Real Watches ORIS - Swiss Made Excellence

In today’s digital age, the old-world precision and craftsmanship of an Oris Swiss-made timepiece stands above the rest. Founded in 1904 by watchmakers Paul Cattin and Georges Christian in Hölstein, Switzerland, Oris Watches are renowned for their meticulous mechanical and automatic watch movements, which are still produced in-house at their Hölstein production facilities.

In fact every aspect of an Oris timepiece from the intricate movements inside… to the case, crystal and band on the outside is assembled at their Hölstein facilities, which has grown to make Oris one of the largest watch producers in Switzerland.

In 1966, Oris introduced it’s highly regarded Caliber 645 automatic movement, featuring a 25-jewel lever escapement that is still being used in many timepieces today. The brand’s Caliber 581 complication automatic movement was one of the first watch movements to offer moon phase display, date, day of the week and an independent second time zone as well. Introduced in 1991, the Caliber 581 is also being used today as well.

Although Oris is privately owned and operated today, it was briefly owned by ASUAG holdings during the 1970’s until 1982, a time when inexpensive quartz watches were introduced to disappointing results.

The 1982 buyout was led by Ulrich Herzog, who transitioned Oris into the global watch leader it is today.  The brand’s Jazz series timepieces introduced in 2000, featuring tributes to music legends Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Frank Sinatra, Thelonious Monk and Bob Dylan furthered the brand’s global recognition and prominence.

In addition to cultural timepieces, Oris also focuses on racing chronographs, aviation timepieces and diver’s watches. Oris has been the sole watch supplier to the BMW Formula One racing team since 2003. The brand’s Big Crown pilot watches are highly regarded and revered by pilots, while the Oris Prodiver model delivers water-resistance to 1,000 meters.

You’ll find many premium Oris timepieces for men and women at luxury retailer RealWatches.com, including the Limited Edition Williams F1 Team GMT Chronograph. This muscular and virile men’s racing watch features a lightweight, comfortable titanium case presented on a rugged rubber strap with engraved tire-tread detail and costly deployment clasp.

The skeleton exhibition caseback lets you see the intricate Swiss automatic movement inside. The left-facing crown and push-pieces add distinction. A tachymeter bezel surrounds the carbon fiber dial with three sub-dials, a GMT hand, luminous hands and hour markers.

Features include a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal above the dial, an automatic date calendar, small-second, 30-minute and 12-hour subdials. Chronograph is 45mm in diameter, 14mm thick and is water-resistant to 50 meters.