Oris Artelier Complication: A 39.5mm Dress Watch with Moon Phase and Second Time Zone in Ivory, Midnight Blue, or Chestnut — Under USD 3,500

Description

The Oris Artelier Complication used to be a bit of a Swiss Army knife — moon phase, day, date, second time zone, pointer date, all crammed onto a single dial. For 2026, Oris has simplified. The new Artelier Complication drops the day pointer and the pointer date, leaving just the two complications most people actually use: the moon phase at 12 o'clock and a 24-hour second time zone at 6 o'clock. The result is a dramatically cleaner dial and a watch that actually looks like a dress watch rather than a complications wristwatch by committee.

The case is 39.5mm in brushed-and-polished stainless steel, with a pusher at 4:30 to advance the 24-hour GMT disc. Three dial colours: ivory, midnight blue, and chestnut — each paired with either a matching leather strap or a stainless-steel bracelet. Inside is the Oris Calibre 782, a Sellita SW200-1 automatic base extensively reworked in Hölstein to mount the moon phase module at 12 and the second time-zone disc at 6.

Pricing starts at USD 2,950 for leather-strap variants and USD 3,150 on a bracelet (EUR 2,300 / EUR 2,500 respectively). Availability: May 2026.

Design

The 39.5mm case is well-proportioned at 11.8mm thick with a 45.5mm lug-to-lug — comfortable on a wide range of wrist sizes, and square in the sweet spot that modern dress watches have slowly gravitated back toward. The pusher at 4:30 is flush with the case middle, discreet enough not to break the silhouette.

Each dial is a warm, matte surface with applied double-baton hour markers, a moon-phase aperture at 12 o'clock with a star-studded sky, and a 24-hour second-time-zone subdial at 6. The three colourways are carefully curated: the ivory dial reads as the most formal/classical, the midnight blue leans modern-executive, and the chestnut is the vintage-leaning option with the broadest crossover appeal. A domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating sits over everything; the caseback is screwed and uses mineral glass with a vintage Oris shield engraving.

Specifications

Case size & material: 39.5mm × 11.8mm × 45.5mm lug-to-lug, brushed-and-polished stainless steel
Bezel: Fixed, polished
Crystal: Domed sapphire with anti-reflective coating
Caseback: Screwed, mineral glass
Dials: Ivory / midnight blue / chestnut — moon phase at 12, 24-hour GMT subdial at 6
Water resistance: 30m
Strap options: Leather (matched to dial), stainless steel bracelet
Movement: Calibre 782 (Oris, based on Sellita SW200-1, heavily modified with moon phase + 24-hour second time zone modules)
Rotor: Signature Oris red
Frequency: 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
Power reserve: 41 hours
Pricing: USD 2,950 (leather) / USD 3,150 (bracelet), from EUR 2,300 / EUR 2,500
Availability: May 2026

What's Exciting

This is a genuine gap-filler in the sub-USD 3,500 dress-watch market. Finding a Swiss-made dress watch with both a moon phase AND a 24-hour GMT at this price point is almost impossible — you can get one or the other, rarely both, and never with three dial colour options as considered as these. The chestnut variant in particular punches way above its price bracket.

It's not an in-house movement, but Oris' modifications are substantial (the moon phase and GMT modules are in-house developed) and the Calibre 782 benefits from Sellita's proven reliability. For a gateway luxury dress watch with legitimate complications, the Artelier Complication is the best Swiss proposition under EUR 2,500 right now.

History

Oris was founded in 1904 in Hölstein, Switzerland. After spending decades as a quartz-focused brand in the late 20th century, Oris refocused in the 2000s on mechanical-only watches and has since built a reputation for value-driven Swiss mechanics — notably the Aquis dive range, the Big Crown Pointer Date, and the Artelier dress line. Oris remains fully independent and hasn't been acquired by any larger group.

The Artelier Complication debuted in 2011 as Oris' most complex dress watch — a five-complication dial with moon phase, day, date, pointer date, and second time zone. The 2026 relaunch strips it back to the essentials: Oris is explicitly responding to a market that, post-pandemic, favours legibility and restraint over indicator-per-centimetre dial density. The new calibre 782 was designed specifically for this two-complication architecture, and unlocks a cleaner, more modern Artelier.