Hands-On With The New Oris Star Re-Edition

A largely faithful throwback to the 1960s original

April 14, 2026

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Today, Oris introduces its Star re-edition. It’s a celebration of the very first Oris watch to feature a lever escapement, from 1966. But “Oris Star” sounds familiar, doesn’t it? Back in 2023, we collaborated with the company from Hölstein on the Fratello × Oris Divers Sixty-Five with “Star” on the dial, just like its 1968 counterpart. But what does Oris’s Star designation mean, exactly?

Oris Star

To quote from an earlier article we published, “In 1934, the Swiss government introduced a law that prevented watch companies from introducing new technologies without permission. Before the law passed, Oris used cheaper pin-lever movements. Oris bled due to this regulation since the brand couldn’t easily switch to the Swiss lever solution already adopted by competitors.”

An original 1960s Oris (Super) Star

“In 1956, the current honorary chairman of Oris, Dr. Rolf Portmann, joined the company. As a young lawyer, he was hired to fight the legislation and open the door for Oris to step up its technical elements. He had to fight for 10 long years until the regulation was liberalized and finally allowed Oris to update its movements. One of those new movements was the 25-jewel 645 automatic caliber installed in the Oris Star, which debuted in 1966.”

A very close re-edition

Well, the caliber 645 made way for the modern caliber 733, but Oris kept the watch’s design very much the same. The new Oris Star has a 35mm stainless steel case with a sunray-brushed finish, a polished bezel, and polished facets on the lugs. Even the original model’s 41.5mm length and 11.1mm thickness have been respected by Oris’s current designers.

The new Oris Star even comes with an acrylic crystal, of course. One small but interesting difference is the lug spacing. This was 18mm on the vintage Oris Star models, but the new one is 17mm.

Oris Star dial

The dial is where it gets noticeably different. The vintage one has a bombé (domed) dial that creates a bit of depth. The trapezoidal date window looks amazing, but on the vintage Oris Star, you’d see that the second digit would be slightly larger to fill up the white space on the date disc. On the new Oris Star, the date digits are the same size. It’s a small detail, and while you could call it nitpicking, I think it would have been nice to replicate that too.

I like that Oris used applied hour markers on the silver dial in the same style as the vintage Star model. These consist of sticks with high-polished facets and slightly larger markers with black-printed centers at 9, 6, and 12 o’clock. On the dial, we also find the Star name just below the Oris wordmark. Above the 6 o’clock index, there’s “Automatic” and “26 jewels” text, similar to the 1960s original. And, of course, there’s also Super-LumiNova for the hands and dots in the minute track.

Does the new Oris Star wear the same as the original?

On the wrist, the watches feel identical, but the new one looks more contemporary thanks to the dial. Putting the new Oris Star on the wrist feels a bit like wearing a NOS Oris from the 1960s. It’s neat, and with the screw-down crown, 50m water resistance, and Sellita-based caliber 733, it’s a nice, modern daily alternative to vintage models.

The screw-in case back is also similar to the original, with the famous Oris shield engraved in the center. All in all, it’s a well-done re-edition! The only thing I would have liked to see executed differently is the new 17mm strap. In addition to being not as wide as the original, it is not to my liking. It looks a bit cheap, and I would have rather seen something a bit more elegant. Thankfully, though, you can go out and buy any 17mm strap you like and swap it.

I believe this watch is for those who either don’t want to risk buying a vintage watch, are a bit afraid of wearing/using it daily, or are Oris fans. And judging by the 50+ chapters of the Oris Social Club and tens of thousands of members of the accompanying Facebook group, there are many fans indeed.

The retail price of this Oris Star is €1,800 / CHF 1,800, and it will be available starting May 2026. Let us know what you think about this Oris Star re-edition in the comments below.