Victorinox
Victorinox Airboss 43 mm Silvered 18k
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Victorinox · Airboss
Victorinox Airboss 43 mm Silvered 18k
Reference 78858OR.83
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Victorinox
- Collection
- Airboss
- Model
- Victorinox Airboss 43 mm Silvered 18k
- Reference number
- 78858OR.83
- Year / era
- 1975 · 1970s — quartz-crisis era
- Complication
- Minute repeater
- Movement
- Automatic Powermatic 80
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Dial type
- Silvered opaline
- Strap / bracelet
- White rubber velcro strap
- Water resistance
- 500 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 43 mm
- Case thickness
- 8.1 mm
- Case material
- 18k rose gold
- Bezel
- Fluted 18k gold
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Silvered opaline
- Hands
- Faceted dauphine hands, polished by hand
- Indexes
- Printed minute track with applied batons
- Bracelet / strap
- White rubber velcro strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 500 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 57A — Automatic Powermatic 80
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 5 days
- Number of jewels
- 33 jewels
- Complications
- Minute repeater
- Functions
- Perpetual calendar, leap year
- Watchmaker
- Finishing, assembly and timing are carried out in the manufacture's own atelier.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1975 – 1984
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Values have stabilised after the 2022 correction; condition and box-and-papers drive the premium.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Victorinox Airboss 43 mm Silvered 18k sits within Victorinox's Airboss line, introduced in 1975. It carries the house codes established since 1884 — 18k rose gold case, silvered opaline dial and automatic powermatic 80 — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
The House
Victorinox
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1884
- Founder
- Karl Elsener
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Affordable & Tool Watches
- Major collections
- I.N.O.X., Maverick, Fieldforce, Airboss, Journey
- Signature technologies
- Shock-absorbing movement mounting · Anti-magnetic silicon escapement · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing
- Famous movements
- Automatic Powermatic 80 · Automatic COSC chronometer · Quartz · Automatic, 38-hour reserve
- Notable watches
- Victorinox I.N.O.X. 38 mm Blue 18k (1956) · Victorinox I.N.O.X. 36 mm Green Carbon (1973) · Victorinox I.N.O.X. 38 mm Skeletonised Grade (1976) · Victorinox I.N.O.X. 38 mm Slate Quartz (1994)
Brand history
Victorinox has spent more than 142 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's I.N.O.X., the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Karl Elsener established Victorinox in 1884, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Victorinox calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1884
Karl Elsener founds Victorinox in Switzerland.
1899
Victorinox earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Victorinox to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Victorinox enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Victorinox continues to produce I.N.O.X., Maverick, Fieldforce and other icons in limited numbers.