OISA and FAO in Italian Watchmaking

The history of OISA and FAO brings together Italian movement manufacturing, simple hand-wound calibres and economical construction. Three vintage watches trace that development, from an early OISA Extra with a Swiss movement to later Italian-made examples with jewelled lever escapements.

From Swiss experience to Italian manufacture

Many Italian watch brands assembled their watches locally using Swiss components and Swiss or French movements. Domenico Morezzi's ambition was to manufacture individual components and complete calibres, as well as carry out the final assembly.

Originally from Piedmont, Morezzi moved to Switzerland as a child and later worked in the movement-making industry in Grenchen. He returned to Italy in 1936 and founded OISA in Milan with partners in 1937. The name stands for Orologeria Italiana Società Azionaria.

OISA produced simple hand-wound movements displaying hours, minutes and small seconds. Its range included small baguette-shaped calibres for women's watches, some with cylinder escapements, and 10.5-ligne movements for men's watches with pin-pallet or Swiss lever escapements.

Following disagreements within the company, Morezzi established FAO in Milan in 1955. He continued to develop simple, hand-wound, time-only movements, using both pin-pallet and Swiss lever escapements. FAO also supplied movements to other watch brands.

An early OISA Extra with a Swiss movement

The earliest example has a coin-style case, straight, slender lugs and baton hands in a characteristic 1930s style. Its case back bears a 1939 engraving, possibly a dedication. The watch itself could be earlier, perhaps from 1937 or 1938.

Inside is a Unitas 146, a Swiss movement from the 1930s. This is an exception to the story of OISA's own movement production.

Morezzi probably began by casing Swiss movements while his own production was not yet ready. He may have brought these movements back from Switzerland or purchased them separately. Such examples are very rare and confined to OISA's earliest production.

Hemeros and the OISA 53

The second example bears the Hemeros name and is dated approximately to the early 1950s. It has a textured honeycomb dial with the brand name in raised lettering, gold-coloured Dauphine hands and a gold-coloured case with a steel snap-on back.

Its OISA 53 movement has a gold-toned finish, 17 jewels and a Swiss lever escapement with jewelled pallets. The calibre designation appears on the dial side of the movement, while the Hemeros name is also marked on the movement.

Romex and an unsigned FAO movement

The third watch bears the Romex name and contains an unsigned movement resembling the OISA 53, but with a copper-toned finish and 19 jewels. No calibre marking appears beneath the dial or the balance.

Domenico Morezzi's grandson identified it as a version of the FAO 1897 with a jewelled lever escapement and additional fittings at the escape wheel to bring the total to 19 jewels. The presenter describes it as a hybrid, combining the architecture of the 1897 with refinements later adopted in the 2350.

The origin of Romex remains unresolved: Morezzi's grandson did not recognise it among the brands used by his grandfather. The suggestion that it belonged to an assembler buying movements, and possibly cases, from Morezzi remains a hypothesis.

Construction designed to contain costs

The 19-jewel FAO movement shows clear signs of economical construction. Its four bridges are made from stamped sheet metal, while the mainplate is milled. The finishing is rough, with burrs and edges left unrefined. What appear to be balancing screws are actually integral features of the balance rim.

We compare it with the EB 1197, a movement with a pin-pallet escapement. Similarities include the bridge geometry and a spring mounted on the mainplate that acts directly on the winding wheel without a separate click. A rocking mechanism, controlled by the setting lever, switches between winding and setting the hands.

These arrangements reduce the number of components and help contain costs. The resemblance leads the presenter to suggest that Morezzi may have drawn inspiration from the EB movement.

Historical significance

These are honest, functional budget movements, without elaborate aesthetic finishing and below the average standard of Swiss movements of their period. The jewelled lever escapement nevertheless places the FAO example above the pin-pallet EB 1197 in this comparison.