Industry Watch manufacturing Website Oris.ch Revenue 51.9 million EUR (2012) | Products Wristwatches Headquarters Hölstein, Switzerland Type of business Privately held company | |
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Key people Ulrich W. Herzog, Managing Director Founded 1904, Hölstein, Switzerland Profiles | ||
Oris is a manufacturer of Swiss luxury wristwatches founded by Paul Cattin and Georges Christian at Hölstein in 1904. Though there are Oris-branded quartz watches from the 1980s, the company produces only mechanical watches today.
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History
The first branch of Oris was opened in 1906. Oris's first factory was run by only 24 workers. ORIS employed more than 300 people in Hölstein in 1911, they built houses and flats for the workers and became the largest employer in the area.
Shortly after the founder, George Christian, died in 1927 Oscar Herzog became the CEO of Oris, a position he held for the next 43 years.
Between 1946 and 1981, Oris owned ten buses which were used to transport up to 800 workers to its many factory locations. The original Oris factory founded in 1904 continuously expanded and by the 1960s Oris became one of the top ten largest watch producers in Switzerland.
Oris began producing the “famous Automatic Movement cal. 645 with 25-jewel lever escapement” in 1966. In 1991 the “complication movement cal. 581” was developed, with moon phase display, week day, date and a second time zone.
In 1968 Oris obtained full chronometer certification from the Neuchâtel Observatory for movement cal.652.
In 1996, Oris organized the: Oris London Jazz Festival; this was one of Oris’ first large sponsorship events.
In 1997, Oris produced the Oris Hong Kong Commemorative Watch, to commemorate Hong Kong’s handover to China. Oris produced a limited timepiece to represent the 100 years of watch production In 2004; only 1904 watches were produced to resemble the date that Oris was founded, each watch is individually numbered. In 2009 Oris launched a limited edition watch for Bob Dylan.
Marketing
In 2003 Oris signed an agreement to become the sole supplier of watches to the BMW Williams Formula One Team.
Collections
Oris' mechanical watches are divided into four subsections: Motor Sport, Aviation, Culture and Diving.
Some of Oris' higher quality watches are accurate to a hundredth of a second.
Oris released a 51 mm professional diver's watch in 2009.
Oris released a new 47mm Titan 'C' small seconds.