Oris’s Mountain Getaway Was Peak Watch Culture

Oris is one of the few Swiss watch brands still independently owned, known less for spectacle and more for consistency. The watches are practical, mechanically honest, and designed to be worn daily, not protected. Each year, the brand brings a small group of friends, collectors, and media to places like Vail. Not to stage a launch, but to spend real time together with the watches in real environments.

January 12,  as I land in Colorado’s Eagle Airport, I think about the times I’ve already spent in Vail. This is my second invitation to Oris’s annual mountain retreat. Some attendees have been coming for nearly a decade, others are here for the first time. What everyone understands quickly is that Oris are gracious hosts.

Trips like this aren’t really about launches or press moments. Oris uses the mountains as a place to slow things down, put watches on wrists, and remind everyone that these pieces are meant to live outside conference rooms and display cases.

We’re put up in one of Vail’s best boutique hotels, and the Oris team is greeted by familiar staff members who’ve been part of these trips for years. I recognize a few faces myself. It doesn’t feel like arriving somewhere. It feels like returning.

Before the days really get going, we start with a cocktail hour showcasing current Oris pieces. Signature drinks, watches on wrists, conversations breaking the ice between people who mostly knew each other through social media. That’s common in the watch world now. You meet someone long before you actually meet them. Seeing people in person feels less like an introduction and more like a continuation.

Afterwards, we head to Pepi’s, an Austrian restaurant that feels like stepping into another region entirely. National dishes, long tables, and that sense of being dropped into a small village where locals and newcomers blend together. By the end of dinner, the trip has already found its pace. Nothing feels rushed, and no one is checking the time.

Day two starts early with mountain activities. Vail has a way of sharpening your senses. The altitude, the cold, the scale of the landscape. Everything feels a little more honest out here.

Some go skiing. I choose dog sledding, hosted by Mountain Mushers, who take us through a private 10,000-acre property in Wolcott. Being pulled uphill and rushing back down is exhilarating. The Alaskan huskies are smart, disciplined, and organized in ways that feel familiar. Leaders up front. Stronger dogs in the back powering the sled. Roles change as younger dogs grow into themselves. Some start sledding at eighteen months and retire after nine or ten seasons.

Watching the dogs work, it’s hard not to think about systems built on trust rather than force. Experience guiding momentum, not ego. Everyone has a role, and the system only works if each one is respected.

After sledding, we head to 4 Eagle Ranch, where Oris Global CEO Rolf Studer and North America CEO VJ Geronimo present the new Big Crown Pointer Date Bullseye. The Big Crown is one of Oris’s foundational designs, originally made for pilots in the early twentieth century, and it still shapes how the brand thinks about legibility and function today.

The Bullseye returns with a reworked dial inspired by Oris designs from the 1910s. The look is bold but familiar. I’m drawn to the 38mm case, which feels right on the wrist and easy to live with. Sporty, but refined. It’s the kind of watch I’d wear to a formal event or a night out with my wife without thinking twice. That ease feels intentional.

By the evening, the lines between brand, guest, and friend have blurred. We end up at Shakedown Bar. Live music, locals singing like they mean it, everyone lingering longer than planned. We close the place down on our final night together.

Day three is all goodbyes, but not before a farewell breakfast and a recap of the last few days. Plenty of laughs, new friendships, and shared stories. Oris trips have a way of doing that. The watches matter, of course, but what sticks with you are the moments built around them. It’s the kind of experience that lingers quietly rather than loudly.