Oris Popular Books

Oris Biography & Facts

Oris SA is a Swiss luxury manufacturer of mechanical watches. The company was founded in 1904 and is based in Hölstein in the canton of Basel-Landschaft. History Genesis and early growth Oris was founded by Paul Cattin and Georges Christian in the Swiss town of Hölstein. 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. They named their new watch company Oris after a nearby brook, and they began the industrial manufacture of pocket watches. In its founding year, Oris employed 67 people.In 1906, the firm opened an assembly plant and second factory in the nearby town of Holderbank. Another factory followed in Como in 1908. By 1911, Oris had become the largest employer in Hölstein, with over 300 workers. By 1914, Oris had produced over a million watches. 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). Once all plants were operating at capacity, Oris boasted it could create “one watch every three seconds.” The first Oris wristwatches With the opening of the Ziefen factory and the electroplating plant in Herbetswil, Oris expanded its product range. The company began to fit bracelet buckles to its pocket watches, thereby transforming them into fully-fledged wristwatches. Oris began its focus on the fledgling aviation industry. By 1911, a pocket watch was developed for pilots, and in 1917, Oris created its first pilot’s watch to be worn on the wrist.In 1927, company co-founder Georges Christian died and Jacques-David LeCoultre became President of the Board of Directors. Jacques-David LeCoultre was Antoine LeCoultre’s grandson and the man who merged with Edmond Jaeger to form Jaeger-LeCoultre in 1937. Following the death of Georges Christian a year earlier, Oscar Herzog, Christian's brother-in-law, took over as General Manager in 1928, a position he held for 43 years. The Swiss Watch Statute On 12 March 1934 the Swiss government introduced a law known as the Watch Statute, which was intended to protect and regulate the Swiss watch industry. The law authorized a “cartel”, made up of 2,241 designated member companies, 79% of which could have no more than 20 employees. At the time, Oris employed hundreds of people, making it too large to join the official cartel of Swiss manufacturers.The law prevented the large watch companies from introducing new technologies without permission. For Oris, the statute proved to be an obstacle because until that point, Oris had been using pin-lever escapement (Roskopf escapement) movements, which were claimed to be less accurate than the lever escapements used by some of Oris’s competitors.Despite continuing commercial success with pin-lever escapments, Oris took action against the Watch Statute, in order to enable the company to adopt the more accurate and durable lever escapement. In 1956 the company’s General Manager Oscar Herzog hired a young lawyer by the name of Dr Rolf Portmann who spent his first 10 years at the company campaigning to reverse the Watch Statute. Subsequently, the Watch Statute was gradually liberalised until it was abolished in 1971. Oris was then allowed to make Swiss lever escapement watches, its first being the automatic Calibre 645, followed shortly by the Calibre 652 movement, which was awarded full chronometer certification, the highest distinction for accuracy, by the Observatoire Astronomique et Chronométrique. War Years and Beyond In 1936, Oris opened its own dial factory in Biel/Bienne. By that time, the company produced almost every element of its watch and clock products in-house. Oris introduced its signature pilot’s watch in 1938, the so-called Big Crown. The collection takes its name from the watch’s oversized crown, employed as an aid to pilots who adjust their watches while wearing leather gloves. Variations on this watch are still produced today. 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. To keep business alive, the company started manufacturing alarm clocks. Throughout the War, production of alarm clocks overshadowed wristwatches.In 1948, Rolex's patent on the central-rotor automatic movement expired, making it possible for Oris to unveil an automatic movement of its own, including a power reserve display, which was quite rare at the time (1952). In 1956, the company used its expertise with clocks to inaugurate an alarm function on its Calibre 601 model wristwatch. The first Oris Diver was released in 1965, with large cardinal numbers highlighted by inverted lume wedges and using Oris' in-house movements calibre 654 and calibre 484. The original diver was recreated in 2015 with the Divers Sixty-Five, a vintage-inspired collection of dive watches. The Quartz Crisis By the end of the 1960s, 44 per cent of all watches sold worldwide originated in Switzerland. Oris employed 800 people across a network of factories in Hölstein and beyond, and produced 1.2 million watches and clocks a year, making it one of the 10 largest watch companies in the world. The company developed its own tools and machinery, and even ran an apprenticeship scheme, training 40 engineers and watchmakers every year.On 25 December 1969, Seiko unveiled the Astron, the world's first quartz watch, which marked the beginning of the quartz revolution. The first Swiss quartz analog watch – the Ebauches SA Beta 21 – arrived at the 1970 Basel Fair. The Beta 21 was released by numerous manufacturers including the Omega Electroquartz. On 6 May 1970, Hamilton introduced the Pulsar – the world's first electronic digital watch. In the 1970s and early 1980s, quartz watches from Asia gained massive market share. The so-called ‘Quartz Crisis’ meant the end for around 900 watch companies in Switzerland and unemployment for two thirds of watch industry employees. Swiss manufacturers’ market share fell to 13 per cent worldwide.In 1970, Oris gave up its independence and became part of Allgemeine Schweizer Uhrenindustrie AG (ASUAG), the predecessor of the Swatch Group. The management of the parent organization compelled Oris to manufacture quartz watches, in order to compete with the Japanese. However, this did not restore success. In the early 1980s, Oris employed only a few dozen people. In 1981, the production of its own movements was abandoned. Independence Like many other Swiss watch manufacturers in the early 1980s, Oris was on the verge of closure. Managing Director Dr Rolf Portmann – who was instrumental in the reversal of the Watch Statute – and Head of Marketing Ulrich W. Herzog took over the remainder of the company in 1982 as part of a management buyout. This turned Oris back into an independent company. Soon after, the newly formed and independent .... Discover the Oris popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Oris books.

