Oris: The growth of a small giant
Oris has been producing mechanical watches since 1904 in the town of Hölstein in northwestern Switzerland, near Basel.
The brand has always followed a strategy of low prices and high quality, and so Oris has been able to fill the gap where they were left behind by other big names when they went for a fortune on top market segments. This has led to the growing international success for Oris, with a portfolio divided into four 'product segments', each with its own specific identity: Aviation, Sports, Diving and Culture.
By using specific materials (such as a tungsten bezel) and features based on these types, Oris ensures that the models perfectly match the world for which they are designed. But the heart of each timepiece contains a small, high-quality and high-tech innerwork, recognizable by the typical red rotor of the brand.
In 2014, the brand surprised everyone celebrating its 110th birthday with the presentation of the self-built caliber 110; a technically efficient manual winding clock. In 2015, the caliber 111 was added. These are special watches: In collaboration with the technicians of the technical academy at Le Locle, Oris developed a giant spring box with a spring of 1.8 meters. Due to extensive trials and numerous small adjustments, the settlement of this long spring has been optimized, giving a full ten-day running reserve that provides constant coupling. However, the power reserve indicator on the right side of the dial does not move smoothly due to the transmission ratio. Towards the end, the points on the scale are slightly different, to give a more realistic impression of the residual power.
In 2016, Oris added a third in-house caliber, this time with a GMT complication, which took place in an elegant Artelier for the first time.
Take a look at our selection of Oris watches below.
