Oris’ Origin

This attitude carries over from the brand’s original owners, who founded the company in Hölstein in 1904 and named it for a nearby brook. Within its first decade of existence, Oris grew by leaps and bounds, with new workshops opening in six cities and a vast expansion in production.

The brand quickly achieved the goal of becoming a totally integrated manufacture. And even as the next generation took over the business, the drive was always to innovate in watchmaking components, movements, and finished timepieces.

Making Its Mark

In 1938, Oris introduced its Big Crown line of pilot watches with a pointer calendar and oversized crown for adjusting the time while wearing aviation gloves. The instrument was an immediate success, and Oris quickly became known for its pilot’s watches. It also began winning awards for its watchmaking precis

ion, including an accuracy award for a pin lever escapement it developed.

Despite a few setbacks during the quartz crisis, Oris regained its momentum in the final decades of the 20^th century with new dive watches, chronometer-certified timepieces, and its Chronoris line of chronographs. So as the new millennium dawned, Oris was well-positioned for growth.

Oris Today

Under the current ownership (Co-CEOs Rolf Studer and Claudine Gertiser-Herzog), Oris also regularly leads by example on issues, such as sustainability, the environment, and humane causes. And its involvement in matters outside the realm of watchmaking will serve Oris well as consumers become increasingly concerned with companies’ environmental friendliness.

Its core lines run the gamut from dive watches, like its Aquis or ProDiver collections, to its line of aviation watches, including the Big Crown and ProPilot families.

Oris is so dedicated to quality that its most recently developed automatic movement, the Caliber 400, is backed with a 10-year warranty. The new movement, which offers a five-day power reserve, was created entirely in-house from concept to development.

Besides being anti-magnetic, the Caliber 400 is chocked full of high-performance systems, including an innovative winding and gear system, enhanced escapement, twin barrels, and more. Moreover, when transferring energy to the mainspring, Oris models powered by this caliber achieve 15 percent greater efficiency than most watches, and that is a significant achievement.

New Releases

This year, Oris is expanding its use of the Caliber 400 to more models. Plus, with releases like the Dat Watt Limited Edition and Whale Shark Limited Edition, the brand continues its support for noble causes while showcasing innovative dial designs and textures. Additionally, Oris wows with its Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy” series of bronze watches.

Photography by Watchonista Creative Studios.