Introducing the Oris Hölstein Edition 2022

The Low-Down

Oris values are naturally communicated through every one of its watches, but it doesn’t hurt to solidify the message every now and then in special editions that relive the milestones in the Oris story. These are the Hölstein Editions, which are the only Oris watches to carry the Oris bear, a symbol “of warmth, of joy and of going your own way,” as Oris Co-CEO Rolf Studer puts it. This year’s Hölstein Edition, the third so far, is a faithful rendition of the 1998 Full Steel Worldtimer, featuring an Oris bear engraving on the caseback (in goggles!) and limited to 250 pieces.

Oris Co-CEO Rolf Studer
Oris Co-CEO Rolf Studer

The headline feature of the Oris Hölstein Edition 2022 is the Calibre 690 first introduced in 1997 and used a year later in the Full Steel. Until the arrival of the manual-wind Caliber 110 in 2014 which Oris developed from scratch, featuring 10 days of power reserve, the Calibre 690 was the company’s most complicated movement, an Oris-developed module atop a base ETA 2836-2 that allows for a most intuitive operation of a dual time zone watch. Local time is centrally displayed, and the hour can be adjusted forward or backwards in on-hour steps via pushers on either side of the case, and the date changes accordingly, while home time remains undisturbed in the subdial at 3 o’clock.

Oris Holstein Edition 2022
Oris Holstein Edition 2022

The Oris Hölstein Edition 2022 comes in a 36.5mm case with steel bracelet and; the 250-piece limited edition is available online from June 2022, and collectors can choose their limited edition number from the website.

IMHO

In releasing the Full Metal Hölstein Edition 2022, the company’s express intent was to “capture the experimental spirit of 1990s designs.” As Studer explains, “the 1990s was a much freer time than today. We weren’t so connected and we had much more reasonable expectations of each other, work and how we build societies. We’ve lost so much of that, and we wanted a watch that would embody these values – Oris values.” We’re most happy to drink to that; and the fevered pitch of virtue policing in present times does make us miss the more tempered climate of the 1990s.

Oris Holstein Edition 2022

In terms of “experimental”, the Hölstein Edition 2022 would cut a sleeker profile if the case diameter were stretched a bit; but it would then be less of the 1998 homage that it was meant to be. And besides, with travel bans lifting, this is a most timely addition to the Oris catalog, especially when the Caliber 690 looks to be a little under-represented, considering it is such a clever and intuitive realisation of a most needful complication. Is there a more competent dual time zone watch that ticks the boxes of intuitive operation and clarity of display? Not many, and even fewer offering Oris’ combination of reliability and value.

Oris Holstein Edition 2022

Tech Specs

Oris Holstein Edition 2022

Movement: Self-winding Oris 690, power reserve of 38 hours
Functions: Home time with day/night indicator, local time hours and minutes, small seconds, date
Case: 36.5mm stainless steel case, engraved caseback, water resistant to 50m
Strap: Stainless steel bracelet with folding clasp
Price: USD 4,300

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