Celebrating Hank Aaron through Oris’ Limited Edition Collaboration
Oris North Americas CEO V.J. Geronimo presenting Billy Aaron, wife of Hank Aaron, the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Hank Aaron.
I have been a baseball fan as long as I can remember. A Red Sox fan specifically. Growing up outside of Boston, it was hard not to get swept up in the fever. Being in my mid-30s, most of my early childhood was met with sports heartbreak. Back then the “Curse of the Bambino” was alive and well and the Red Sox were the lovable losers. But that didn’t stop me from spending my much of my summers during my early teenage years hanging outside Fenway Park for hours waiting for my idols, the MLB greats, to arrive at the ballpark. Along with a group of regulars (generally older and there for different reasons), I would wait for both the visiting team and the Sox players to arrive, hoping to coax them into signing a baseball or card. And if I was lucky and had tickets, I would rush into the stadium during batting practice to do the same thing.
As my collecting progressed, my collection became more and more sophisticated and I began to spend more time learning about the history of baseball. I added autographs from legends such as Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle (even as a Red Sox fan), Willie Mays, and yes, even Hank Aaron. Aaron was known for holding the Career Home Run Record of 755 until Bonds broke it in 2007. But beyond his storied career, as I got older I learned about Aaron’s contributions to the community, particularly the city of of Atlanta, where the Braves play.
Having spent my college years at Emory University in Atlanta, these contributions had added significance to me. So when Oris invited me to Atlanta for the first time in 14 years, I jumped at the chance. Oris invited a group of press and retail partners to Atlanta to celebrate the Braves’ Hank Aaron Week, and to launch a special new watch designed to honor him, the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Hank Aaron.
Now, if you were to pick a brand to honor the late Hank Aaron, I would argue that Oris is the natural choice. The team behind Oris North America, including North American CEO V.J. Geronimo, have lifelong love for baseball much like I do. This has not only been displayed through billboards throughout MLB stadiums, but through the relationship the brand has built with Yankees Manager Aaron Boone (indeed, you likely have seen Boone wearing a number of different Oris models in the dugout, on the field, or during press conferences), and in the way the brand has honored other baseball greats, including Roberto Clemente. The Roberto Clemente Oris Big Crown is limited to just 3,000 pieces (in honor of Clemente’s 3,000 hits), and is also given to each year’s winner of the Roberto Clemente Award, which according to Major League Baseball, is “bestowed annually to the player who best represents the game of Baseball through extraordinary character, community involvement, philanthropy and positive contributions, both on and off the field.”
Beyond Oris’ involvement in baseball, Oris as a brand gives back more than almost any other watch brand, which we have written about extensively. Oris can boast that the company is carbon neutral, they have organized cleanups of the New York Harbor, and have built many watches that support great causes, including restoring coral reefs and stopping forest fires.
So when Oris let me know they were honoring Hank Aaron and supporting his charity, I knew that it was something I wanted to be a part of. They brought press down to Atlanta to celebrate Hank Aaron’s life and unveil the new Oris Big Crown Hank Aaron. But that was only the start. While we got to go on field to watch the Atlanta Braves’ batting practice and enjoy the Braves take on the Milwaukee Brewers, it was meeting Allan Tanenbaum, Aaron’s longtime lawyer, friend and Secretary of Hank Aaron Chasing the Dream Foundation speaks, and hearing Billye Aaron, Hank Aaron’s wife, recount Hank’s life that was so interesting and inspiring.
From left: Ben Ingram, Billye Aaron, V.J. Geronimo, Andruw Jones and Brian Snitker.
It also made me think about how Oris takes careful consideration into their collaboration and special edition watches. Through their collaborations, Oris clearly wants to make the world a better place, even if just a little. Well all know about their watches aimed at helping the environment. And the Hank Aaron watch is for just as good a cause, only on a human level. A portion of the proceeds of each sale of the Oris Hank Aaron will go to Aaron’s Chasing the Dream Foundation which helps underprivileged youths, including through scholarship programs.
At the end of the day, a watch is a watch. And in our hobby, we spend a lot of time reviewing, arguing about, and contemplating expensive luxury products. So it is nice to see a brand that is not looking to find the splashiest collaboration partner but to make a positive impact with their collaborations. So many brands will collaborate with the most en trend celebrities or luxury brands. This might be successful from a PR standpoint, but in my view doesn’t have the power of what Oris is doing. Carefully chosen collaborations that not only fit the brand’s identity but promote good causes seem to be too rare in our industry. But Oris is one of the brand’s that doing it authentically and effectively. Perhaps we will see more brands follow Oris’ lead in the future.
You can learn more about the Oris Big Crown Pointer Date Hank Aaron and purchase one here.