Best Seller Oris Books of 2024

  • Silencing Eve synopsis, comments

    Silencing Eve

    Iris Johansen

    Silencing Eve is a New York Times bestselling Eve Duncan novel from beloved thriller author Iris Johansen. When it comes to Eve Duncan, never say never ..."Iris Johansen expertly r...

  • Insidious synopsis, comments

    Insidious

    Catherine Coulter

    In this thrilling entry in #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter’s FBI series, FBI agents Savich and Sherlock must discover who is trying to murder Venus Rasmussen...

  • Bonnie synopsis, comments

    Bonnie

    Iris Johansen

    The truth has eluded her for years…Now, is she ready to face it? The #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen has written an explosive conclusion to the trilogy that wi...

  • What the Dead Know synopsis, comments

    What the Dead Know

    Laura Lippman

    The New York Times bestselling author returns to the compelling terrain of Every Secret Thing and To the Power of Three with this indelible story of crime and vengeance in which th...

  • Deadlock synopsis, comments

    Deadlock

    Catherine Coulter

    This “intricate…extravagant thriller with a paranormal tinge” (Publishers Weekly)” by #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter finds Savich and Sherlock confronting t...

  • Wild Iris Ridge synopsis, comments

    Wild Iris Ridge

    RaeAnne Thayne

    Lucy Drake and Brendan Caine have only one thing in common… And it's likely to tear them apart. Because it was Brendan's late wife, Jessieand Lucy's best friendwho'd brought t...

  • Paradox synopsis, comments

    Paradox

    Catherine Coulter

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter delves into the mind of an escaped mental patient obsessed with revenge in this “eerie, unsettling, and breathlessly terrifyi...

  • Prisoner of Night synopsis, comments

    Prisoner of Night

    J.R. Ward

    From #1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward comes an unforgettable story of passion and vengeance in the Black Dagger Brotherhood world.When Ahmare’s brother is abducted, t...

  • Night and Day synopsis, comments

    Night and Day

    Iris Johansen

    Full of danger, intrigue and heart, Iris Johansen's New York Times bestseller, Night and Day, is a breathtaking, highenergy adventure that’s sure to keep readers riveted from the f...

  • Enigma synopsis, comments

    Enigma

    Catherine Coulter

    From New York Times bestselling author Catherine Coulter comes the heartstopping twentyfirst installment in the electrifying FBI Thriller series.After Agent Dillon Savich stops a c...

  • Chasing the Night synopsis, comments

    Chasing the Night

    Iris Johansen

    Bestselling author Iris Johansen creates another thrill ride, with the much anticipated return of Eve Duncan in Chasing the Night. A CIA agent's twoyearold child was stolen in th...

  • Gray Moon Rising synopsis, comments

    Gray Moon Rising

    SM Reine

    It's been almost a year since Rylie Gresham was bitten by a werewolf on Gray Mountain. Now something is beckoning her back to the place she was attacked, along with every other wer...

  • Run synopsis, comments

    Run

    Ann Patchett

    "Engaging, surprising, provocative and moving...a thoroughly intelligent book, an intimate domestic drama that nonetheless deals with big issues touching us all: religion, race, cl...

  • Eight Days to Live synopsis, comments

    Eight Days to Live

    Iris Johansen

    Numberone New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen delivers a thriller that will chill you to the core: Eve Duncan's adopted daughter Jane has been targeted by a mysterious ...

  • No Ordinary Love synopsis, comments

    No Ordinary Love

    Ann Christopher

    She wants a husband and kids. A billionaire international player? Absolutely not… Sexy French billionaire JeanBaptiste Mercier avoids emotional attachments by giving his model or a...

  • Sleep No More synopsis, comments

    Sleep No More

    Iris Johansen

    From the #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen comes Sleep No More, the next thriller that will have Eve Duncan questioning everything she thought she knew about her f...

  • Iris synopsis, comments

    Iris

    Chris Keniston

    Ready for a fresh start, Iris Colby leaves behind her big city job and heads to her family’s lakeside sanctuary. She’s looking for a change, but fate has something else in mindnew...

  • The Sixth Day synopsis, comments

    The Sixth Day

    Catherine Coulter

    Special agents Nicholas Drummond and Michaela Caine take on a criminal mastermind in the next captivating thriller in the New York Times bestselling A Brit in the FBI series. “Coul...

  • Taking Eve synopsis, comments

    Taking Eve

    Iris Johansen

    "Filled with intriguing twists and characters and an overarching mystery that will keep fans coming back."Kirkus Reviews In this New York Times bestselling thriller from Iris Johan...

