1904
Oris is founded by Paul Cattin and Georges Christian in the Swiss town of Hölstein.
1925
Oris begins to fit bracelet buckles to its pocket watches, thereby transforming them into fully-fledged wristwatches.
1938
Oris begins producing its own watch escapements. The company employs many highly skilled watchmakers, becoming 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 and a Pointer Calendar function.
1952
Oris launches its first automatic watch with a power reserve indicator. It’s powered by Oris’s highly accurate Calibre 601.
1965
Oris launches a state-of-the-art diver’s watch with a unidirectional rotating bezel with timer scale, bold, luminescent numerals, and water resistance to 100m. The watch will be re-released 50 years later, becoming one of the company’s most successful launches.
1967
Oris unveils Calibre 652 (which uses a superior lever escapement). It is awarded full chronometer certification – the highest distinction for accuracy – by the Observatoire Astronomique et Chronométrique.
1970
Oris launches the Chronoris, the company’s first and now iconic chronograph. It’s also the first watch in Oris’s Motor Sport collection. The Chronoris is relaunched 35 years later in 2005.
1991
Oris’s decision to produce only mechanical watches is vindicated in 1991 with the launch of the highly successful Calibre 581. At the time, it becomes the company’s most complicated calibre, with a moon-phase module developed by an in-house team of watchmakers.
1996
The Oris London Jazz Festival becomes the company’s first major partnership and marks the beginning of a strong emotional connection between Oris and jazz. The company celebrates with the launch of its first jazz watch, a piece named after British saxophonist Andy Sheppard.
1997
Oris launches its pioneering Worldtimer, a watch housing a patented function that means local time can be adjusted forwards or backwards in one-hour jumps via buttons on either side of the case.
2002
In 2002, the Red Rotor becomes Oris’s registered trademark. It symbolises Oris’s philosophy: to produce high-quality, Swiss Made mechanical watches with real-world functions at accessible prices.
2003
Oris introduces the Artelier collection, a series of classic, elegant timepieces, many of which carry innovative, high-functioning calibres developed by the company’s in-house watchmakers.
2004
For its centenary, Oris launches the Oris Centennial Set 1904 Limited Edition. It includes an Artelier Worldtimer in stainless steel and an eight-day clock, one of the company’s most iconic historic designs.
2006
Oris signs a partnership with record-breaking freediver Carlos Coste in the same year he breaks the world record in the variable weight category, descending to a depth of 140 metres and returning to the surface on a single breath.
2010
Oris partners with the Australian Marine Conservation Society to help protect and preserve the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system. Oris launches a limited edition diver’s watch, called the Oris Great Barrier Reef Limited Edition, to raise awareness for one of the world’s most respected and effective marine conservation charities.
2012
The Oris Artix GT Chronograph features the Oris-developed retrograde small seconds counter. Inspired by the rev counter on a modern race car, it fills with red over the course of 60 seconds.
2013
Oris’s patented Aquis Depth Gauge solves the challenge of getting a depth gauge into a mechanical watch. It allows water into a channel via a small hole at 12 o’clock – water enters under pressure, creating a watermark that corresponds to a depth gauge.
2013
The Oris ProDiver Pointer Moon becomes the world’s first mechanical watch to indicate both the lunar cycle and the tidal range. The function is developed with commercial diver Roman Frischknecht and powered by the new Oris Calibre 761.
2014
Oris celebrates 110 years of watchmaking with its first in-house-developed calibre for 35 years. Calibre 110 is a hand-wound movement with a unique pairing of complications – a 10-day power reserve and a non-linear power reserve indicator.
2014
More than 75 years after Oris made its first pilot’s watch, it announces the launch of the most innovative pilot’s watch in its history – the Oris Big Crown ProPilot Altimeter, the world’s first automatic mechanical watch with a mechanical altimeter.
2015
Oris introduces Calibre 111. In addition to the functions featured in Calibre 110, it also has a date function, creating another unique grouping of complications.
2016
Oris introduces its first bronze watch remembering the extraordinary life of Carl Brashear, the U.S. Navy’s first African American master diver.
2017
Oris unveils Artelier Calibre 113, the fourth in the company’s series of highly innovative, high-functioning watches powered by in-house developed movements.
2018
Oris announces the Big Crown ProPilot Calibre 114. The new movement combines a 10-day power reserve, Oris’s patented non-linear power reserve indicator, a date indication and, for the first time, a 24-hour second time zone with half-hour indication. No other mechanical watch in Swiss watchmaking combines these functions in a single watch.
2019
Oris introduces the milestone Big Crown ProPilot X Calibre 115. The watch features a skeletonised movement, a 10-day power reserve and the Oris-patented non-linear power reserve indicator. Its modern form stands as a symbol of Oris’s long-term commitment to mechanical watchmaking.
2020
Oris confirms its status as the creator and innovator of high-performance in-house calibres by introducing the automatic Calibre 400. Its exceptional levels of anti-magnetism, five-day power reserve and 10-year warranty set the new standard for mechanical Swiss watchmaking.
2020
Exciting news coming soon!
