Oris was founded in 1904 in Holstein by two Le Locle watchmakers, Paul Cattin and Georges Christian. Business grew rapidly and by 1906 Oris had ten branches operating throughout Switzerland. In 1928, Georges Christian’s brother in law took over the running of the company, and developed the brand hugely over the next 43 years. Oris managed to ride and survive the hard times of the so called quartz crisis where its creativity was stifled by being forced to manufacture low priced quartz watches. Following a management buyout in 1982, by 1984, Oris had made the bold and strategic decision to become the global leader in mechanical watches with special movements at competitive prices. Today, Oris makes excellent mechanical watches with an extensive and highly regarded range of aviation, motor racing and diver’s watches. Interestingly, the brand has also produced a cultural series including limited edition watches in tribute to jazz greats John Coltrane, Oscar Peterson, and Chet Baker as well as Greenwich Village troubadour Bob Dylan.