Shrouded secrets in the watch industry: How Oris handled issues with their caliber 400 model

Like an unsaid cultural code, the watch industry often suppresses anything less than positive communication, revealing only perfected fronts to consumers. Watch companies are said to guard their reputations fiercely, even if it involves camouflaging known product issues from the public view. This secrecy extends to the point of silent rectification of defects without any public acknowledgment, thus effectively sweeping any imperfections under the carpet.

Illustrating this scenario, Oris, a renowned name in the watch industry, encountered similar circumstances with its in-house movement, the caliber 400. When reviewed, eminent master watchmaker, Jordan Ficklin, found noticeable issues with the swaggering timepiece. Despite spotting a jumping minute hand and a potentially faulty rotor design, the company remained tight-lipped about these inadequacies.

This incident might have been forgotten, but for the lack of any public acknowledgment by Oris of the upgraded version, the Oris caliber 400.2. It was brought to light not by an official announcement, but gleaned from a Reddit thread. Though the company did address the problems with the jumping minute hand and the automatic rotor in this updated version, the opaque manner in dealing with the issue raises questions on the number of defective version 1 movements that might still be circulating in the market.