EN_PR_Calibre 110_final

Press Release
Oris Calibre 110
Oris introduces a 10-day power reserve movement with a
non-linear power reserve indication to mark the company’s
110-year anniversary and 110 years of movement
manufacturing.
Since 1904
The Oris story begins in the quiet Swiss town of Hölstein in the
Jura Mountains, some 110 years ago. Two watchmakers, Paul
Cattin and Georges Christian, arrived in the town looking to set
up their own watch company. They purchased a recently closed
watch factory and called it Oris, a name they took from a
neighbouring stream.
A photo taken in 1953 of the Oris factory in
Hölstein, where the company has been
based since 1904.
Their dream was to produce the best possible watches at the
best possible price. They employed talented watchmakers and
skilled craftsmen, and adopted industrial processes in order to
deliver their vision. They wanted to pioneer and innovate, to
create reliable timepieces that would bring many years of
pleasure.
The company grew fast, quickly establishing a reputation for
producing watches that delivered exceptional quality and value.
By 1910 Oris employed 300 people, and by 1936 it had factories
in Holderbank, Como, Courgenay, Ziefen, Herbertswil and
Bienne to accommodate its rapid expansion. Oris built houses
for its employees and ran bus services into work to transport
those who lived as far away as Basel, 25km to the north.
An advert for an Oris alarm clock, published
in 1942.
From the outset, Cattin and Christian made it their mission to
master the many complex manufacturing stages of the
watchmaking process, and to make Oris a company capable of
developing its own pocket watch movements.
A new Chapter
In the late 1920s, the company was bought by a group of
investors after the last of the two founders died. It was led by
Jacques-David LeCoultre, Antoine LeCoultre’s grandson and the
man who merged with Edmond Jaeger to form Jaeger-LeCoultre
in 1937.
The Malleray factory in 1945. Oris opened a
number of facilities in the first half of the
century to cater for its rapid growth.
By the time war broke out in Europe, Oris had established itself
as one of the leaders in quality Swiss timepieces. During the war,
with its distribution network stymied, Oris turned to producing
clocks, which led to the ground-breaking 8-day power reserve
model launched in 1949. At that stage, the company produced
more than 200,000 watches and clocks a year.
The post-war Boom
After the war, the company continued on an upward curve. By
1970, it was one of the world’s 10 largest watch companies,
employing more than 800 people and producing 1.2 million
watches and clocks a year. The continous development of new
Media Contact: Oris SA, CH-4434 Hölstein, Switzerland, phone + 41 61 956 11 11, mail [email protected]
Downloads: www.oris.ch , click Press
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March 2014
Press Release
manufacture movements
development.
was
key
for
the
company’s
That same year, Oris was sold to the General Watch Company,
a subsidiary of ASUAG Group, which would eventually become
the Swatch Group. But the boom was not to last as the Quartz
Crisis kicked in, almost killing off the traditional Swiss watch
industry. The influx of cheap quartz watches from the Far East
decimated the global mechanical watch market.
As a movement manufacturer Oris
developed its own highly complex
machines. The transfer machine shown
above allowed most efficient production of
movement plates. (Photo taken in 1970)
.
The Rescue Mission
As the crisis deepened during the 1970s, an estimated 900
Swiss watchmaking companies went bankrupt, and two thirds of
the work force were laid off. Oris was greatly affected by the
downturn, but continued to pursue its vision, despite the
circumstances. In 1982, the company’s General Manager Dr Rolf
Portmann and Head of Marketing Ulrich W. Herzog staged a
management buy-out and broke away from the group, and Oris
Watch Co SA became Oris SA. Although to the outside world
nothing had changed, Oris was now an independent company
free to plot its own course into the future.
Portmann and Herzog were entrepreneurs and set about
revitalising their company. Herzog travelled the world observing
emerging trends and discovered that in influential markets like
Japan mechanical watches were resurgent. He convinced his
colleagues to drop the quartz strategy that had been forced upon
the company by the group, and within a few years Oris has made
its last quartz watch, focussing instead on mechanical
innovations.
Ulrich W. Herzog (left) and Dr Rolf
Portmann, shortly after they staged a
management buy-out in 1982. Oris has
been an independent company ever since.
A Watch Company Reborn
Today, over 30 years since the buyout, Oris is thriving. Dr
Portmann remains as Honorary Chairman, and the company is
run by Herzog, now Executive Chairman. Oris is fully
independent and one of the few Swiss watch companies that
only makes mechanical watches, and the only one that places
such a strong emphasis on presenting consumers with a product
that offers genuine value.
