Oris: Mo’ Your Own Way

In a creative hub and convivial space warmly decorated with vines and plants at the Carousel restaurant in London, Oris hosted a panel discussion on men’s health and launched its new Movember campaign accompanied, of course, by the launch of the Oris Movember Edition Big Crown Pointer Date. In the brand’s ethos to take fine watchmaking and use it to benefit charitable causes, Oris has set the ambitious target to help raise 100,000 Swiss francs in November to benefit the Movember cause, which is to encourage men to engage in their physical and mental health and raise money for cancer research.

“It has been two years now that we have been partners with the Movember Foundation,” said Ulrich W. Herzog, Oris Chairman, during his introduction of the panel. “They are aligned with the strategy of our company, under the heading “Move to the Better,” which covers not only men’s health but also covers the health of the oceans and many other areas we are working in. With Movember’s concept and fight against cancer and for men’s health, we thought this was a good element to work together on and to approach different people. That was the start of our cooperation and why we partnered with Movember.”

Introducing their Movember Crew, the Movember Foundation and Oris gathered three different men to be the faces of this new campaign and their Movember efforts: Scott Poynton (The Activist), Dr. Johannes Wimmer (The Doc), and Miguel Gutierrez (The Groomer). Poynton, an Australian forester based in Gingins, Switzerland, works with his organization, the Forest Trust, to try and inspire people to connect with nature and their inner selves through his “Walk and Talks”, where he encourages people in the month of November to join him on a walk to the top of La Dole (a mountain in Switzerland), and raise awareness and funds for Movember. Dr. Wimmer, based in Berlin, created a YouTube channel that aims to make men’s health more accessible, while still working on a regular basis in the ER and with patients with post-traumatic stress disorder. And Gutierrez, a barber with shops in London and Berlin, created a web-series called the Nomad Barber which explores the barbering trade worldwide and encourages men to be more open about their problems, especially in their barber’s chair. During the panel, the crew were joined by Herzog and Sarah Coghlan, Global Director of Men’s Health Promotion Programs for the Movember Foundation, and moderated by Jasmine Hemsley, a London-based celebrity chef and author.

On the topic of helping men engage more openly with their physical and mental health, each panelist brought up the topic of why it can be harder for men to talk openly, and why it’s important to get them to engage. Said Dr. Wimmer: “If you want people to engage with health and have people focus on taking care of themselves, you have to do it in an appealing way. It’s nudging people in the right direction of taking the next step and engaging with their health.”

Coghlan put it into perspective best, highlighting why their relationship with Oris was so fitting: “At the end of the day, men are dying six years younger than women on average around the world. And it’s due to largely preventable reasons. I think that this is such an interesting partnership with Oris, because we exist to give men more time—time with their families, time doing things that they love. And this is a relationship that’s about time, and people want more of that. That’s about quality. How do we spend more time doing quality things that actually enrich and build us and help us prevent disease? Social connection, for me, is the biggest thing. Men don’t have the depth and breadth of friendship later in life that women often do, and we need to give men the tools and the permission and the nod to say that friendships really matter—these are the biggest protective things you can take through life, so invest in them and spend time with people who really care for you.”

Oris is committed to the Movember cause, and in order to reach its ambitious target of 100,000 Swiss francs, is participating in “Walk and Talks” with Poynton, who is organizing a Global Relay on November 15 (more information on www.movember.com), as well as hosting shave-downs all over the world and taking part of the revenue from selling the Oris Movember Edition watch towards that target. The Oris Movember Edition is a special edition of the brand’s Big Crown Pointer Date, with a 40mm stainless steel case housing their in-house movement (Oris 754) with a power reserve of 38 hours. The watch comes with a comfortable brown leather strap stamped with the Movember ‘Mo’ logo and a second fabric strap. Retailing at CHF 1,800, the Oris Movember Edition is an easy purchase for those looking to sport a watch with style for a good cause.

So, whether you walk, or talk, or grow a mo’, or donate directly to the cause, or buy the watch, make sure to engage in this important cause for the betterment of yourself and/or the men in your life.

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