that remains legible despite the play of yellow, lime and red across the indications. Bamford relies on the 1980s sneaker colour scheme, so the yellow altitude hand, lime details and red pressure indicator do not just look playful; they guide the eye intuitively through what could otherwise become an overload of information. Super-LumiNova appears on the indices, Arabic numerals and hands, ensuring the watch behaves like a genuine flight instrument in low light, rather than being just a fashion exercise.

From close up, you notice how the printing on the outer ring and the sunken pressure gauge at 6 o’clock sit on slightly different planes. This layered construction is important: Oris must allow enough vertical room for the altimeter mechanism beneath the movement, meaning the dial stack requires precise tolerances to avoid parallax and ensure an accurate altitude reading. The altimeter hand is crafted from laminated carbon fibre to reduce mass, thereby limiting inertia and improving the responsiveness of the pressure‑driven system during ascent or descent.

Movement and altimeter: two worlds in one case

Inside beats the Oris calibre 793 – an automatic movement with a 56‑hour power reserve that has already proven itself in the second‑generation ProPilot Altimeter. To ensure the rotor never interferes with the pressure capsule and lever system, Oris has incorporated a second dial under the calibre, separating the movement from the altimeter. You sense the independence of the two organs when you wear it: the timekeeping runs with the consistency of a solid Swiss automatic, while the altimeter reacts directly to crown commands and air pressure, without any vague coupling through the gear train.

The finishing leans towards robust, functional watchmaking rather than haute horlogerie decoration, which fits the tool‑watch brief. Oris decorates the calibre with perlage on the mainplate and simple brushing on the bridges in the standard ProPilot Altimeter; although the ‘Mission Control’ press dossier does not dwell on decoration, the brand’s established practice suggests the same workmanlike aesthetic here. You still get details appreciated by enthusiasts, such as clearly defined bevelling, precise circular graining and a neatly printed rotor, but the real technical highlights revolve around the patented altimeter crown at 4 o’clock, with its PTFE vapour barrier. This crown controls the pressure chamber and venting system: in position 1, you open the altimeter circuit; in position 2, you calibrate to a reference pressure so the red and yellow indicators show absolute pressure and altitude. Finally, everything is locked down again to restore 10‑bar water resistance.

Case: carbon composite engineering

The case defines this watch as much as the complication. Oris builds the 47mm case from a carbon‑fibre composite co‑developed with 9T Labs, combining continuous carbon fibres with a high‑performance polymer called PEKK, using an industrialised additive manufacturing and moulding process. The resulting case weighs approximately two thirds that of a comparable titanium case, yet retains high stiffness, excellent heat and chemical resistance, as well as a strength that surpasses that of many metals. This reduction in mass fundamentally changes how the 16.70mm thickness and 55mm lug‑to‑lug dimension feel on the wrist: visually, it remains a sizeable watch, but the composite ensures it stays wearable for extended periods.

When viewed from the side, the case reveals an organic tree‑ring pattern that derives directly from how 9T Labs compacts and aligns the fibres during moulding. Each case is therefore unique, offering collectors a subtle individuality without resorting to engraving or numbering gimmicks beyond the limited‑edition plaque. Oris complements the composite middle case with a grey PVD‑plated titanium bezel, caseback, crowns and folding clasp – all chosen to minimise weight, while maintaining structural integrity around the screw‑in interfaces to ensure water resistance. The titanium caseback carries an engraved feet‑to‑metre conversion chart, reflecting the engineering‑first mindset behind the project and providing a practical reference for travellers.

The textile strap continues the functional theme, while subtly carrying Bamford’s distinctive style, with a black exterior and yellow and green leather lining that ties back to the dial accents. You secure it with the familiar Oris pilot folding clasp with fine adjustment, which allows you to quickly compensate for pressure changes and wrist swelling during flight or a demanding hike.

Closing thoughts and price

As a watch enthusiast, I appreciate it when a collaboration stays true to the essence of a watch rather than drowning it in branding. The ProPilot Altimeter ‘Mission Control’ does exactly that. It remains the only timepiece that combines an automatic Swiss movement with a mechanical altimeter, now housed in a carbon‑fibre composite architecture and energised by Bamford’s unapologetically bold colour scheme. Oris limits the edition to 250 pieces, which feels appropriate for such a niche instrument and lends the piece real collector appeal without turning it into unobtainium.

With a Swiss retail price of EUR 6,700, this timepiece occupies a rarefied yet rational corner of the market when you factor in the proprietary case technology and unique complication. If you love purpose‑built pilot’s watches and appreciate Bamford’s irreverent touch, you will likely find this reference difficult to ignore the next time you strap something on for take‑off.