This time we will be taking a look at the Oris Vs Hamilton watch brands. Both of these watch brands are Swiss. As we know, Swiss watch brands are highly respected within the community. As such, it will be interesting to compare these two brands.
While both of these brands are highly respected, they are not as well known as other brands such as Rolex or Omega. However, make no mistake, both Oris and Hamilton produce quality Swiss watches. So how do we find out which of these brands is “better”?
It is true that whether or not one brand is truly superior to another can be subjective. Different people look for different things from a watch brand. What we will be examining here though, is the overall build quality, design, and pricing differences between the two.
Before we get into that though, let’s briefly explore the background of these two brands.
About Oris and Hamilton
Oris
The Oris brand was founded in Switzerland in 1904. When the company first began, it was producing pocket watches exclusively. It wasn’t until 1938, however, that they began manufacturing wristwatches. From there the company expanded rapidly.
Oris ran into a bit of trouble in 1934 with the introduction of the Swiss Watch Statute. This regulation put limitations on how watch manufacturers could introduce new technology. This law effectively prevented Oris from using lever escapements in their watches. However, the company lawyer was able to overturn this law after a 10 year legal battle.
During the quartz crisis, Oris had begun manufacturing quartz watches. This endeavor was not able to salvage Oris’ previous success. In 1982, the company was bought out under new management, and became known as “Oris SA”. At this time, they completely abandoned quartz watches, and their watches became entirely mechanical. This move, ultimately catapulted Oris to success.
Hamilton
Even though Hamilton is considered a Swiss watch brand, it originally began as an American brand when it was first founded in 1892. It was much later, in the mid 1960’s that Hamilton became a Swiss brand.
They did this by buying out a Swiss manufacturer. From there the watches then started being manufactured in Switzerland using Swiss movements. By 1969, all Hamilton watches were exclusively manufactured in Switzerland.
Hamilton watches really started to gain traction during World War 2. At this time, they began producing watches for military purposes. They even completely stopped producing watches for the consumer market in favor of manufacturing military grade watches. This is also when their marine chronometers started becoming popular.
After the war, Hamilton returned to producing consumer watches. They even left their mark on the industry in several ways. For one, they are responsible for bringing the first electric watches into the consumer market. Additionally, they are credited with improving automatic watch movements by way of a smaller “micro rotor” used to power the watches.
Now that we know a little bit more about these brands, we can start comparing them to each other. The first thing we will look at is the build quality.
Oris Vs Hamilton: Build Quality
Oris
The Oris brand produces analog mechanical watches. They have historically used ETA, or Sellita movements, although more recently they are producing more watches using in house movements.
The overall build quality is typical of what you would expect in a luxury watch. They have stainless steel cases paired with sapphire dial windows. Water resistance can range from 30 to a staggering 500 meters of resistance in some of their models.
Hamilton
Hamilton manufactures analog mechanical automatic watches, as well as analog quartz watches and digital watches. The watch cases will be usually made of stainless steel, and the dial windows sapphire crystal.
Movements used in Hamilton watches are ETA movements. Water resistance between models can range from 30 meters to 100 meters of resistance.
Verdict On Build Quality
Both brands have a similar quality to their builds, however, Oris has the slight edge when you consider the amount of water resistance found in some of their models.
Oris Vs Hamilton: Design & Style
Oris
You will find a lot of variety in Oris watches. They have traditional luxury styles such as diving, minimalist, and business casual,
Oris also produces watches with a more striking appearance, such as their skeleton dial watch designs. Overall, Oris has a little bit of something for everybody.
Hamilton
Hamilton is widely recognized for their field watches, as well as their pilot watches. Aside from those though, there are still plenty of other options to choose from.
Their Ventura watch, for instance, is another fan favorite. This watch has the distinct triangular design to it. It was actually the design used in their first battery powered watch.
Verdict On Design & Style
Both Hamilton and Oris have some pretty good luxury styles. Overall, though, while Hamilton does have some great picks, Oris has a wider variety of style types to choose from.
Next, we’ll take a look at the pricing differences between these brands.
Oris Vs Hamilton: Pricing
We know that Swiss luxury watches are going to carry a high price tag, right? Most all luxury watches are going to be expensive.
And yes, this is also the case when it comes to both Oris and Hamilton watches. Both brands are priced in the higher tier of the pricing spectrum. This is to be expected, of course.
However, while both brands can be pretty pricey, you will find more affordable options in Hamilton’s library. Prices can vary, but on average, your best bet for finding more affordable Swiss luxury watches will be with Hamilton.
Check Oris Watches Prices on Amazon
Check Hamilton Watches Prices on Amazon
So now, for the conclusion, which brand between these two is actually better?
Final Conclusion
So, between these two brands, which one can we say is arguably better? Well, Oris has the upper hand when it comes some of their builds and designs. However, if you are looking for the more affordable luxury watches, then Hamilton has some very good pieces at more reasonable prices.
All in all, though, both of these brands have a lot to offer in terms of quality and aesthetics. That’s it for this article. If you want to see more comparison articles like this one, you can find those here
