The painstaking evolution of luxury watches

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Back to In the late 1960s, even the most insightful observer could not predict that quartz technology would cause serious damage to the Swiss watch industry. The advent of electronic watches is both revolutionary and devastating, so much so that this era is still called the Quartz Crisis in Switzerland.

Once bitten, twice shy. Today, after redefining traditional mechanical watches as luxury timepieces and building a huge industry on this basis, a brand new arms race has begun among Swiss brands. Watch movements are becoming more and more accurate, reliable and durable. In short, mechanical watches are getting better through marginal benefits in all aspects, gradually entering the practicality and sustainability of the real world.

Photography: Omega

This is a core idea close to Rolf Studer, the co-CEO of the independent brand Oris, a company with a clever industrial pedigree. In November last year, Oris launched the automatic movement Calibre 400, which can be regarded as a typical representative of the third wave of watchmaking. Compared with the industry-standard “tractor” movement that Oris has historically relied on, it powers select diving and pilot watches at a price of less than £3,000, with significant improvements in accuracy, power reserve, reluctance and longevity .

“This is a purposeful movement,” Studer said, describing a five-year development process that improved everything from gear geometry to the efficiency of the winding system. “By defining some elements and setting new standards for all elements, Calibre 400 directly meets the needs of customers. It is suitable for any daily situation.”

In the case of strong winds, it will run for five days (120 hours), of which 40 to 42 hours used to be the norm. The most impressive thing is that Oris said that a watch equipped with Calibre 400 can be worn for a full ten years before it needs to be repaired and comes with a 10-year warranty-in contrast, the standard warranty is only two years, and the recommended repair interval is Four or five years.

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