Geneva Watch Days 2026: Oris Celebrates The The Beautiful Weirdo With ProPilot X Gonzo Edition
5 min read
Cue the drumroll, light the fuse, and load the stunt cannon because if there is one thing that defined my childhood, it was the absolute, beautiful chaos of Disney’s The Muppets and at the centre of that colourful madness was my absolute favourite daredevil, The Great Gonzo. For those of us who grew up mesmerised by his lunacy, watching him perform his first act on The Muppet Show in 1976 by eating a rubber tyre to the tune of Flight of the Bumblebee was pure, unadulterated magic. He was an infectiously curious character who did all his own stunts and was totally comfortable being a "beautiful weirdo". Writing about the new Oris ProPilot X Gonzo Edition launched at Geneva Watch Days 2026 thus feels incredibly nostalgic, as it perfectly embodies the loud, boundary-pushing spirit of this legendary stage and screen star who was never afraid to defy convention.
While watchmaking can be a very serious business, Oris has an in-built refusal to take themselves too seriously. They are in the pursuit of joy and laughter, which is exactly what inspired this collaboration with Disney’s The Muppets. The Oris ProPilot X Gonzo Edition is their third watch with The Muppets, following special pieces created with Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy. It feels incredibly fitting that they chose to celebrate Gonzo's life and career by combining a bold, colourful design with one of their most inventive mechanical movements.
The Magic is in the Mechanics
Looking at this timepiece, I am amazed by how Oris managed to blend the whimsical nature of my childhood hero with a taut, highly technical piece. The Oris ProPilot X Gonzo Edition is based on the ProPilot X Calibre 115, which boasts a skeletonised movement developed by their in-house engineers. It features a sculpted, multi-piece titanium case measuring 44.00 mm and a multi-piece titanium bracelet secured by an Oris-developed folding clasp. The mechanics are just as impressive as the aesthetics, driven by a beautifully crafted hand-wound movement. One of the most celebrated features of the Calibre 115 is its colossal 10-day power reserve. It also incorporates a non-linear power reserve indicator that shows the time remaining until the watch needs winding with ever-greater accuracy. The Oris ProPilot X Gonzo Edition price is set at CHF 8’500.
A Stunt Like No Other
The absolute highlight for me is a hidden feature that feels like a magic trick straight out of Gonzo's act. The big reveal is tucked away in the mainspring, a 1.8-metre metal coil that stores the watch’s power. This massive coil is made entirely visible by the skeletonisation of the barrel located at 12 o’clock. As you wind the watch, tiny etchings that are lasered into the spring’s edge start to magically come together. When fully wound, these fragments form Gonzo’s smiling, enthusiastic face. As the power is expended and the tension builds, the image disperses again into tiny individual parts. It is an audacious watchmaking first that perfectly mimics the suspense and countdown of one of Gonzo’s famous cannonball stunts.
Quirky, Daredevil Design Details
Every inch of the dial pays homage to Gonzo's adventurous spirit, starting with the gradient blue to red to yellow colourways that are directly inspired by his fur and natty style. The lasered dial ring adds another layer of childlike wonder, as it changes colour depending on the light, appearing as polished steel or any colour in the rainbow. Even the power reserve indicator is full of character, featuring a hand in the shape of a chilli that references one of his classic shirt designs. To top it all off, the countdown is measured in 10 “GREAT” days, serving as a brilliant, playful callback to Gonzo’s iconic stage name.
Designing the Daredevil: Lukas, Head of Design
To understand how this beautiful piece came to be, it is fascinating to look at the insights from Lukas, who has been the Head of Design at Oris for four years. He explains that their challenge as a design department is eternally stimulating because they aim to design serious watches that prove they don’t take themselves too seriously. When preparing for this project, Lukas and his team spent great days in the studio watching The Muppet Show and collaborating closely with the Disney team to truly capture his essence. They realized that Gonzo's curiosity, optimism, and misfit energy aligned perfectly with the boldness of the monochromatic ProPilot X Calibre 115, providing the perfect canvas for bold colour experimentation. Lukas notes that in all three Oris and The Muppets watches, they focused on linking the characters directly to the movements, ensuring that the sense of fun was incorporated right into the mechanics. He points out that the open barrel of the Calibre 115 was precisely what allowed them to even consider the unique technical feat of laser-etching Gonzo onto the individual coils.
So, as Gonzo himself might say right before launching himself out of a blue and yellow stunt cannon, “Time is a construct!” But if we have to measure it, we might as well do it with a massive grin on our faces and a touch of childhood magic on our wrists. The Oris ProPilot X Gonzo Edition is far more than just a meticulously crafted Swiss timepiece, it is a wearable time capsule of the beautiful chaos that we grew up loving. It serves as a daily, mechanical reminder to embrace individuality, pursue joy, and celebrate the courage it takes to be unapologetically yourself.
For die-hard Disney and Muppets fans like me, this watch is the ultimate tribute to the ultimate daredevil, a brilliant salute to the beautiful weirdo in all of us. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go work on my water-skiing ballet choreography!
Price: Rs ₹1,009,825 Approx
Oris watches are available at Ethos boutiques.
