Oris, a Swiss watch brand, has a real connection with Hollywood, which can be seen in the impressive list of films and TV programmes that feature their watches.

The year 2006 saw Oris watches appear in The Sopranos¸ the popular HBO drama series. Oris watches can also be spotted on Meg Ryan (Oris Big Crown Pointer Date) in Kate and Leopold (2002) and Sam Neill wears a Oris Big Crown BC3 in Jurassic Park III (2001). Harisson Ford wears a oris Classic Pointer Day in Random Hearts (1999), Nicholas Cage wears an oris Big Crown Chronograph in 8MM (1999) and Mathew McConaughey wears an Oris Rectangular in the thriller A Time to Kill (1996).

Aviation and Formule One

Oris is active in supporting new aviation exploits whilst taking inspiration from the spirit of both modern and classic aviation. Oris also has a long history of both sponsoring and being inspired by Formula One. Oris’ passion for Motor Sport started way back in the 1970s with the now famous Chronoris, which first captured the true spirit of Formula One. For the 2008 season Oris was the official watch partner of the AT&T Williams Formula One team. Nico Rosberg and Kazuki Nakajima are both enthusiastic ambassadors for the brand. Nico Rosberg first became an Oris ambassador, in 2006 – even meriting his own limited edition watch. He was preceded by Mark Webber in 2005 and Ralf Schumacher in 2004. The successful partnership with Williams first began in 2003. A year before this Oris sponsored Toyota driver Allan McNish.

Diving

Some of the bestselling Oris models of all time have come from the Oris world of diving. A partnership with Carlos Coste began in 2006, which cemented the high performance aspect of the Oris diver’s collection. Each watch in the collection comes with Carlos Coste’s seal of approval, a ringing endorsement from a man whose name appears in the Guinness Book of World Records as one of the world’s greatest freedivers.

Culture

Oris has had a strong emotional connection with jazz ever since it sponsored the 1996 London Jazz Festival. It has honoured several cultural icons since then. In 2005 the tribute was to the singer and showman Frank Sinatra. Charlie Parker was honoured in 2003, Duke Ellington in 2002, Miles Davis in 2001, and Louis Armstrong in 2000 and the British saxophonist Andy Sheppard in 1996.

Official Oris website: www.oris.ch