Oris and Marylebone Cricket Club MCC introduce the Big Crown Pointer Date Father Time Limited Edition, a watch symbolising the community projects organised through the collaboration to bring Change for the Better.
At Lord’s Cricket Ground in London, there’s a clock tower overlooking the pitch. Atop sits a weathervane, indicating just one of the many factors that affects decisions players make during a game of cricket.
But it’s so much more than a weather vane. It’s known as Father Time, and it’s one of the most iconic images in world cricket – and in sport. Cricket fans all over the world identify it with Lord’s and with the spirit of the game.
As a proud partner of MCC and the first Official Timekeeper of Lord’s, Oris is delighted to have created the Father Time Limited Edition, a bronze watch that highlights both our formal role at the club, and also Oris and MCC’s shared vision to bring Change for the Better.
MCC is the world’s most active cricket club, the owner of Lord’s and the guardian of the Laws of the game. Like Oris, the club believes passionately in working for the benefit of its communities, both local to Lord’s and abroad. Together, we’re running a diverse programme for change including educational, social and sports events for the local community. Last year, we also co-hosted an Oris Change for the Better Day, teaming up to collect polluting plastic waste from London’s streets.
We also share a commitment to the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals, which encourage local, social and environmental action to deliver global change.
The Father Time Limited Edition celebrates the club, the game and the goals we share. Together, we can bring Change for the Better.
The call of time
At 40 mm and cast in solid bronze, the Father Time Limited Edition tells a story that began almost a century ago – and continues today
The story of the Father Time weathervane began in the 1920s when Sir Herbert Baker, the architect of Lord’s Second Grand Stand, gifted it to the ground’s owners – Marylebone Cricket Club – to apologise for the late completion of the building project. The year was 1926.
Father Time, a cast iron figure measuring almost a metre and a half and seen stooping over cricket stumps, is a mythical character said to watch over the passage of time.
It’s thought he represents Law 12.3 of the Laws of Cricket, held by MCC, which says that “After the call of Time, the bails shall be removed from both wickets.” This signals the end of the day’s play.
What better name to attach to a limited-edition watch created to mark the continuing collaboration between Oris and MCC, parties united by a common belief in their responsibility to bring Change for the Better?
The new watch is based on our Big Crown Pointer Date, a signature design characterised by its oversized crown that has been in constant production since 1938 when it was introduced as a pilot’s watch.
Its 40 mm case, fluted bezel and crown are made of solid, naturally ageing bronze, and it comes with both a bronze articulated bracelet and a light brown leather strap made from sustainably sourced deer leather produced by our Swiss partner Cervo Volante.
The case back is stainless steel and engraved with an image of the Father Time weathervane and the limited-edition number (see page 12). The watch is limited to 1,926 pieces to mark the year Father Time was gifted to Lord’s.
Inside it is Oris Calibre 754, a Swiss Made automatic that equips the watch with its pointer date function, indicated by a central hand with a red, crescent-shaped tip.
Going into bat
Lord’s, MCC and cricket must contribute to a sustainable future, says Guy Lavender, MCC chief executive and secretary
What makes Lord’s and MCC so special?
There’s a number of answers to this question and I believe ultimately it depends on your relationship with the Club and the Ground.
As a cricket club, our players take part in over 500 matches a year and for our non-playing members we have a whole host of member events and activities to get involved in, not least, of course, access to watch the widest range of cricket at any ground in the UK. From international matches featuring England’s men’s and women’s teams to fixtures in The Hundred, the Vitality Blast,
the County Championship and the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, as well as a full schedule of other matches, including several finals days for clubs, schools and universities, there’s a format for every member to enjoy.
For supporters and spectators who come to watch cricket at Lord’s, they experience the thrill and excitement of the match, being surrounded by fellow fans following the ebb and flow of the game, which is wrapped in the history and tradition that make your hair stand on end when you walk through the gates. It’s an intriguing and somewhat fascinating place that we are very eager to open up to more people whenever we can.
What’s your vision for MCC as its CEO?
For Lord’s to be the finest cricket ground in the world, and for MCC to play its part in ensuring cricket is a game that’s open to everyone. Whether you play it, watch it, listen to it or work in it, there should be no barriers to participating in the game. Ultimately, we want everything we do to be for the good of the game and to ensure cricket is a sport future generations will love as much as they do in the present and did in the past.
