News
During the summer of 2007, Oscar Peterson and Oris, the Swiss watch manufacturer, began discussing the production of a limited edition watch in his honor. As a lifelong admirer of watches, and somewhat of a collector, Mr. Peterson was thrilled with this idea. Unfortunately he passed away before the design process began. The idea, however, did not die, and this year Oris launched the Oscar Peterson Limited Edition watch and the Oscar Peterson Chronograph Limited Edition. Kelly Peterson talks about that here:
In May, 2008 I visited the Oris watch factory in Hölstein, Switzerland and met with Oris Executive Chairman Ulrich W. Herzog and Vice President Philipp Käser and we decided to proceed with the production of a special Oscar Peterson watch. During the course of the next several months it was exciting to see the design process, and to see the many stages involved in creating a new watch.
Finally the watch design was completed. I went to Switzerland for the Oris Conference, a gathering of the international Oris representatives. This is the annual meeting for them to discuss the previous year as well as to present the new models for the coming season, in anticipation of Baselworld Watch Fair. The conference gave me an opportunity to see the Oscar Peterson Limited Edition and the Oscar Peterson Chronograph Limited Edition for the first time, and to meet the wonderful family of Oris.
My first impression of both watches was how elegant they are. The Oris Oscar Peterson limited edition watches have both been designed to incorporate many features, all of which are very personal to Oscar. It is an honor and a joy to see the thoughtful and careful process by which the designers paid tribute to my late husband. They asked for my input about what Oscar most liked in a watch, and then added their own very special touches. Each detail has a reason and a relationship to Oscar. The designs include Roman numerals, which he liked very much for watches. The Roman numeral VIII is in rose gold, signifying the eight Grammy Awards he received. The logo on the back of the watch case, reproduced beautifully, is the logo designed for him many years ago that he used on stationery and stickers for his road cases and luggage. The face of the watch is black piano lacquer, but with a grooved center, to suggest LPs. A favorite feature of mine is the hour indices: they are piano keys. What a wonderful idea - the brainchild of Product Development Manager Ralf Hilbich. The attention to detail even includes the thoughts behind the limited edition numbers: the first watch is limited to 1,925 pieces, signifying the year Oscar was born; the Chronograph is limited to 97 pieces, for the number of keys on the Bösendorfer Imperial piano, Oscar's piano of choice. Each watch comes specially packaged in a black piano lacquer box with a limited edition DVD and special certificate booklet.
After the wonderful day at the Oris Conference, we were all prepared for the start of Baselworld the following day. Watch collectors and aficionados will know about Baselworld (http://www.baselworld.com), but for me it was a brand new world (no pun intended). This is the biggest watch fair in the world. It is really a trade show for the manufacturers to show their new watch models for the coming season to the press and to their buyers and distributors. It is an incredible experience to be there. The watch fair lasts for eight days, but the display booths seem to be permanent stores. I was able to spend two days with Oris in their booth at Baselworld, learning more about watches and getting to know the Oris family, as indeed it is a family. It is a very busy time for them, as they meet with press and buyers from all over the world. I was able to join in on some of these meetings, enthusiastically sharing my excitement about the watch and, of course, about Oscar. It was an honor to be there. I am grateful to have been asked to participate, and even more grateful and honored to know the people at Oris, whose warmth, kindness and dedication shows in the watches. I am certain that Oscar would have been pleased and proud of these two watches created to honor him. I know he would have greatly enjoyed the Oris Conference and Baselworld. He certainly would have had a wonderful time with the people at Oris, and you would have undoubtedly seen both watches on his wrist at various times! An additional note: there was even a special tabletop made for the two tables in the Oris booth. Take a look at the photos. My thanks go to the entire Oris Hölstein team for their enthusiasm about the watch and about honoring Oscar Peterson. Special thanks to Ulrich Herzog, Philipp Käser, Rolf Studer, Martina Meier-Wiedmer, Rosa Park and Ralf Hilbich.
The watches will be making their debut this summer. In anticipation of their arrival, the Oris team in New York created a special exhibit at Tourneau Time Machine, on 57th Street at Fifth Avenue in New York City. The exhibit continues through the month of July, and is beautifully done. There will also be other Oris events worldwide, as the watches are proudly issued. The Oris website has a Store Locator so that you can find the watches locally wherever you are in the world.
There are some photos posted in an album on this website. If you are interested in seeing more of the Oris watches, and learning more about Oris, please visit their website as well. If you join MyOris, you will receive their newsletters! I hope you enjoy this as much as I have.
