Oris Watches Launch Special Edition For New Dive Site

Online, January 21, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Swiss precision watchmaker Oris Watches are set to cooperate on a watch to commemorate the USS Kittiwake. The US naval stalwart was sunk off the coast of the Cayman Islands diving Mecca of Seven Mile beach to create an artificial reef.

The USS Kittiwake was a Chanticleer-class submarine rescue vessel that was in commission with the American Navy between 1946 and 1994. It operated as a surface vessel in support of the ballistic missile carry submarine fleets. The ship also played an unwanted role in space exploration when it recovered the black box flight recorders belonging to the Space Shuttle Challenger following its in-flight explosion in 1986.
It was sold to the Cayman Islands government and sunk nearly of the coast of the country in January 2011. The ship is currently resting on a sandbank in 62 feet of water.

The resulting series of watches limited to 500 pieces worldwide reflected the functional purpose built nature of the Oris Watches line. In common with all watches produced by the company, the first piece will be sent directly to the company museum. The timepiece included a full rotation safety system to allow the wearer to gauge the amount of time spend underwater. This limited edition from Oris Watches also features an automatic helium valve for those really deep dives and a built in extender within it titanium bracelet so that it is possible to use the watch over a wetsuit without adjusting the strap.

The second watch in the limited series was auctioned off on behalf of local island charity "Hedge Funds Care"

The watchmaker does not limit itself to dive watches though, and also creates lines of classic watches you can wear every day, as well as upscale evening watches, including unique limited edition watches celebrating the music of greats like Myles Davis, Frank Sinatra and others.

It is unlikely that this special edition will make it to the UK as initial stocks have been exclusively reserved for watch sellers in the offshore financial centre.