How is this vision being realised?
Our vision is effectively being funnelled through many different strands of activity. Our Cricket Strategy 2022-24 contains objectives and plans focused on how we can positively impact and grow the game at all levels.
Our community work ensures those closest to us can benefit from our presence.
That encompasses the elder generation who attend dementia sessions or play walking cricket at Lord’s, and schoolchildren who benefit from our free cricket coaching programmes in our local schools. The MCC World Cricket committee comprises some of the most experienced players, administrators and officials within the international game and is actively charged with providing leadership and influence on a global level. Finally, I would like to mention our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) plan which sets out our commitment to ensuring everyone is warmly welcomed by the Club and at Lord’s, and is treated with kindness and respect.
How accessible is cricket today?
Making cricket more accessible to more people is something the game has to tackle as a whole but our specific focus is for Lord’s and MCC to be more open, inclusive and welcoming. I truly believe that sport is a vehicle for bringing people together and not dividing them. Cricket is a game that encourages friendship and teamwork and unifies a global fanbase of people from all walks of life. Our EDI work tackles the exclusions or barriers that exist through positive initiatives, applying forward thinking, and using new ideas that will deliver lasting change in this critical area.
Before Oris, MCC and Lord’s had never had an Official Timekeeper. Why choose Oris?
It does seem strange that we’ve not had an official timekeeper in our 236-year history and so to partner officially with Oris last June was very exciting and a milestone moment.
It’s great to see the Oris branding sitting proudly on our famous clocktower within the Mound Stand and under the iconic Father Time weathervane, one of the most familiar landmarks in world cricket. I’m sure the players are happy too, as those who manage to get their name on one of our Lord’s Honours Boards, not only take their place among some of the greatest ever cricket players, but also receive an Oris watch to mark their historic achievement.
What is MCC’s attitude to sustainability and what are you doing to express it?
One of the values of the Club that I know we share with Oris is our commitment to sustainability, and, specifically to us, to protect the long-term future of Lord’s and the game. Cricket is so exposed to the effects of climate change that we simply have to act now to protect it. We also have the responsibility to ensure that our home, Lord’s, is as environmentally friendly and sustainable as it possibly can be.
We’ve been working on this for a number of years and were one of the first sporting clubs in the world to hire a full-time sustainability manager back in 2009. Since then, we’ve introduced a number of measures to reduce our carbon footprint including operating on 100 per cent renewable electricity since 2016, with all electricity sourced from wind power; reducing single-use plastics by 1.5 million pieces; and our recycling programmes have resulted in zero waste going to landfills since 2010.
Most recently, we signed up to the UN Sports for Climate Action Framework and published our strategy to become carbon neutral by 2030 and to have net zero emissions by 2040 by undertaking a significant programme of de-gasification at Lord’s, and switching the use of remaining natural gas in the operation of the venue to renewable energy sources.
Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Father Time Limited Edition Technical Specifications
Reference 754 7741 3161-Set – Swiss retail price CHF 2’950/ EUR 2 950.00 / AUD 4 750.00
The Father Time Limited Edition is based on our signature Big Crown Pointer Date design and cast in bronze. To mark the year Father Time was gifted to Lord’s, it’s limited to 1,926 pieces. Available from January 2024
Movement
- Number Oris 754
- Functions Centre hands for hours,
- minutes and seconds, date centre
- hand, instantaneous date, date corrector,
- fine timing device and stop-second
- Winding Automatic winding,
- bi-directionally rotating Red Rotor
- Power reserve 38 hours
Case
- Case: Multi-piece bronze case
- Size: 40.00 mm (1.575 inches)
- Top glass: Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
- Case back: Stainless steel, screwed, special engravings
- Operating devices: Bronze screw-in security crown
- Water resistance: 5 bar
Dial
- White
- Luminous material Indices, numbers and hands with Super-LumiNova®
Bracelet/strap
- Multi-piece bronze bracelet with folding clasp,
- Also supplied with light brown Cervo Volante leather strap made of sustainably sourced deer leather
- Bronze buckle
- Strap change tool
