There may never be another Werner Weiss. In the 47 years since Werner Weiss joined Oris, the company, the watch industry and the world have changed beyond recognition. When he first arrived at Otis as a 16 year old apprentice matchmaker, mechanical watches were the norm – electronic watches were still some way from dominating. He’s seen Oris through good times (in 1970, it was one of the 10 largest watch companies in the world), the quartz crisis, a management buyout and a long period of revival that has brought the company to where it is today.
Asked what his proudest achievement in all those years is, and he quickly recalls the development or the Oris moon phase complication, a mechanical movement with a module that fave the watch day, date and phases of the moon indications, and a second time zone. ‘In 1989, the moon phase module was a first for Oris’, Werner Weiss says. ‘It turned out to be very important and an updated version of its is still used in the current Artelier Complication.’
Today, his unparalleled experience fuels the Oris after sales team. Here Werner Weiss often asked to bring a vintage ORis back to life. Oris will take any watch with its name on the dial and attempt to repair it. ‘The history of a watch and the story behind it is important’ he says. ‘You can’t buy that in store, so you have to preserve it. You can’t get it back when its gone’.
