Case #766 — Oris ProPilot GMT 57th Reno Air Races Ref. 01 798 7768 4284

Case #766 — Oris Big Crown ProPilot 57th Reno Air Races Limited Edition

Ref. 01 798 7768 4284

Status: Available

Condition: Very Good Pre-Owned

Scope: Box and Papers

Year: Unknown

🔎 Case Notes

Some watches commemorate an event. This one commemorates an event that never happened. The 2020 Reno Air Races were cancelled, but Oris — the event's Official Timepiece Sponsor — went ahead with the 1,000-piece limited edition anyway, continuing a long-running tradition of supporting what the brand calls the world's fastest motor sport. The result is a limited edition tied to a race that exists only on paper, which is an unusual footnote in modern aviation-watch collecting.

Visually, it is the darkest and most purposeful of the ProPilot GMT family. Oris specifies a multi-piece stainless steel case in grey PVD plating, with a screwed caseback carrying special engravings, and a matte black dial with Super-LumiNova Arabic numerals and hands, a central 24-hour hand and a pointer-style date. The blue GMT hand is shaped to resemble a jet — the only direct reference to the Reno Air Races anywhere on the dial, which is restraint you don't often see on an event edition.

At 41 mm with a 20 mm interhorn width and 10 bar water resistance, it is a genuinely wearable travel watch rather than an oversized aviation statement — notable given that the preceding 56th Reno edition was a 45 mm case.

This example is graded Very Good Pre-Owned with no specific flaws recorded at inspection. It is presented on black textile strap with blue leather lining and a grey PVD-coated stainless steel folding clasp and is currently sized to fit an approximately 8-inch wrist. It comes as Box and Papers, together with a WatchMaxx retailer card.

🕰️ The Evidence

• Reference: 01 798 7768 4284 (Oris catalogue reference 01 798 7768 4284-Set)
• Model / Collection: Big Crown ProPilot — 57th Reno Air Races Limited Edition
• Year: Unknown (edition released September 2020)
• Limited Edition: One of 1,000 pieces — individual edition number not recorded at inspection
• Case: Multi-piece stainless steel, grey PVD plated
• Case Diameter: 41.00 mm
• Lug Width: 20 mm
• Dial: Black, with Super-LumiNova coated hour markers and hands, circular date window, central GMT hand and 24-hour scale
• Crystal: Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
• Bezel: Beveled, fixed
• Crown: Stainless steel screw-in security crown, grey PVD plated
• Caseback: Stainless steel, grey PVD plated, screwed, with special engravings
• Movement: Oris Calibre 798, base Sellita SW 330-1
• Movement Type: Automatic winding, 28,800 A/h (4 Hz)
• Power Reserve: 42 hours
• Functions: Centre hands for hours, minutes, seconds and 24 hours; date window with instantaneous date; date and 24-hour corrector; stop-seconds
• Water Resistance: 10 bar (100 m)
• Strap: Black textile strap with blue leather lining
• Clasp: Deployant / folding clasp
• Fit: Approximately 8-inch wrist
• Condition: Very Good Pre-Owned
• Included: Box, Papers, WatchMaxx card

🌟 Collector Provenance

The Big Crown ProPilot line is Oris's modern reading of its own aviation heritage, and the Reno editions sit at its centre as the brand's longest-running event series. Each year produced a different interpretation, which is precisely why the individual references matter more than the model name: the 56th edition used the Oris 748 (base SW 220-1) with a small seconds and big date layout in a 45 mm case, limited to 500 pieces, while this 57th edition moves to a 41 mm case and a Calibre 798, base SW 330-1, with a 24-hour GMT hand and circular date.

That movement change is the substance of the watch. The 798 provides an independently adjustable GMT hand for quick time-zone changes, which in practice converts this from a dual-time curiosity into a travel instrument. Centre hands handle hours, minutes, seconds and 24 hours, with a date and 24-hour corrector and stop-seconds — a straightforward, serviceable architecture widely understood by independent watchmakers.

The grey PVD treatment also distinguishes it within the ProPilot family. Oris produced many ProPilot GMT variants in brushed steel; this one is specifically a grey PVD-coated Big Crown ProPilot with GMT functionality and pointer date, giving it a markedly more utilitarian, lower-contrast presence than its stainless-cased siblings. The reference is discontinued and listed as archived and no longer available by authorised retailers.

🌟 Historical Provenance

The Reno Air Races have been staged in the Nevada desert since 1964, and pilots race wingtip-to-wingtip at speeds reported up to 800 kph — low-altitude, pylon-course competition with no real equivalent in motorsport. Oris's involvement as the event's Official Timepiece and long-term partner produced a sequence of numbered editions tied to specific annual runnings.

The 57th is the outlier. The 2020 event was cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and rather than shelve the watch, Oris released it in support of the race regardless. The caseback carries engravings commemorating the 57th edition of the Reno Air Races along with the limited edition number out of 1,000 — a marker for a race weekend that was never flown. For collectors who value watches with a specific, datable story rather than generic aviation styling, that is the point of interest here.

🧾 From the Case File

Practically, this is a dark-cased 41 mm travelling watch with a legible dial and a genuinely useful complication. The 42-hour power reserve suits a watch worn in rotation across a weekend, and 10 bar water resistance covers everyday exposure comfortably. The double-domed sapphire with internal anti-reflective coating gives the dial the slightly vintage distortion at the edges that suits a pilot's design, without the glare of an untreated crystal.

The GMT is the daily argument. Because the 24-hour hand adjusts independently, a second time zone can be set and reset without disturbing the running time — more useful for travel than a fixed dual-time display, and simpler to live with than a rotating-bezel workaround.

The 41 mm case and 20 mm lug width are the other reason to choose this reference over the earlier Reno editions: it fits a far wider range of wrists, and 20 mm is the most common strap width on the market, so strap changes are inexpensive and unlimited. This example is currently on the original black textile strap with blue leather lining. 

Finally, completeness: the watch comes with its box and papers, and the edition was delivered with a special presentation box and certificate. With the reference discontinued, acquiring one with documentation rather than watch-only is the more considered route.

🗝️ BST Verdict

A compact, clearly specified limited edition with a story that is specific rather than decorative — one of 1,000 pieces built for a race that was cancelled, from a brand that chose to make the watch anyway.

Mechanically it is the more interesting of the Reno GMTs: a true independently adjustable 24-hour hand in a 41 mm grey PVD case, discontinued, graded Very Good Pre-Owned, and offered with its box and papers.

Buy with Confidence

BST guarantees the authenticity of every watch we sell and provides a 30-day mechanical performance guarantee under normal use.

Accuracy may vary with age and service history, and water resistance is not guaranteed unless specifically stated and pressure-tested.

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