Oris Unveil New Hölstein Edition 2022 Full Steel Worldtimer Revival

Oris’ Hölstein series has become one of the most interesting annual releases in the watchmaking calendar. Since 2020, they have been releasing a limited edition timepiece to coincide with the brand’s anniversary on June 1, 1904. In 2020 the Hölstein Edition was a bronze chronograph and in 2021 it was a Big Crown Pointer Date. The Hölstein Edition 2022 is perhaps the most intriguing of all, a revival of the 1990s Oris Full Steel Worldtimer.

The Full Steel Worldtimer launched in 1998 and at the time was the most advanced Oris timepiece to date. It’s worth noting that Oris’ definition of a “worldtimer” is completely different to the common usage of the term. Most worldtimers are a variant of a GMT function that displays the time in every time zone simultaneously. Oris’ is a dual time zone watch with the capacity to jump local time forwards and backwards by the hour.

For the watch’s revival as the Hölstein Edition 2022, Oris have taken a very faithful approach. It features a vintage-proportioned 36.5mm diameter case in stainless steel with a large crown. More important though are the two pushers at 4 and 8 o’clock that adjust local time quickly. Two red triangles on the dial, decorated with + and – symbols, indicate which way the pushers jump the local time display.

The rest of the dial is also accurate to the original. Central hour and minute hands, a local time small seconds counter at 9 o’clock and an hour and minutes subdial at 3 for home time.

However, there is one major departure from the original, which is the watch’s caseback. The new timepiece follows in the traditions of the Hölstein series by having an engraving of the Hölstein Bear. The bear, a mascot for the brand, symbolises Oris’ commitment to the village where the company was founded, Hölstein.

What’s particularly cool about the Hölstein Edition 2022 is that it houses the calibre 690, the original movement from the 90s. The term for an old vintage movement used in a new timepiece is “new old stock” and it’s something many watchmakers do for special editions, for example last year’s Fears Archival.

The 690 is based on the ETA 2836-2 with a 38-hour power reserve. By modern standards, that power reserve isn’t stellar, but its capabilities were significant at the time. Particularly the mechanism that automatically adjusts the date when you use the local time jumpers to move across midnight in either direction, a world first.

Only 250 Hölstein Edition 2022 Full Steels will be produced with each watch delivered in a special wooden presentation box. Personally, I prefer the recent ProPilot X Calibre 400 for its forward facing experimentation, but I appreciate that the Hölstein annual release is the perfect way to explore interesting revival designs. The 2022 edition’s price is CHF 4,000 (approx. £3,325).