Oris has described its delight at the publication of ‘The Watch Book, Oris and the Watchmaking History of Switzerland.’
Authored by long-time friend of the brand and watch authority Gisbert L. Brunner, the book is filled with insights and imagery recalling the origins of Swiss watchmaking and Oris’s unique role in it.
It joins Gisbert’s best-selling series of books on watchmaking, which is among the most informative and well respected ever compiled.
Oris reflected: “It has been a great joy to work with him on telling our story.”
In the new book, which becomes the first coffee table book devoted to the Oris story, Mr Brunner explores Oris’s origins, sewn by two entrepreneurial Swiss watchmakers in 1904.
When Paul Cattin and Georges Christian arrived in Hölstein, there was precious little watchmaking culture in the village, but grew what would become a major player in the Swiss watch industry.
The book also tells the story of Dr Rolf Portmann, who joined the company in 1956 and would go on to lead the management buyout in 1982 with Ulrich W. Herzog.
Together, the pair shaped what Oris has become today: independent, sustainable and creating beautiful mechanical watches for today’s world citizen.
After Dr Portmann retired, Ulrich continued to follow their common vision. Today, Dr Portmann continues to serve as the company’s Honorary Chairman and Ulrich as its Chairman.
As Mr Brunner details, Oris remains in Hölstein today, creating exclusively mechanical watches.
He goes on to examine the revived Oris Movement Creation Programme, which has yielded more than 280 movements in almost 120 years, and which continues today with the Calibre 400 Series of high performance automatics.
Published by teNeues, it will be launched at a special event at Watches and Wonder in the presence of Ulrich, Gisbert and current Oris co chief executive Rolf Studer.
