Carlos Coste, a native of Caracas Venezuela, can attest to the forces that wreak havoc on things submerged 140 meters below the surface - he's been there - without an auxiliary air source - a feat that secured his status as the world record holder for Variable Weight Free-Diving (AIDA - International Association for the Development of Apnea). Free-Diving is diving in its most basic form - there's no need for tanks - just the ability to hold your breath for a ridiculous amount of time and maintain orientation and survival instincts as the lights start to go out. A word to the wise - don't try this at home!
The Oris Carlos Coste Chronograph is clearly a watch worthy of the achievements of its namesake. Although my breath holding skills are limited to about the time that it takes for a well hit drive to settle onto the fairway - and I'm much more comfortable with the idea of breathing underwater than I am at having to hold my breath, it's easy for me to imagine the capabilities that a free diver would be looking for when selecting a watch:
First of course, as with any diving watch, the water needs to stay on the outside of the case - the Carlos Coste Chronograph is waterproof to 1000 meters.
Then there's the size of the watch and the dial arrangement - as the amount of oxygen in your blood begins to wane, your ability to focus clearly on small things diminishes - as things get a bit murky, the hands and markers of your watch must be large and legible for there to be any chance of you being able to read them - the Oris Carlos Coste is a huge watch (47mm) with a large and uncluttered dial - its contrasting orange hands and indexes are easy to read in low light conditions.
And finally, there needs to be a seconds hand since, unlike SCUBA diving, seconds are important in Free-Diving. The Carlos Coste Chrono has one - it's subdialed at 3 o'clock and it too features a bright orange arrow-tipped hand.
Much of the practice that Free-Divers do consists of extended breath holding exercises done topside - for those, the chronograph functions of this gigantic Oris will come in handy. There's a 'destro' orientation to the crown and pushers - they're on the left side of the case instead of the right - some think it's a better arrangement for the activation of the chronograph functions and it's certainly more comfortable to wear.
There is a date and day display side-by-side in the 9 o'clock space. A uni-directional bezel provides a 60 minute scale for the bottom time tracking important to SCUBA divers. There's also a screw down helium escape valve at 2 o'clock on the off chance that a commercial diver takes the plunge with an Oris Carlos Coste on his or her wrist.
The case and bracelet are titanium and the bracelet has the requisite wet suit extension. The caseback is vault-like and engraved with the limited edition information (#xxxx/2000). It's also a bit convex and very comfortable up against your wrist. Inside is the Oris 678 Automatic Movement - it's based on the ETA 7750, has a 42 hour power reserve, 25 jewels and beats at 28,800 vph. Most obvious in the Oris re-work of the ETA workhorse 7750 is the brilliant red rotor that has become an Oris tradition.
The Oris Carlos Coste Chronograph is part of the Oris Divers Series. It's a limited production piece (2000 examples) and has a MSRP of $3195. USD. Whether or not you aspire to visit the depths sans tank, this is a striking watch with a great deal of functionality and many very well thought out details.