Links: www.oris.ch
http://www.oris.ch/collections/collections_detail.aspx?watchid=96&ln=[LAN]
http://www.oris.ch/collections/collections_detail.aspx?watchid=97&ln=[LAN]
In May, 2008 I visited the Oris watch factory in Hölstein, Switzerland and met with Oris Executive Chairman Ulrich W. Herzog and Vice President Philipp Käser and we decided to proceed with the production of a special Oscar Peterson watch. During the course of the next several months it was exciting to see the design process, and to see the many stages involved in creating a new watch.
Finally the watch design was completed. I went to Switzerland for the Oris Conference, a gathering of the international Oris representatives. This is the annual meeting for them to discuss the previous year as well as to present the new models for the coming season, in anticipation of Baselworld Watch Fair. The conference gave me an opportunity to see the Oscar Peterson Limited Edition and the Oscar Peterson Chronograph Limited Edition for the first time, and to meet the wonderful family of Oris.
My first impression of both watches was how elegant they are. The Oris Oscar Peterson limited edition watches have both been designed to incorporate many features, all of which are very personal to Oscar. It is an honor and a joy to see the thoughtful and careful process by which the designers paid tribute to my late husband. They asked for my input about what Oscar most liked in a watch, and then added their own very special touches. Each detail has a reason and a relationship to Oscar. The designs include Roman numerals, which he liked very much for watches. The Roman numeral VIII is in rose gold, signifying the eight Grammy Awards he received. The logo on the back of the watch case, reproduced beautifully, is the logo designed for him many years ago that he used on stationery and stickers for his road cases and luggage. The face of the watch is black piano lacquer, but with a grooved center, to suggest LPs. A favorite feature of mine is the hour indices: they are piano keys. What a wonderful idea - the brainchild of Product Development Manager Ralf Hilbich. The attention to detail even includes the thoughts behind the limited edition numbers: the first watch is limited to 1,925 pieces, signifying the year Oscar was born; the Chronograph is limited to 97 pieces, for the number of keys on the Bösendorfer Imperial piano, Oscar's piano of choice. Each watch comes specially packaged in a black piano lacquer box with a limited edition DVD and special certificate booklet.
After the wonderful day at the Oris Conference, we were all prepared for the start of Baselworld the following day. Watch collectors and aficionados will know about Baselworld (http://www.baselworld.com), but for me it was a brand new world (no pun intended). This is the biggest watch fair in the world. It is really a trade show for the manufacturers to show their new watch models for the coming season to the press and to their buyers and distributors. It is an incredible experience to be there. The watch fair lasts for eight days, but the display booths seem to be permanent stores. I was able to spend two days with Oris in their booth at Baselworld, learning more about watches and getting to know the Oris family, as indeed it is a family. It is a very busy time for them, as they meet with press and buyers from all over the world. I was able to join in on some of these meetings, enthusiastically sharing my excitement about the watch and, of course, about Oscar. It was an honor to be there. I am grateful to have been asked to participate, and even more grateful and honored to know the people at Oris, whose warmth, kindness and dedication shows in the watches. I am certain that Oscar would have been pleased and proud of these two watches created to honor him. I know he would have greatly enjoyed the Oris Conference and Baselworld. He certainly would have had a wonderful time with the people at Oris, and you would have undoubtedly seen both watches on his wrist at various times! An additional note: there was even a special tabletop made for the two tables in the Oris booth. Take a look at the photos. My thanks go to the entire Oris Hölstein team for their enthusiasm about the watch and about honoring Oscar Peterson. Special thanks to Ulrich Herzog, Philipp Käser, Rolf Studer, Martina Meier-Wiedmer, Rosa Park and Ralf Hilbich.
The watches will be making their debut this summer. In anticipation of their arrival, the Oris team in New York created a special exhibit at Tourneau Time Machine, on 57th Street at Fifth Avenue in New York City. The exhibit continues through the month of July, and is beautifully done. There will also be other Oris events worldwide, as the watches are proudly issued. The Oris website has a Store Locator so that you can find the watches locally wherever you are in the world.
There are some photos posted in an album on this website. If you are interested in seeing more of the Oris watches, and learning more about Oris, please visit their website as well. If you join MyOris, you will receive their newsletters! I hope you enjoy this as much as I have.
Links: www.oris.ch
http://www.oris.ch/collections/collections_detail.aspx?watchid=96&ln=[LAN]
http://www.oris.ch/collections/collections_detail.aspx?watchid=97&ln=[LAN]
