It’s interesting how nostalgia works. Cyclical, sure, but sooner or later everything comes back into fashion, or at least passing interest, for a reason. Styles and fads that were once popular and eventually deemed passe are then delivered back into public consciousness simply because we miss them and the time period that they represent. Although, sometimes it’s more than that.
For Oris’ latest release, it’s not just nostalgia that the Swiss watchmaker is tapping into, but innovation. The Full Steel Worldtimer debuted in 1998, a year after the brand unveiled the Oris Calibre 690, which used plus and minus pushers on either side of the case in order to move the hour hand in one-hour increments forward or backward, adjusting to local time when traveling. The subdial at the 3 o’clock position still read the home time, unaffected by the local time adjustments. And when the hour hand passed midnight, the date window would move accordingly.
In honor of its 118th anniversary as a brand, Oris has released the Hölstein Edition 2022 of the Full Steel Worldtimer, a faithful reissue of the ’90s classic. Still powered by the Oris Calibre 690, the watch has a 36mm stainless steel case with a dark blue dial and lumed hands, numerals, and indices. Red plus and minus indicators are also shown in accordance with the pushbuttons. The caseback is engraved with the Oris Bear, which is only currently featured on the Hölstein Edition watches.
This is the third subsequent Hölstein Edition, a line of reissues of classic timepieces in celebration of the company’s birthday each year. Last year, Oris came out with a contemporary version of the Big Crown Pointer Date, and in 2020 it released a bronze colorway of the Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph. Like the others, the Full Steel Worldtimer Hölstein Edition 2022 is limited to just 250 pieces and comes in a special wooden box. It’s now available on Oris’ website for $4,300.
