The Return of Mechanical Movements Made in Italy with OISA 1937

While the influence of Italy on the watch industry is indisputable, it is perhaps not the first country to come to mind when thinking of movement manufacturing. Still, back in 1937, Domenico Morezzi founded O.I.S.A. – Orologeria Italiana Società Azionaria – in Milan to start producing movements. Over the years, several calibres were developed and millions of Made in Italy movements were manufactured. With the quartz crisis, the company had to stop its activities. But Carlo Boggio Ferraris, who still produces components for Swiss Made movements, had always dreamed of resuming his family’s movement production business… And he’s on his way to make it.

To revive Italian mechanical movement production, a group of four partners was constituted. Historically, OISA 1937 was a partner (client and supplier) of GENESI, a watch production company created in the 1960s and now incorporated in the LOCMAN group. The industrial project was, therefore, created with Marco Mantovani, President of LOCMAN. There is also Benedetto Perrotta of Officina Meccanica Futura, a company specialised in precision manufacturing. And last but not least, Andrea Morante, a well-known figure in the Italian luxury industry (ex-CEO of Pomellato), as a financial partner.

“The idea is to offer the entire sector high quality, precision and reliable ‘Made in Italy’ mechanical movements. Production in our workshops in Pavia has already begun, with excellent results. In 2022, about 1,000 movements will be produced and, starting from 2023, we foresee a gradual development to reach significantly higher numbers,” says Ferraris. The goal is not only to use this movement for an upcoming Domenico Morezzi limited edition and for some of LOCMAN watches, but also to offer a quality Italian option for brands looking for mechanical movements.

For now, the production of the OISA 1937 Manufacture focuses on the hand-wound calibre 29-50 Cinque Ponti, originally designed in the 1960s by Domenico Morezzi, and which has been remodelled to modern standards. At 29.50mm in diameter and 3.5mm in thickness, the 29-50 movement runs at 25,200vph with a power reserve of 60 hours. A stop-seconds allows for precise time setting. Components are made in Italy, in particular, thanks to the industrial partners’ expertise and a few parts are made in Switzerland. The movement will be officially presented in January 2022.

For more information, please visit www.oisa1937.it.