Pre-Owned Oris by Analog Shift Diver 65 Chronograph Holstein Edition 40990340/AS05618

Why We Love It

A solid-gold chronograph may not be in everyone’s wheelhouse. But why not capture some of that sheen with a different left-of-center material?

The Divers 65 Chronograph Holstein Edition from 2020 is one solid piece — of bronze, that is. (It’s even got a matching bronze bracelet to boot.) Produced in a limited series of just 250 pieces, it follows hot on the heels of 2016’s Carl Brashear Limited Edition, the firm’s first bronze watch. Unapologetically heavy and brash, it’s a 43mm tool for the bold of wrist, and the perfect companion for someone who likes something a little different in a timepiece.

Powered by Oris' Calibre 771 automatic-winding chronograph movement, this example dates to 2020 and features a handsome gold-toned dial with lovely deep-blue subsidiary registers and applied Luminova indices, a matching handset, a matching bronze dive timing bezel, and a matching bronze Oyster-style bracelet. Of course, being a fully bronze watch, it’s heavily patinated — but that’s sort of the point! This piece is accompanied by its inner and outer boxes, books, a numbered certificate and serialized warranty card.

With cool and characterful bronze construction, beautiful design, and function in spades — this is a limited edition that ticks all the boxes.

We're into it.

The Oris Story

Like so many other Swiss watchmaking dynasties, Oris was nearly put out of business by the Quartz Crisis — the proliferation of cheap, mass-produced, battery-powered watches from Asia. But, much to the delight of mechanical watch devotees the world over, the company endured.

Founded in Hölstein in 1904, Oris quickly grew to become a horological powerhouse, employing some 300 people by 1911 across multiple facilities. By 1936, upon the opening of its own dial factory in Biel/Bienne, Oris was producing nearly all its own components in-house. In 1938 the firm debuted its signature Big Crown pilot’s watch, which forms the basis of the brand’s modern catalog. With its dealer network compromised by the Second World War, Oris survived by manufacturing alarm clocks. 

The turning point came when the Quartz Crisis hit Switzerland in the late 1960s, by which time Oris employed some 800 people and manufactured 1.2 million watches per year, making it one of the largest watch manufacturers in the world. By 1970, in a bid for survival, the company joined the precursor to the Swatch Group and began manufacturing quartz watches. However in 1982, the company’s managing director and head of marketing took over the firm, rendering them independent once more. They abandoned quartz altogether by the 1990s.

In 2014, Oris introduced its first in-house mechanical movement in decades in celebration of 110 years of watchmaking. In 2020, they introduced the Calibre 400, a movement with a 5-day power reserve and a 10-year recommended service interval. Today the company makes professional diving, aviation, motoring and other adventure watches for enthusiasts at relatively affordable price points, while their support of conservation initiatives the world over continues to delight their highly dedicated fans.