In today’s article we are going to be comparing the two watch brands Oris Vs Tag Heuer. Both are Swiss brands. As such they represent the highest in quality and craftsmanship. So, then the question becomes, which brand is better between the two?
This is the question we will be exploring throughout this article. To find out the answer, we will compare three crucial components relevant to every watch brand. These are: the build quality, design, and pricing.
As I’m sure you can imagine, everyone wants stylish quality watches at affordable prices, right? Well, seeing as how these are both Swiss brands, they may or may not be affordable to many. Swiss watch brands are known for having some outrageously high prices.
Anyways, Let’s check out how Oris compares to Tag Heuer. Before we start comparing the watches though, how about a brief introduction to each brand?
About Oris and Tag Heuer
Oris
Oris was first established in 1904. From then until 1937, they only manufactured pocket watches. Then, in 1938, they began manufacturing wrist watches. The company soon began expanding.
Oris eventually came under fire in 1934. At this time, a set of regulations known as the Swiss Watch Statute, prohibited Oris from using lever escapements in their watches. That was because this statute put restrictions on the introduction of new technology into watches.
Oris had a good lawyer, however, and after a 10 year long legal battle, Oris came out on top, and was now able to manufacture their watches the way they intended.
Oris started manufacturing quartz watches right around the time these types of watches had skyrocketed to the forefront of the industry. This move ultimately proved unsuccessful. However, things turned around for the company in 1982 when they changed hands and became known as “Oris SA”
This move saw them do away with quartz watches and put the focus back on the manufacture of mechanical watches. From there, Oris stared once again gaining notoriety, and haven’t looked back since!
Tag Heuer
Tag Heuer was founded in 1860. When they first started producing watches, the company focused on chronographs. It made many advancements in that area.
Tag Heuer watches are renowned for their incredible accuracy. Throughout their history they have even collaborated with other notable watch brands. They actually produced the world’s first automatic chronographs by teaming up with the brands Hamilton and Breitling.
Brands such as Tag Heuer manage to maintain their status through continued efforts in innovation. Once such example can be seen in 2011 when they debuted the Mikrograph.
The Mikrograph was one of their self winding chronographs. What made this one so special was its high degree of accuracy. It was accurate to a degree of 1/100 of a second. No other watch had ever before been seen with that degree of accuracy.
Even today, Tag Heuer is still well known, specifically for their chronographs.
And now that we know a little bit more about these two brands, we can start getting into the direct comparisons between their watches. Starting with the build quality.
Oris Vs Tag Heuer: Build Quality
Oris
You will find that the majority of Oris’ watches are mechanical automatic watches featuring analog displays. They have previously used Sellita and ETA movements. These days, though, the majority of their movements are custom, in house movements.
The watch cases are what you would expect in a luxury watch. They are stainless steel, paired with sapphire dial windows. The water resistance among their watches can be as low as 30 meters in standard models, up to a whopping 500 meters in select models.
Tag Heuer
Tag Heuer manufactures both analog automatic mechanical watches, as well as quartz, and even smartwatches. They do use custom in house movements in their mechanical watches. The majority of their cases are made from stainless steel. There are, however, some models with titanium cases as well as others with ceramic bezels.
The dial windows will also be made of sapphire crystal. Water resistance among Heuer watches tends to be around 200 meters, though they have some models with a much higher resistance than that.
Verdict on Build Quality
It’s a close call, but overall, it would appear that Tag Heuer produces some of the better builds. Next, we’ll take a look at the design and style differences.
Oris Vs Tag Heuer: Design & Style
Oris
There is a pretty good balance here among Oris’ styles. They manage to have a lot of the traditional luxury styles like diving watches, casual, and business.
On the other hand, Oris also has some uniquely styled items. While these designs may be a bit flashier, they manage to do so without going overboard.
Tag Heuer
Much like Oris, Tag Heuer Mixes up styles with a nice selection of more traditional Swiss luxury styles, and Tag Heuer’s own unique take on design.
For the most part, you will not be disappointed by Tag Heuer’s collections. Regardless of the style, they all manage to maintain an overall premium aesthetic.
Verdict on Design & Style
This is a case where, when looking at the different styles from both brands, they bring a very similar appeal. Either brand would be a solid choice in terms of style.
Now, finally, let’s look at the differences in pricing here.
Oris Vs Tag Heuer: Pricing
When it comes to pricing, you probably already know that Swiss watches aren’t going to be cheap. As expected, both of these brands’ watches are at least somewhat expensive.
Some can get pretty up there in pricing, while others will be more reasonably priced. Either way though, you can expect to spend a bit of money on either brand. Both Oris and Tag Heuer have similarly priced watches.
Check Oris Prices on Amazon
Check Tag Heuer Prices on Amazon
So, now, which brand can we honestly say is better?
Final Verdict
Based on the factors that we have observed here, you could really go with either brand. Tag Heuer watches may have slightly better build qualities, on average.
Other than that, you could theoretically pick a watch from either brand, and get a similar style and quality. So, it really comes down to which one you like better. Obviously, this is going to vary from individual to individual.
And with that, this concludes our comparison between Oris and Tag Heuer! If you liked this article, you can find similar comparisons here
