Oris Watches

1904

Oris is founded by Paul Cattin and Georges Christian in the village of Hölstein, Switzerland, named after a nearby brook.

1906

The company opens a second factory in the nearby town of Holderbank.

1911

Oris are the largest employer in Hölstein, with over 300 workers. By 1925, Oris has six factories in total.

1925

Oris begins to fit bracelet buckles to its pocket watches, transforming them into wristwatches.

1928

Following the death of founder Georges Christian in 1927, Oscar Herzog, Christian's brother-in-law, takes over as General Manager and steers Oris through the many watchmaking highs and lows of the 20th century.

1936

Oris opens a dial factory in Biel/Bienne.

1938

Oris produce their own watch escapements, employing many highly skilled watchmakers. The company is one of the first employers to offer equal opportunities to both men and women.

1938

Oris introduces its first watch for pilots, which has a distinguishing big crown. The collection takes its name from the watch’s oversized crown, which was created to allow pilots to adjust while wearing leather gloves.

1945

Oris is awarded the first of over 200 distinctions for a pin-lever movement from the Bureau Officiel de Controle de la Marche des Montres in Le Locle.

1952

Oris launches its first automatic watch with a power reserve indicator, powered by the brand’s highly accurate Calibre 601 movement.

1965

Oris launches a diver’s watch with a unidirectional bezel, bold numerals and water resistance to 100m. Fifty years later, the watch is re-released; the Oris Divers Sixty Five Heritage, becoming one of the brand’s most loved watches.

1969

By the end of the 1960s, Oris is one of the 10 largest companies in the world. It employs 800 people across its factories, and produces 1.2 million watches and clocks a year.

1970

Oris launches the Chronoris, the company’s first chronograph. This is the first watch in Oris’s Motor Sport collection.

1991

Oris launches the highly successful Calibre 581 movement. At the time, it’s the company’s most complicated calibre, with a moon-phase module created by an in-house team of watchmakers.

1996

Oris partner with the London Jazz Festival, marking the beginning of a strong emotional connection between Oris and jazz.

2002

The Red Rotor becomes Oris’s registered trademark, symbolising Oris’s aim to produce Swiss Made mechanical watches with real-world functions at accessible prices.

2003

Oris launches the Artelier collection, a range of classic and elegant dress watches.

2003

Oris partners with the Williams Formula 1 team.

2006

Oris partners with record-breaking freediver Carlos Coste, in the same year he breaks the world record for descending to a depth of 140m and returning to the surface on a single breath.

2009

Oris works with ambassador and diver Roman Frischknecht to develop the ProDiver, a diver’s watch featuring the patented Rotation Safety System. This is a unidirectional rotating bezel that can be locked into place, preventing mistakes under water.

2010

Oris partners with the Australian Marine Conservation Society to help protect and preserve the Great Barrier Reef.

2013

More than 75 years after Oris made its first pilot’s watch, it announces the launch of the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, the world’s first automatic mechanical watch with a mechanical altimeter.

2015

Oris launches the Williams Formula 1 collection, in honour of its long-standing partnership with the Williams Racing Team.