The Future Of Oris Following Its Monumental 120th Anniversary Year

The past couple years have been big for Oris in terms of anniversaries. In 2024, the brand celebrated its 120^th year as a watchmaker. This momentum has continued over into 2025 as Oris has already debuted three new models just a month into the new year.

The brand kicked things off with its homage to the Lunar New Year with the Oris ProPilot X Year of the Snake Limited Edition. This model broke convention for the watchmaker putting the innovative ProPilot X Calibre 115 with its patented non-linear power reserve indicator on full display thanks to a skeletonized dial. The limited edition of just 88 pieces, priced at nearly five-figures, presented an ultra-luxurious offering for the brand often known for its accessibility.

Then it came time to notch another important milestone. This year marks the 60^th anniversary of one of Oris’ most emblematic designs: the Divers Sixty-Five. In Vail, at the launch of the Divers Sixty-Five 60th Anniversary Edition, Oris also offered us a preview of its novelties set to launch this spring at the annual Watches & Wonders fair in Geneva and gave us an opportunity to sit down with VJ Geronimo, Oris’ CEO of the Americas, to discuss the direction and evolution of the brand.

“Our ideas come from a lot of different sources of inspiration,” Geronimo shares, “plus we have a strong history and a large catalog to pull from right within the brand. But, our approach is not just to recreate something from the past,” he clarifies. “We aim to look at our history and recontextualize it in a way that fits with where the brand is now. I think of the recent introduction of the Divers Date,” continues Geronimo. “The Divers Sixty-Five has been such an important part of our DNA, but we wanted to take our approach to a diver to the next level without losing sight of our history in the world of divers.”

As a quick refresher, the Divers Sixty-Five marked the brand’s first dive watch when it initially released in 1965. Now, in the wake of its 60^th birthday, Oris sees its newer Divers Date, first introduced last year, as the future of its dive line.

Ahead of the Divers Sixty-Five anniversary edition, Oris built on its collaboration with the Muppets and the success of the Kermit launched in 2023 with the ProPilot X Miss Piggy Edition. The playful addition took the brand back to its roots with bold color and a price tag of $3,200. This is a watch that doesn’t take itself too seriously and fully aligns with the brand’s philosophy of creating joy and making people smile with its designs.

“Our collaborations aren’t just about creating cool products – though that’s a great bonus,” explains Geronimo. “They’re more about shared ethos and values. We want to be involved with people and organizations that pay homage to who we are as a brand at the core.”

All of this is made possible by Oris’ status as an independent brand. Oris is one of Switzerland’s last independent watch manufacturers, and that unique spirit of independence is one that can be traced all the way back to its founding. This means Oris can make watches and forge partnerships the brand truly believes in.

“It’s difficult in some ways for sure – for example, making an in-house movement as an independent is much more involved, but we like how it challenges us. At the end of the day, our independence is everything to us,” Geronimo confirms. “It’s the very thing that drives us as a company.”