Oris x Bamford Mission Control
When it comes to collaborations, some are perhaps, at times a little lack lustre. Throw Bamford in to the mix and you are on to a winning formula and looking at thier back catalogue, they have a proven record. The Oris ProPilot Altimeter Mission Control looks every bit as purposeful as its name suggests, complete with a mechanical altimeter and a colour palette that lands squarely in the sweet spot. It’s bold, functional, and impossible to ignore, exactly what you’d expect when Bamford’s creative spark meets Oris’ tool-watch DNA.
The base for this collaboration is the Oris ProPilot Altimeter, a watch with serious bragging rights, being the only one in the world to combine a Swiss-made automatic movement with a mechanical altimeter. It’s a technical flex wrapped in pure tool-watch DNA.
For the Mission Control, that tool-watch DNA gets the full Bamford treatment. The 47mm carbon composite case delivers an impressive strength-to-weight ratio — stealthy in form but anything but subtle in character. Let’s be clear: this is no shrinking violet. With a 55mm lug-to-lug and a 16.7mm profile, the Mission Control is a bold, commanding presence on the wrist. Yet once that dial catches the light, any thoughts of restraint quickly disappear — subtlety was never really part of the brief.
To craft the case, Oris partnered with 9T Labs, a Swiss engineering firm specialising in aerospace materials. Together, they developed a carbon composite using additive manufacturing techniques never before applied in watchmaking. The result? A material stronger than many metals yet roughly two-thirds lighter than titanium — a remarkable feat of modern engineering and a fitting foundation for such an audacious design.
It’s the dial, that first grabs your attention, and as George Bamford puts it, “I wanted an ’80s sneaker vibe with colours that really pop”, and that’s exactly what you get. The black base dial is alive with bright yellow, lime green, and red Super-LumiNova, bringing a burst of retro energy to the cockpit-inspired layout. The yellow indicator tracks altitude changes up to 19,700 feet, while the green marker displays absolute air pressure. Add in red calibration points, and you’ve got a dial that looks like it’s been lifted straight from a spacecraft’s instrument panel, or, as Bamford says himself, something you could “recognise from space.”
Grey PVD-coated titanium crowns and caseback complete the build, ensuring the 16.7mm-thick case remains both lightweight and durable, with 100 meters of water resistance when the twin crowns are securely locked down.
Finishing the look is a textile strap that continues the space-age aesthetic, lined with yellow and green leather that mirrors the vibrant dial accents. It’s a small but thoughtful touch, a playful nod to that unmistakable ’80s sneaker energy that runs through the entire design.
I was lucky enough to put this watch through its paces, and trial the Altimeter out in real time. I had a 15,000ft skydiving experiance booked, and was given the green light to test it out, by George himself. What could go wrong…
…Well, fortunately, nothing! I’m still here, uninjured and living proof that it’s perfectly safe to hurl yourself out of a plane at high altitude. And honestly? It was bloody amazing. The professionals at the airfield were genuinely interested in the watch, though their only criticism was that it’s not the easiest thing to read the altitude scale mid-freefall. Fair point, this watch clearly wasn’t built with skydivers like me in mind. And before anyone asks, yes, that ridiculous hat was mandatory and I was wearing a huge coat under my flying suit to keep me warm. Apparently, it was to protect my ears, it was –11°C, after all. :)
That said, it worked perfectly, I could clearly see the red altitude indicator shifting as we climbed whilst inside the aircraft, though I’ll admit you probably need sharper eyesight than mine to read it properly. Still, it’s a solidly built watch that you can spot from a mile away thanks to that brilliantly coloured dial. My only small gripe? Aside from the hands, there’s no lume, a surprising omission for something with such an adventurous spirit. So, if you’re planning a jaunt up the Eiger or a trek across the Himalayas, it’s worth keeping that in mind.