Oris is recognised by the Red Rotor, which symbolises a passion
for traditional watchmaking, and is universally acknowledged for
its commitment to producing quality mechanical watches at
sensible prices.
The brand strapline is real watches for real people, which serves
as a mantra to the designers and watchmakers who work in the
same Hölstein factory where the company was first established
110 years ago.
Media Contact: Oris SA, CH-4434 Hölstein, Switzerland, phone + 41 61 956 11 11, mail [email protected]
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March 2014
Press Release
A History of Mechanical Innovation
Throughout its 110-year history Oris has pioneered mechanical
movement innovations. Between 1904 and 1981, the company
developed 229 in-house calibres.
In 1938, Oris developed Calibre 373, the pointer calendar, which
became a signature for the company. In 1982, following the
management buy-out, Dr Portmann and Herzog reintroduced the
pointer calendar and used it as the symbol of Oris’s revival.
A 1938 Oris Pointer Date, powered by Oris
Calibre 373.
In 1968, Calibre 652 became the first pin-lever escapement
movement to be certified by the prestigious Observatoire
Astronomique et Chronométrique in Neuchâtel. Two years later,
in 1970, Oris produced its first chronograph, the hand-wound
Calibre 725.
In 1982, Oris decided to cease development of its own calibres,
and to focus instead on module development. These modules
were designed and developed in-house, while assembly was
outsourced to third parties like ETA and later to Sellita, ensuring
the Oris philosophy, a constant since 1904, was preserved.
A series of groundbreaking module developments began in 1988
with Calibre 418. It featured a mechanical alarm with a pure,
sonorous tone that took months of painstaking development to
perfect.
The Oris quality control department in the
early 1980s. All movement and module
parts were checked before assembly
started.
Oris followed this in 1993 with a range of upgraded movements
with in-house developed features, including small seconds, date
windows and a pointer date. In 1995, Oris took another step
forward by producing its first regulator movement, Calibre 649.
One of Oris’s most ambitious movements was Calibre 581, a
complication that first appeared in 1996. It had subdials for
pointer day, pointer date and second time zone indications, plus
a moonphase and a central seconds hand. In 1999 came the first
Pointer Day, Calibre 645.
Going backwards to change the World
Then in 1997, Oris developed Calibre 690, a worldtimer based
on ETA 2836-2. Oris’s in-house module was a revolution, never
seen before in the watch industry. It allowed the wearer to adjust
local time in one-hour jumps, using plus and minus push buttons
on the side of the case. More than that, it could also adjust the
date backwards if the time zone adjustment took the wearer back
a day. This function has been imitated since by other brands, but
Oris was first.
In 1997, Oris developed a Worldtimer that
became the world’s first watch capable of
adjusting local time using plus and minus
push buttons.
A Tradition Revived
After Calibre 690, Oris turned its attention to case designs and
material innovations. Then in 2009, after a steady stream of
technical innovations, Oris introduced its first 24-hour pilot’s
watch, powered by Calibre 653, which had a 24-hour dial. A year
later, Oris presented its first retrograde date, Calibre 735.
Media Contact: Oris SA, CH-4434 Hölstein, Switzerland, phone + 41 61 956 11 11, mail [email protected]
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March 2014
Press Release
In 2013, Oris moved the game on again with the launch of
Calibre 761, known as the Pointer Moon. It became the world’s
first mechanical watch capable of showing both the lunar cycle
and the tidal range, essential indications for divers.
Oris Calibre 110 – A World first Combination
In its 110-year history Oris has proved time and again that it is
one of the world’s most innovative watch brands. It was the
founding partners’ dream to produce high-quality watches at an
excellent value for the money, and that spirit continues to inspire
and motivate the company today. Not only that, but Oris has
always maintained a tradition of developing useful watches with
functions that serve a practical benefit for their owners.
Oris Calibre 110 was developed in-house
and produced in partnership with Swiss
specialists. It has a pure, industrial look, in
keeping with Oris’s watchmaking
philosophy.
To mark its 110th anniversary, Oris is proud to announce Oris
Calibre 110, the first mechanical movement developed from the
ground up by Oris for 35 years. A hand-wound calibre, it features
a 10-day power reserve and a patented non-linear power reserve
indication.
These two complications have never come together before.
