1 June 1904
Oris is founded in Hölstein
Paul Cattin and Georges Christian buy the Lohner & Co. factory. The company is named
after the nearby brook. Industrially manufactured pocket watches.
1938
Big Crown Pointer Date · founding icon
Oris launches the Big Crown: oversize crown so a gloved pilot can adjust it
in flight, date indicated by a central hand (pointer date). It becomes the brand's
signature model for the next 85 years.
1934–1966
Statut Watch · 30 years of technical restriction
A Swiss law limits Oris to cylinder / pin-pallet escapements, not lever. It survives
as a maker of simple, cheap watches. When the law is repealed, Oris starts making more
complex calibres — but it arrives just before the quartz crisis.
1970
Absorbed by ASUAG
Loses independence. It joins the conglomerate that will become the Swatch Group. Its
identity is diluted within the group for 12 years.
1982
Management buyout · Oris becomes independent again
Dr. Rolf Portmann and Ulrich Herzog buy the company and separate it from ASUAG. Today
it is one of the last truly independent Swiss mid-sized brands — outside the
Swatch Group, Richemont and LVMH.
1992
Mechanical only · strategic decision
Oris eliminates all quartz production. In the middle of the dominant quartz era, it
bets that the mechanical niche will recover. The bet is correct — by 2000 the mechanical
market grows again.
2000s–2010s
Modified ETA / Sellita era
For two decades Oris buys ETA 2824, 2836, 2892 and Valjoux 7750 from the Swatch Group,
and later Sellita SW200, SW220, SW300 when Swatch cuts supply to outside clients. It
modifies them with its own oscillating weights ("wing" style), pointer date modules,
bridges decorated with signature blue lines.
2014
Calibre 110 · first modern manual in-house
To celebrate 110 years of the brand, Oris unveils the Calibre 110: manual-wind
with 10 days of reserve using a single extra-long-hairspring barrel + non-linear
power reserve indicator. Expensive limited edition (~USD 6,000). Not a mass product,
it is the technical proof.
2015–2019
110+ family · expansion of manual in-house calibres
The Calibre 111, 112 (GMT), 113 (full calendar), 114 (semaine + GMT), 115 (calendar
+ power reserve) come out. All manual, all limited, all in Hölstein Edition or Calibre 110
series watches. They serve to train the technical team.
October 2020
★ Calibre 400 debut · first mass in-house automatic
Oris unveils the Calibre 400 in the Aquis Date Calibre 400 (41.5 mm). New
automatic movement, 5 days of reserve with twin barrel, antimagnetic to
2,250 gauss, warranty and service every 10 years. Aquis price: ~USD 2,300 — the
same as the previous ETA version. Complete reset of the value proposition.
2021
Calibre 401 · sub-seconds variant
Variant of the 400 with a small seconds (sub-seconds) instead of the central
seconds hand. Used in Big Crown models and Hölstein Editions.
2022
Calibre 403 · pointer date + sub-seconds
Brings back the pointer date indication (central hand pointing to the day of
the month) — the visual DNA of the classic Big Crown — but now with an in-house
calibre. It is the transition of the legacy Big Crown into the 400 era.
2023
Calibre 473 · Big Crown ProPilot · pointer day
Variant of the 403 with a weekday-by-hand indicator. Used in the new
generation of Big Crown ProPilot. It represents the expansion of the 400+ towards
more useful complications.
2024 – 2026
Full expansion · 40+ active models with the 400 family
The 2026 catalogue includes Aquis Date, Aquis Pro, Big Crown Pointer
Date, Big Crown ProPilot Big Date, Big Crown ProPilot Big Day Date,
ProPilot X, annual Holstein Editions — all with calibres from the 400
family. Oris officially becomes a manufacture brand in its price range.