Suisse · Fondation 1904
Oris
Oris is named after a brook near Hölstein and has made only mechanical watches since 1992.
Texte éditorial en anglais.
Oris is an independent Swiss maker of mechanical watches based in Hölstein, Basel-Landschaft, where it was founded in 1904. Known for the Aquis diver, the Big Crown pilot's watch and the Divers Sixty-Five, it mixes Sellita-based calibres with its own Calibre 400 family, with most watches priced between about 1,800 and 4,500 euros.
Histoire
Paul Cattin and Georges Christian, two entrepreneurs from Le Locle, took over the closed Lohner & Co factory in Hölstein and signed a contract with the village mayor on 1 June 1904. They named the business after the nearby Oris brook. Growth was quick: a second factory in Holderbank in 1906, more than 300 staff by 1911 and over one million watches produced by 1914. Oris built housing for its workers and added factories in Courgenay, Herbetswil and Ziefen, becoming Hölstein's largest employer.
Oris made its first wristwatch for pilots in 1917. After Christian's death in 1927, his brother-in-law Oscar Herzog ran the company for 43 years. The 1934 Watch Statute restricted new technology in the Swiss industry, and Oris, which used pin-lever escapements, campaigned for years through its lawyer Dr Rolf Portmann until the rules were relaxed and finally abolished in 1971. In 1938 Oris launched the Big Crown, whose oversized crown could be turned with gloved hands.
By the late 1960s Oris was among the largest Swiss watch companies, making about 1.2 million watches and clocks a year. The first Oris diver's watch appeared in 1965. In 1970 Oris joined ASUAG, a forerunner of the Swatch Group, and was pushed into quartz production; by 1981 it had stopped making its own movements. In 1982 Rolf Portmann and Ulrich W. Herzog, Oscar's son, bought the company in a management buyout and chose to focus on mechanical watches in the mid-price segment.
Oris has made only mechanical watches since 1992 and adopted the red rotor as a trademark in 2002. The Aquis diver followed in 2011. In 2014, for its 110th anniversary, Oris presented Calibre 110, its first in-house movement in 35 years, with a ten-day power reserve. Calibre 400 followed in 2020 with a five-day reserve, magnetic resistance and a ten-year warranty. Oris remains independent of the large groups and is still run from Hölstein.
Fondateurs
- Paul Cattin
- Co-founder
- Entrepreneur from Le Locle who co-founded Oris in Hölstein in 1904 by taking over the former Lohner & Co factory.
- Georges Christian
- Co-founder · ?–1927
- Co-founded Oris with Paul Cattin in 1904. After his death in 1927 his brother-in-law Oscar Herzog took over as general manager.
Dates clés
1904
Oris founded in Hölstein
Paul Cattin and Georges Christian sign their contract with Hölstein's mayor on 1 June 1904 and name the firm after the Oris brook.
1917
First pilot's wristwatch
Oris makes its first wristwatch designed for pilots, following a pilot's pocket watch of 1911.
1938
Big Crown
Oris launches the Big Crown with an oversized crown for gloved hands and a pointer-date hand.
1965
First Oris diver
Oris releases its first diver's watch, rated to 100 m; it returns in 2015 as the Divers Sixty-Five.
1970
Joins ASUAG
Oris gives up its independence and becomes part of ASUAG, predecessor of the Swatch Group.
1982
Management buyout
Rolf Portmann and Ulrich W. Herzog buy Oris back from ASUAG and make it independent again.
2011
Aquis diver
The Aquis launches as a 300 m diver's watch; it becomes the brand's main collection.
2014
Calibre 110
Oris presents Calibre 110, its first in-house movement in 35 years, with a ten-day power reserve.
2020
Calibre 400
The automatic Calibre 400 offers a 120-hour power reserve, high magnetic resistance and a ten-year warranty.
Trois choses que savent les collectionneurs
A watch every three seconds
At its early peak, with factories across several villages running at capacity, Oris claimed it could produce one watch every three seconds.
A lawyer fought the Watch Statute
Oris hired the young lawyer Dr Rolf Portmann in 1956; he spent his first ten years campaigning against the Watch Statute that kept Oris from adopting lever escapements, and later led the 1982 buyout.
A mechanical altimeter
The ProPilot Altimeter has a mechanical altimeter inside the case. Unscrewing a crown lets outside air in, and once the scale is set to a reference air pressure the watch shows the wearer's altitude.
Modèles emblématiques
- Aquis Date2011
300 m diver with ceramic-insert bezel; offered with Sellita-based and in-house Calibre 400 movements.
- Big Crown Pointer Date1938
Pilot's watch with oversized crown and a central hand pointing to the date on the dial edge.
- Divers Sixty-Five2015
Vintage-style revival of the first Oris diver's watch of 1965.
- ProPilot Altimeter2023
Pilot's watch with an integrated mechanical altimeter.
Questions
- Is Oris owned by the Swatch Group?
- No. Oris belonged to ASUAG, a Swatch Group predecessor, from 1970, but a management buyout in 1982 made it independent again, and it remains outside the Swatch, Richemont and LVMH groups.
- Does Oris make in-house movements?
- Partly. Most Oris watches use movements based on Sellita calibres, but since 2014 Oris has developed its own calibres, including Calibre 110 with a ten-day power reserve and the automatic Calibre 400 with 120 hours.
- Where are Oris watches made?
- In Switzerland. Oris has been based in Hölstein, Basel-Landschaft, since its founding in 1904, and its watches are Swiss Made.
- Why do Oris watches have a red rotor?
- The red rotor has been an Oris registered trademark since 2002. It is visible through the exhibition casebacks of most models and signals the brand's all-mechanical range.