Uniting them provided an exceptional challenge for Oris’s inhouse team of watchmakers and designers, who worked with
Swiss technical specialists and with L’École Téchnique Le Locle
on the project over a period of 10 years.
The result is a milestone in mechanical watchmaking. It has
been achieved using a combination of industrial techniques and
engineering. Each calibre will be hand-assembled and tested in
Oris’s Hölstein factory by our expert watchmakers, some of
whom have worked with us for over 40 years.
A unique gear train enables the display of
the Oris patented non-linear power reserve
indication
The Oris patented non-linear power reserve
indication at 3 o’clock indicates the amount
of power remaining in the barrel from 10
days down to zero.
One Barrel, but more than one Idea
Unlike many movements with comparable power reserves, Oris
Calibre 110 uses a single-barrelled system. Inside this barrel is a
mainspring that would stretch to 1.8 metres if unravelled.
Reducing this in size so it fits into a single barrel, without making
the calibre over-sized, demonstrates exceptional technical knowhow. The watch has been tested to ensure the power is
delivered evenly throughout its 10-day cycle.
But for Oris, a 10-day power reserve in itself was not enough,
which is why Calibre 110 also has an Oris-patented non-linear
power reserve indication. The display at 3 o’clock on the dial
indicates the amount of power remaining in the barrel from 10
days down to zero. At the top of the scale, the notches
representing the days are close together; at the bottom they are
further apart. As the power is released, the hand moves
clockwise around the scale, slowly at first, and then more quickly
as the notches become more spread out. This gives the wearer a
far clearer indication of how much power is left in the watch as
the moment to wind it approaches.
Media Contact: Oris SA, CH-4434 Hölstein, Switzerland, phone + 41 61 956 11 11, mail [email protected]
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March 2014
Press Release
An Industrial Solution to a fine Watchmaking Problem
Oris has taken a deliberately industrial approach to producing
this unique movement. While Calibre 110’s edges are all handbevelled and hand-polished, the bridges’ large surfaces retain
their untouched industrial beauty. Calibre 110 is a finewatchmaking movement produced using honest, industrial
principles, and fits with the Oris philosophy of making sensibly
priced luxury Swiss watches.
More than that, it demonstrates Oris’s exceptional know-how and
horological ambition, both of which are the fruit of 110 years of
mechanical watchmaking experience.
The new Oris 110 Years Limited Edition in
stainless steel, powered by Calibre 110.
The dial has a non-linear power reserve
indication. This is the first time this
complication has been paired with a 10-day
power reserve.
The Calibre 110 will appear in a new watch, the Oris 110 Years
Limited Edition, from CHF 5,500 in steel, and CHF 14,800 in
solid 18-carat rose gold. There will be 110 pieces in 18 carat
rose gold and 110 pieces in stainless steel. These will be
delivered in April, 2014.
Technical Specifications
Oris 110 Years Limited Edition
Ref. No. 01 110 7700 4081 (SS), Ø 43.00mm
Ref. No. 01 110 7700 6081 (18-ct RG), Ø 43.00mm
Each model limited to 110 pieces
Movement
• Calibre 110, first movement fully developed by Oris for 35 years
• Hand-wound, 3hz, 21,600vph, single barrel
• 34mm diameter
• 10-day power reserve, patented non-linear power reserve indication at 3
o’clock and small seconds at 9 o’clock
• 177 parts, including 40 Jewels
• Bridges feature edges polished and bevelled by hand
The new Oris 110 Years Limited Edition in
solid 18 carat rose gold, powered by
Calibre 110. The dial has a non-linear
power reserve indication. This is the first
time this complication has been paired with
a 10-day power reserve.
Case
• Multi-piece case construction in 18-carat solid rose gold or in stainless steel
with polished surfaces. Water-resistant to 3 bar
• Sapphire crystal top glass with antireflection coating inside
• sapphire crystal case back
• Opaline-silver colour dial with applied indices and numerals
• Polished nickel hands
• Dark brown Louisiana croco leather strap on rose gold version; black
Louisiana croco leather strap on stainless steel version
• Luxurious wooden box with a metal insignia
• Swiss Retail Price CHF 5,500.00 (SS), CHF 14,800.00 (18-ct RG)
Media Contact: Oris SA, CH-4434 Hölstein, Switzerland, phone + 41 61 956 11 11, mail [email protected]
Downloads: www.oris.ch , click Press
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March 2014