ReviewOris Marks Movember, The Best Time To Grow Your Moustache
As 'Movember' begins, Oris watches will support the Movember Foundation, raising funds for and awareness about issues faced by men, with various initiatives, and their special Oris Movember Edition timepiece
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The moustache went out of style in the 90s, and made a comeback in the 2000s, with the emergence of the styled stubble as a strong trend in men’s grooming. Even though a substantial moustache wasn’t seen as part of men’s natural facial hair, the graphical representation or the motif of a man’s moustache made its way into emoticons, and as props at photo booths. One particular version of the moustache motif grew in popularity in the 2000s, and it was seen on T-shirts, on posters, on memes, and today, it can be seen on the caseback of the all new Oris Movember Edition.
From the Oris Divers Sixty-Five collection, the Oris Movember Edition isn’t just following some stylistic trend in pop-culture. And this particular moustache motif isn’t just a trendy element of visual communication like the superficial face filters on Snapchat, or some emoji you’ll find on your smartphone. It’s a symbol representing a cause – initiated by Movember, the only international charitable foundation for men’s health.
The Movember Foundation
The Movember Foundation is the only one that addresses health issues faced by men – such as prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and depression – on a global scale. The word ‘Movember’ is a portmanteau (or a linguistic blend of words) of the word ‘mo’, short for moustache in Australian English, and the month, November. While this foundation itself was founded only in 2003, the term Movember was first coined in 1999, by a group of men at a pub in Adelaide, Australia, who decided to grow their moustaches throughout November to raise money for RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals). They used the slogan ‘Growing whiskers for whiskers’, but this movement didn’t gather momentum.
It was in the early 2000s, when an unrelated group of men in Melbourne decided to grow their whiskers to raise awareness and support men suffering from prostate cancer and depression in men. This is what led to the establishment of the Movember Foundation, which actively raises awareness and encourages the raising of funds to tackle some of the biggest health issues faced by men. Statistically, the average age of death for men is six years less than the same average for women. The reasons are vast and varied, obviously. However, a major cause is the lack of awareness about the issues that plague men, and it’s not just limited to medical problems; it concerns mental health too. Movember’s mission is to ‘help men live happier, healthier, longer lives and to stop them [from] dying too young’. Every November, the foundation encourages men to grow moustaches to raise funds to support the 1,200 health projects that they run around the world. The month-long activities and initiatives are backed by prominent celebrities from the worlds of sports, music, entertainment, and fashion.
Oris and Movember: A Partnership Pour Homme
As one of the partners of the foundation, Oris has extended its support towards the causes that are backed by the Movember foundation, by introducing a special edition of their flagship Divers Sixty-Five. “We have been following Movember’s activities for a number of years and have been hugely impressed with everything they’ve achieved, raising the profile of men’s health issues around the world,” says Ulrich W Herzog, chairman, Oris. This association is also of added significance to Oris, as it becomes a part of the company’s vision to bring about ‘Change for the better’.
In November this year, the Swiss watch manufacturers will host a series of events to spread awareness about and raise funds for Movember’s initiatives. These events will include shave-downs, for donating volunteers to get a shave and start growing their Movember moustaches. In the mix will also be poetry slams, Movember walks, and more. Adding to the support generated by these events, Herzog states, “We look forward to raising significant funds to support their activities through sales of the Oris Movember Foundation watch.”
Even Owen Sharp, CEO of the Movember Foundation weighs in on the partnership, saying, “This is really exciting for us and we’re extremely grateful to Oris. The collaboration will help us continue our work in funding vital research and support programmes impacting men’s health all over the world.”
Oris has a phenomenal presence on all social media platforms. Follow the brand for all the buzz surrounding their Movember initiatives by searching for their hashtags, #OrisMovember and #OrisChangeForTheBetter.
The Oris Movember Edition
Divers Sixty-Five is a line from Oris that dates back to 1965, when the signature diver’s watch from Oris was first introduced. The Oris Movember Edition has made its way into the latest Divers Sixty-Five collection, which was unveiled this year. The timepiece features a throwback to the 60s, by way of the vintage Oris logo engraved on the caseback. Also seen on the caseback is the Movember moustache right below the vintage Oris logo. Apart from that, the moustache insignia is subtly placed on a few other parts of the heritage piece, linking it to the Movember foundation. The ’stache is seen on the brown leather strap, heat-stamped close to the timepiece’s 12 and 6 o’clock positions. The watch comes with the option of a NATO strap in striped Bordeaux red, beige, and dark brown. It also features the Movember logo on its metal loop.
Aside from the straps, colours and the logos, there are some other distinguishing factors that set this special Divers Sixty-Five timepiece apart from its brothers. The black, curved dial has yellow minute markers and text, including the Oris branding. At six o’clock, you can also see the date aperture. The applied hour marker indices, and the hour and minute hands are rose gold-plated, and filled with SuperLuminova, which assures optimum readability even in low-light circumstances. SuperLuminova is also seen at zero on the 60-minute timer scale of the black, aluminium-inlayed, unidirectional rotating bezel, which is a diver’s watch standard. This watch is powered by an Oris calibre 733 automatic movement, housed in a 40mm stainless steel case that features a screw-in crown. The watch comes in a special Oris heritage box, with the second strap option and a tool that’ll help you change the strap.
Pledge your support towards the Movember Foundation’s initiatives to tackle men’s health issues, by ordering the Oris Movember Edition today, exclusively from Ethos Watches. Please call +91 8725028900.