  • Dark Union synopsis, comments

    Dark Union

    SM Reine

    Every fifty years, the most powerful ethereal and infernal beings convene on Earth to resolve conflicts with mediation by kopideshumans born to police relations between Heaven and ...

  • The Last Second synopsis, comments

    The Last Second

    Catherine Coulter

    The New York Times bestselling Brit in the FBI series continues with this thrilling “popcorn movie in print form” (Associated Press) pitting special agents Nicholas Drummond and Mi...

  • Deadly Pursuit synopsis, comments

    Deadly Pursuit

    Ann Christopher

    A drug kingpin’s vicious crimes spark a DEADLY chain of events... DEA Special Agent Jackson Parker does what it takes to keep vermin off the streets and our kids safe from drugs. B...

  • Six Moon Summer synopsis, comments

    Six Moon Summer

    SM Reine

    Rylie's been bitten. She's changing. And now she has three months to find a cure before becoming a werewolf... forever.Rylie Gresham hates everything about summer camp: the food, t...

  • Sinful Seduction synopsis, comments

    Sinful Seduction

    Ann Christopher

    A guiltridden soldier. His fallen brother’s former fiancee. An undeniable passion… The Davies Family Power. Secrets. Seduction. Just home from the war, billionaire former soldier...

  • Yellow Iris synopsis, comments

    Yellow Iris

    Agatha Christie

    An alarming telephone call, in which the phrases “it’s life and death” and “the table with the yellow irises” are whispered, causes Hercule Poirot to rush to the luxuriant restaura...

  • Where Winter Finds You synopsis, comments

    Where Winter Finds You

    J.R. Ward

    #1 New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward is heating things up this winter with a holiday novel featuring some of her most iconic Black Dagger Brothers.When Trez lost his belo...

  • Hide Away synopsis, comments

    Hide Away

    Iris Johansen

    A New York Times bestseller, Hide Away is an explosive Eve Duncan novel from Iris JohansenDARK SECRETS Worldfamous forensic sculptor Eve Duncan has landed in a wellguarded hospita...

  • Labyrinth synopsis, comments

    Labyrinth

    Catherine Coulter

    From “one of the bonafide rock stars of the thriller genre” (The Real Book Spy) comes another tour de force in the #1 New York Times bestselling FBI Thriller series following agent...

  • Eve synopsis, comments

    Eve

    Iris Johansen

    The #1 bestselling author Iris Johansen delivers the first in a trilogy that will begin to answer questions that have haunted her legion of fans for over a decade, in her next nove...

  • Long Night Moon synopsis, comments

    Long Night Moon

    SM Reine

    Something is killing innocent people around Rylie Gresham's town. The police think it's a wild animal, but she has other suspicions. There are new kids at school, and they have a l...

  • Iris in Bloom synopsis, comments

    Iris in Bloom

    Nancy Warren

    Iris Chance is turning 33. She’s an independent woman, the owner of the Sunflower Coffee and Tea Company in Hidden Falls, Oregon. Hidden Falls boasts clean air, natural beauty, goo...

  • The Sinner synopsis, comments

    The Sinner

    J.R. Ward

    A sinner’s only hope is true love in this passionate new novel in J.R. Ward’s #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series.Syn has kept his side hustle as a mercen...

  • Tender Secrets synopsis, comments

    Tender Secrets

    Ann Christopher

    A sexy billionaire with a terrible secret. The vengeful reporter determined to expose it. An intensely emotional love story... The Warner Family Secrets. Lies. Undeniable Passion. ...

  • Postmortem synopsis, comments

    Postmortem

    Patricia Cornwell

    Discover the “dazzling…fascinating” (Los Angeles Times) forensic thriller that launched the New York Times bestselling Kay Scarpetta series from #1 bestselling crime writer Patrici...

  • Omega synopsis, comments

    Omega

    SM Reine

    New York Times Bestselling Author SM Reine presents a new urban fantasy series...Ten years ago, Deirdre Tombs died. When she was reborn the next day, Deirdre had become a shapeshif...

  • Quinn synopsis, comments

    Quinn

    Iris Johansen

    #1 New York Times bestselling author Iris Johansen explores the darkest corners of the human heart as forensic sculptor Eve Duncan closes in on the killer who stole her daughter so...

  • Hunting Eve synopsis, comments

    Hunting Eve

    Iris Johansen

    Hunting Eve is the next New York Times bestseller in Iris Johansen's pulsepounding series that Kirkus Reviews calls "filled with intriguing twists and characters and an overarching...

  • The Savior synopsis, comments

    The Savior

    J.R. Ward

    A vampire and a scientist’s fates are passionately entwined in a race against time in this thrilling romance in the #1 New York Times bestselling “utterly absorbing and deliciously...

  • Shadow Play synopsis, comments

    Shadow Play

    Iris Johansen

    Shadow Play is a New York Times bestselling Eve Duncan novel from Iris Johansen. Eve Duncan is the most soughtafter artist in the field of forensic sculpting. Dedicated to her ...