Oris With Another Jazzy Tribute

Like many of you, when I think of Oris, I tend to think of dive watches, and not being a die hard fan of the brand that’s about all I thought.  But I was doing a bit of research for this article, and wouldn’t you know it seems that Oris is the King of Jazz Watches!  First let me confess that I am far from an expert on Jazz musicians, but I do enjoy my fair share of John Coltrane and other tunes by some of the fellas noted below….so indulge me, will you? 

In 2010, it will be the Oscar Peterson watch from Oris.  Among other nicknames, Oscar Peterson is known as the “Maharaja of the Keyboard” – that’s a piano, for all you musical neophytes out there. Of the many “jazzy” tribute watches Oris has done, the Oscar Peterson watch is probably the best looking one yet.  Note the subtle but tastefully incorporated “piano key” designed hour markers.  Not quite as bold (or pricey) as something like the Audemars Piguet Quincy Jones piano-inspired watch, but still a nice take on the piano theme.  The plated Roman numeral “VIII” is a nod to Peterson’s eight well deserved Grammy awards.  And although I’m not sure it is intentional, the center of the dial looks to me a lot like an old vinyl record – and not just any record but one that would play some good ragtime or big band:

cool, caseback, too – the Lion being a symbol representing the king of the keyboard

But did you know this is just the tip of the iceberg for Oris and jazz?   2010 will in fact be the 10th Jazz tribute watch in a long history that dates back to 1996 when Oris first sponsored the London Jazz Fair and rolled out the Andy Sheppard tribute watch!  Here’s a quick look at history:

1996 – Andy Sheppard 1997 – McCoy Tyner

1998 – John McLaughlin 1999 – Lionel Hampton

2000 – Louis Armstrong 2001 – Miles Davis

2002 -Duke Ellington 2003 – Charlie Parker

2007 – Dizzy Gillespie

(Note:  In 2004 it was Frank Sinatra and 2007 Bob Dylan – neither are really known as Jazz artists, so I did not include them on the list.)

So there you have it!  I encourage you to read more about each of these watches here, on the Oris website – you might learn a thing or two about jazz music!