Skip to main content

INTRODUCING: Oris Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition

The Oris Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition.

Oris celebrates the origins of its success with the Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition.  

When the two founders of Oris, Paul Cattin and Georges Christian, were looking for a place to establish their own watch manufacture, they did not choose to settle in Le Locle despite it being the centre of Swiss watchmaking at the time. Instead, they turned their attention to the west and founded their business in Hölstein, in the Waldenburg Valley.

 

The Waldenburgerbahn train in the early 20th century.
The Waldenburgerbahn train line in the early 20th century, when Oris was founded. 

One important factor was the Waldenburgerbahn (the Waldenburg train in German). Opened in 1880, it was a rail network that connected the region to Liestal, the capital of Basel-Landschaft and through that, to the rest of Switzerland. The short, four-stop railway linked the Waldenburg Valley to external resources and enabled it to flourish. Oris is just one of several businesses that continue to thrive in the region.

Last April, the rail line was closed for upgrading to convert the track gauge, add new loops, and rebuild the Waldenburg terminus station. As part of the improvements, the Hölstein Süd station that serves Oris will be closed, and a new one will be opened nearby. The line is set to reopen this month.

The Oris Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited edition is restricted to 1,000 pieces.
The Oris Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited edition.

 

To commemorate this reopening and the shutting of the Hölstein Süd station, Oris has created a special 1,000-piece watch, the Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition. The Big Crown Pointer Date is an Oris classic with its fluted bezel, large Arabic numerals, syringe-style hands, and a railway-track minute scale. A red-tipped hand indicates the date, which is marked on an outer ring on the dial. The watch comes in a dark brown sustainable deer leather strap supplied by Cervo Volante. Inside the watch is the automatic Calibre 754 offering a 38-hour power reserve.

The caseback of the Oris Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition bears an engraving of the original train.
The caseback of the Oris Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition bears an engraving of the original train.

 

On the back of the case is an engraving of the old Waldenburgerbahn steam locomotive and the limited edition number of the timepiece. The watch comes in a taupe leather travel pouch with matching card holder as well as a soft cleaning cloth printed with the map of Hölstein. Priced at S$3,150, it’s the perfect watch to accompany you on your Swiss train ride. 

The Oris Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition comes with a leather travel pouch and card holder.
The Oris Big Crown Waldenburgerbahn Limited Edition comes with a leather travel pouch and card holder.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL


Editor

Darren has been writing about, and admiring the craft of watchmaking for over a dozen years. He considers himself lucky to live in a golden age of horology, and firmly believes that the most difficult watches to design are the simplest and the most intriguing to discover.


End of content

No more pages to load