FCelebrating its 110th Anniversary (1904 -2014), Swiss watch brand Oris has launched Calibre 110, an in house developed 10-day power reserve movement with a non-linear power reserve indication.
Proudly reflecting the tradition of 110 years of movement manufacturing, its drives the brand’s latest timepiece, Oris 110 Years Limited Edition.
Oris Mechanical Movements
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.
Introduced 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.
Following the management buy-out, Dr Portmann and Herzog reintroduced the pointer calendar in 1982 and used it as the symbol of Oris’s revival.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
To mark its 110th anniversary, Oris unveils 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 in-house 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’ Hölstein factory by expert watchmakers, some of whom have worked with the brand for over 40 years.
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 know-how. The watch has been tested to ensure the power is delivered evenly throughout its 10-day cycle.
The Calibre 110 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.
Oris has taken a deliberately industrial approach to producing this unique movement. While Calibre 110’s edges are all hand-bevelled and hand-polished, the bridges’ large surfaces retain their untouched industrial beauty.
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.
Technical details
Model: Oris 110 Years Limited Edition (with Calibre 110)
Versions
01 110 7700 4081: Stainless steel, limited to 110 pieces
01 110 7700 6081: 18-ct Rose gold, 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
Case
Multi-piece case construction in 18-carat solid rose gold or in stainless steel with polished surfaces
Diameter: 43mm
Lug width: 23mm
Sapphire crystal top glass with antireflection coating inside
Sapphire crystal case back
Water-resistant to 3 bar
Dial
Opaline-silver colour dial with applied indices and numerals
Polished nickel hands
Strap
Dark brown Louisiana croco leather strap on rose gold version; black Louisiana croco leather strap on stainless steel version
Packaging
Luxurious wooden box with a metal insignia
Swiss Retail Price
Stainless steel version: CHF 5,500.00
18K rose gold version: CHF 14,800.00
