History of Oris Watches

In 1904, Paul Cattin and Georges Christian contracted with the local mayor in the Swiss town Hölstein and named the company Oris after a nearby brook.

Only a few years later, the men open an assembly plant and second plant in Holderbank. Oris was a successful watch factory by 1911, and was the largest employer in Hölstein with 300 employees. To sweeten the deal, they built houses and apartments for their workers. Oris was one of the first companies to create equal opportunities for both male and female watchmakers.

By 1929, the company expanded the number of factories it owned by five.

The factory in Hevetswil was the only electroplating factory Oris owned. The company began fitting bracelet buckles to its pocket watches, which transformed the piece into a wristwatch.

Georges Christian dies, and Jacques-David LeCourlre becomes President of the Board of Directors. Jacques-David LeCoultre, the grandson of Antoine LeCoultre, the man who merged with Edmond Jaeger to form Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1937. Oscar Herzog, George Christian’s brother-in-law, took over as the general manager of the company.

Oscar Herzog, as general manager, had the ambition to improve the quality of his company’s products, but ran into some trouble in 1934 when the Swiss government introduced the “Watch Statute.”

The “Watch Statue.”

This was a bit of legislation that prevented watch companies from introducing new technologies without permission. This law was created to protect and regulate the watch industry.

The Swiss “Watch Statute” prevents Oris from introducing new technology for over thirty years. In 1966, the statute was reversed, laying the foundation for Oris to unveil the Oris Calibre 652 just two years later. The watch uses a superior level escapement. J

Until that point, Oris had been using pin-lever escapement. This escapement was said to be less accurate than the level escapement used by some of Oris’s competitors. The timing of the statue was impeding, because Oris’s competitors had adopted the level of escapement in their watches before the law was passed.

In 1938, Oris introduces its first watch for pilots. The watch was identified by its big crown and calendar function. The watch became known as the oversized crown (Big Crown) watch, and it helped pilots wear gloves while trying to adjust their watches.

World War II marked a decline in distribution for the company. To keep moving forward, the company starts manufacturing alarm clocks. In 1949, the eight day power reserve model was launched.

During the war, Oris limited its production of alarm clocks to 200,000 a year.

In 1952, Oris launched the first automatic watch with a power reserve.

In 1965, the company’s General Manager Oscar Herzog hired a young lawyer named Dr. Rolf Portmann.

For the next 10 years, the attorney worked on reversing the “Watch Statue”, preventing Oris from using lever escapements in its watch movements. Thrilled, in 1966, he succeeds, earning his place in Swiss watch history. 

Oris launches a state-of-the-art diver’s watch. The watch was made with a unidirectional rotating bezel with timer scale, bold, luminescent numerals, and water resistance to 100m.

Fifty years later, the watch is re-released and one of the company’s best launces.

By the end of the 1960s, Oris was one of the 10 largest watch companies in the world. It produces 1.2 million watches and clocks each year. Oris has an apprenticeship program, training engineers and watchmakers each year, and develops its own tools and machinery to help produce the watches.

Oris Watch Characteristics

Value to Cost return:

Oris watches are not inexpensive, and with this being said, they have a significantly lower price tag compared to other Swiss luxury mechanical watches. The price point of Oris watches allows the average layperson to own luxury watches. on.

Oris is a symbol of innovation. Being one of the smaller Swiss watchmakers, they have focused on mechanical automation. The watches are complex. They assume a practical design in all their watches, and they don’t compromise functionality for sophistication.

Environmental Support

As Oris moves towards designs for the future, they partner with multiple philanthropic organizations to support environmental causes. Oris works with Coral Restoration Foundation, Reef Restoration Foundation, Whale and Dolphin Conservation and others.

Oris works regularly with the diving community, and the company is invested in the preservation of marine life and spaces.

Collaboration

Oris is independent and also collaborative. They partner with other individuals to create limited edition timepieces. Watches like the limited edition Carlos Coste Cenote series and their work with various sporting and arts organizations show their dedication to partnerships.

Some of Oris’s partners include nature photographers, and extreme athletes. Because these partners challenge traditional traditional perspectives on the natural world, it’s a perfect collaboration.

For example, the Roberto Clement Watch, part of the Big Crown Collection, was a collaboration with the Robert Clemente Foundation. The watch pays tribute to the hall of fame and his humanitarian work as his 3,000 hits in the Major League. Throughout the years, Oris has produced many other limited-edition timepieces to honor barrier-breaking athletes.

In House Movements

All Oris watches are mechanical and meet the standards that go into the legally protected “Swiss-Made” designation.

For most of its watches, Oris uses modular components and adds their own improvements. They developed a fully in-house movement and designed these movements independently, producing them with the aid of Swiss specialists.

In 1984, Oris reaffirmed its commitment to producing only mechanical watches for hard-working but refined timepieces. The symbol of Oris mechanical watches is the red rotor, a Oris trademark; culture, diving, aviation, and motor-sport. Oris watches are made for everyday wear at an exceptional value.

Diving Watches

All Oris diving watches feature,

Water resistance to at least 100m

Unidirectional rotating bezels that protect the diver from accidentally lengthening their dive time

Multiple potential configurations

Specialized clasp system that helps divers secure a perfect fit for their watch over a wetsuit. The Safety Anchor ensures that a diver won’t lose their watch.

Aviation Watches

Oris has been making pilot watches with the debut of the Big Crown in 1938.

The Oris Big Crown was re-released, and the popular configuration, the Big Crown Pointer Date, has a pointer that gives the date, slowly moving around the dial each month.

The watch includes a stainless steel case or a bronze one for a more vintage feel. The watch is water resistant to 50m.

The Big Crown Propilot is to a pilot what the diving watches are to the diver. Water-resistant to 100m, the watch comes in various configurations designed for today’s pilots.