Oris (watches)
"It's High Mech"
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| Private company | |
| Industry | Watch manufacturing |
| Founded | 1904 by Paul Cattin and Georges Christian |
| Headquarters | Hölstein, Switzerland |
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Key people
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Ulrich W. Herzog, Managing Director |
| Products | Wristwatches |
| Revenue |
 €51.9 million (2012) |
| Website | Oris.ch |
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.
The first branch of Oris was opened in 1906. Oris' first factory was run by 24 workers. Oris employed more than 300 people in Hölstein in 1911 who built houses and flats for the company's workers and became the largest employer in the area.
Shortly after, the founder George Christian died in 1927 and 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, 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, 1904 watches were produced to resemble the date that Oris was founded, each watch being individually numbered. In 2009, Oris launched a limited edition watch for Bob Dylan.
In 2003 Oris signed an agreement to become the sole supplier of watches to the BMW Williams Formula One Team.
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Wikipedia