The LOCMAN X OISA 1937: The first watch manufactured in Italy

As many of you know I'm a sucker for a micro brand. Especially a brand that has history, heart, and is above all very aesthetically pleasing. I've recently stumbled upon the LOCMAN X OISA 1937, which boasts to be the first watch manufactured in Italy. Officially coined the Montecristo OISA and is available for just under 5K Euros.

It's an interesting debate on what constitutes an Italian Watch? Cartier for example is considered a French brand although they make Swiss watches. Then you have the likes of Christopher Ward or Farer, which are British companies that design their watches in the UK but have them made in Switzerland. Bremont is probably the only truly British watch making brand with their operations just outside of Henley. 

This is an Italian brand, designed in Italy, with parts and movements all Italian designed and produced in Italy. Personally I'd love to see more discussion around this watch, and hopefully some press events will come my way. If so, get in touch. I also welcome all opinions and information on this brand as I'm keen to learn more and possible invest in a LOCMAN X OISA 1937 for my personal collection.

Firstly a note on LOCMAN

Locman's mission is to promote the tradition of Italian watchmaking, which has an extraordinary history starting from the first watchmakers of the 14th century who set up the belltowers of their city, through to Galileo Galilei who invented the isochronism of the pendulum.

That created a generation of watchmakers throughout Europe. Up to OISA which thanks to Domenico Morezzi, created extraordinary mechanical calibres.

Now moving onto OISA 1937

The OISA 1937 manual mechanical movement – as the result of years of research – finds its place in the LOCMAN Montecristo model with the aim of a new challenge: to revive mechanical Made in Italy watchmaking.

OISA 1937 is a historical brand founded in Milan in 1937 by Domenico Morezzi. “Don’t be afraid of not having the courage” was Morezzi’s motto when he opened the historical laboratory of OISA. Here Morezzi and his staff were able to produce 10,000 mechanical movements per month, all original calibers for watchmaking houses in Italy and around the world.

OISA represented a unique experience for the Italian watchmaking industry, but in 1978, with the arrival of quartz movements on the market, the Morezzi family decided to stop the activity. In 2017, Morezzi’s grandson and heir, Carlo Boggio Ferraris, together with other excellent names in Italian business, decided to resume production. Today, after years of preparation, OISA 1937 presents its first movement mounted on a LOCMAN watch.

Some technical Info

The mechanical hand-wound OISA Calibre 29-50 Cinque Ponti movement has a handmade Côtes de Genève finish on the bridges enclosing the gear train and a handmade Perlage finish on the main plate. It has a diameter of 29.5 mm and a height of 3.5 mm.

Available limited edition on Locman website under £5k.

Photo by lorenzo mazzoleni on Unsplash