The story of Oris begins in June 1904, when Paul Cattin and Georges Christian, two watch entrepreneurs from the Swiss Jura, formed a partnership in the small Swiss factory town of Hölstein. Their mission, a visionary one at the time, was to meld traditional horology with contemporary industrial practices to make beautiful watches at prices accessible to working-class citizens. More than a century later, Oris still adheres to its founders’ philosophy, and with the new Hölstein Edition 2020, the firm pays tribute to its origins with a watchmaking world-first: it’s the first wristwatch to use bronze for both its case and bracelet.

The Hölstein Edition 2020 is the first in a series of commemorative pieces.

The Hölstein Edition 2020, described by the brand as “the first in a series of limited edition pieces named in honor of the Swiss village… where the company was founded,” uses as its base one of the most popular models in the modern Oris lineup, the retro-styled Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph. Continuing the theme of previous well-received Oris special editions, such as the recent Big Crown Pointer Date, its 43-mm case, bezel, relief-engraved dive-scale bezel insert, screwed crown and chronograph pushers are all cast in solid bronze. This watch, however, expands upon the theme with its bracelet ? the first in all of watchmaking to have its links made entirely of bronze. The only elements of the bracelet not made of the material are the p...