A watch in honour of the GIGN

At the beginning of August, Oris announced its new partnership with the Groupe d’intervention de la gendarmerie nationale, known as GIGN, the French police force’s elite special operations unit.


In honour of the association, Oris has produced a limited edition version of its innovative Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, known as the Oris GIGN Edition Limitée.

GIGN was formed in 1974. In its capacity as a law enforcement agency and special operations unit, it is licensed to intervene on French soil or abroad. GIGN’s unit has 380 members, which are highly trained paratroopers, equipped to perform high-risk operations, including counter terrorism, hostage rescue and the targeting of organised crime. They execute between 6,000 and 7,000 parachute jumps a year and among them only 26 members own the rare degree of «Chuteurs opérationnels».

When jumping, GIGN’s operatives are equipped with high-tech computerised equipment that provides them with critical data, such as distance to the ground, information they need to know before deploying a parachute. While these devices are hugely reliable, there is still a chance they will fail. In the event of such a failure, paratroopers need a back-up device.

For this, GIGN turned to Oris’s Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, the world’s first watch with an automatic mechanical movement and a built-in mechanical altimeter. GIGN acquired a watch and put it through a series of demanding tests, which it passed, leading to the partnership between Oris and GIGN.

The Oris GIGN Edition Limitée is based on the Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, but with a few aesthetic points of difference that bring the relationship with the elite French unit to life. The GIGN insignia sits on the dial and case back, and the tip of the central seconds hand is finished with the colours of the Tricolore, France’s national flag.

August 25, 2016