They bought the recently closed Lohner & Co watch factory, and on 1 June 1904 the two men entered into a contract with the local mayor.

[5] To entice more watchmakers, it built houses and apartments for its staff, and it expanded so that by 1929 it had additional factories in Courgenay (1916), Herbetswil (1925) and Ziefen (1925).

The company began to fit bracelet buckles to its pocket watches, thereby transforming them into fully-fledged wristwatches.

[7] In 1927, company co-founder Georges Christian died and Jacques-David LeCoultre became President of the Board of Directors.

At the time, Oris employed hundreds of people, making it too large to join the official cartel of Swiss manufacturers.

[14] During the Second World War, Oris’s distribution network beyond Switzerland was reduced significantly, due to decreased consumer demand as well as export and production limitations imposed by the government.

[20] The company developed its own tools and machinery, and even ran an apprenticeship scheme, training 40 engineers and watchmakers every year.

[24] In 1970, Oris gave up its independence and became part of Allgemeine Schweizer Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG), the predecessor of the Swatch Group.

[25] The management of the parent organization compelled Oris to manufacture quartz watches, in order to compete with the Japanese.

[16] Soon after, the newly formed and independent Oris SA elected to abandon quartz and produce mechanical timepieces in the mid-price segment.

[4] It also produces a very small series of luxury promotional watches under the 'Saros' brand at the request of large companies for very special occasions.

These watches made in Hölstein are only recognizable by the inscriptions on the back, the frame being fully dedicated to the subject of the promotion.

The brand remains one of the very few Swiss watch manufacturers independent from large groups such as Swatch, Richemont or LVMH.

[31] Since the turn of the millennium, the company has concentrated on watch market sectors of Diving, Culture, Aviation and Motor Sports.

[45] In 2020, Oris introduced the Calibre 400, an in-house movement which is anti-magnetic up to 2250 gauss, has a 5-day power reserve (120 hours), a recommended 10-year service interval and comes with a 10-year warranty.