For decades, Oris, like many other Swiss watch brands, had been subject to the Swiss Watch Statute (“statut de l’horlogerie”), introduced on March 12 in 1934 to prevent companies battling for survival during The Great Depression (1929 to 1939) from, for example, exporting parts to other companies, undercutting prices, and potentially damaging the overall reputation of Swiss Made watches. One of the unintended consequences of heavily regulating the industry, however, was that it would also effectively prohibit Swiss watch companies from innovating without prior authorization, and basically create a cartel. Oris, for example, was forced to continue working with less accurate pin-lever movements, while its competitors had already opted for more accurate lever escapements. In 1956, the then high-volume watchmaker decided to hire a lawyer and tasked him to look into options to preventing the statute from being renewed. Dr Rolf Portmann would fight the “Swiss Watch Cartel” for a decade. In 1965, he succeeded, and the law was scrapped. Only a year later, Oris was able to introduce the Oris Star, the brand’s first watch with in-house lever escapement movement. In 1982, Dr Portmann and Ulrich W. Herzog would stage a management buyout, and Portmann remains Honorary Chairman at Oris.