In the Flesh: Oris Divers Sixty-Five

So, here we are again my friends. After bugging my main man Shane for weeks on end to do a watch review, I find myself sitting here in front of the computer on a Saturday night with a sleeping newborn in one room, and a healthy dram of Nikka pure malt within easy reach. I am not quite sure how to approach this review to be perfectly honest with you. You see, I’m not a watch journalist. I’m strictly a consumer. I am beholden to no brand for advertising revenue, though I certainly appreciate the opportunity to throw a new watch on the wrist for a spell. I’m one of the first people to call BS on a watch or a brand in my private circles when something is not up to snuff or smells a little south of cheese, and I’d like to continue that in this review, though I’d say in general watch reviewers have to walk a fine line when throwing a piece under a bus in print. Well, I’ll give it my best.

The watch in question is the Oris Divers Sixty-Five. This watch was announced back in March at Baselworld, and has been reviewed by more technically inclined industry puff pieces elsewhere, but I suppose I would be remiss to not at least touch on the specs.

What’s under the hood: Oris Cal. 733, that’s what. The 733 is Oris’ implementation of the Sellita SW 200. What’s that you ask? Well, it’s essentially an ETA 2824 copy that is being used in place of ETA movements as their availability in the marketplace decreases. What I can tell you is that the movement keeps solid time and should be able to, ahem, take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’. That’s really what you are looking for at this price point in the marketplace. Talk of finishing and aesthetics at this level is asinine, especially considering the Divers Sixty-Five is not equipped with any of that “see-through caseback” nonsense which has no place on a watch in this tax bracket. As far as other specs, you’ve got a movement beating at 4Hz, a quick set date at 6 o’clock and 38 hours of power reserve.

Construction: Here’s where the Sixty-Five gets to be a bit more interesting. It’s great when a watch goes against the grain a little bit and shows you why restraint in design is a good thing. Oris could have gone with the flow of the modern watch industry and pumped up the dimensions of this re-issue beyond its reserved 40mm case. They could have doubled the thickness of the caseback to pump up the depth rating beyond 100m, which about .001% of the watch buying public actually needs. What they did instead was produce a svelte, refined case that wears very nicely and looks great. The lack of crown guards, perfectly executed domed sapphire crystal, and glossy black dial round out the look of this vintage re-issue.

I can honestly say this is one of the best executed domed sapphire crystals I have ever seen. Kudos to Oris on that one. However, I will take Oris to task over the bezel they decided to throw on the watch. After clearly putting some thought and effort into the rest of the piece, the bezel really falls flat. It looks to me like the bezel itself is made of plastic and it certainly also feels that way, and that’s a shame. The bezel plays such an integral part in the operation of a dive watch and it should really have a solid look and feel, because, theoretically, if the bezel on a diver’s watch fails, it could mean her life.

Strap: You get the option of choosing between a canvas/textile and a rubber tropic strap. Let me say, I think that’s kinda cheap. I can see a bracelet being a separate option, but for these choices, take a cue from Tudor and throw in both options. The watch I tested out came on Oris’ tropic strap and I loved it. It was supple, lightweight, and sporty. Perfect for the intended purpose of the piece. In fact, I wish I had a few of these straps to use on my personal watches.

Dial: The Divers Sixty-Five definitely has a licorice dial. You’re either going to love it or hate it. Oris stayed fairly true to the original’s design with the heavily stylized 3,6,9 and 12 in negative against a trapezoid of luminous material. They did, however, move the date from 3:00 to 6:00 position and set the date wheel background to black from the original white. This presents a cleaner overall look, but makes the date a bit harder to read. The glossy nature of the dial is really a pleasure to behold under that exquisite domed crystal, and I grew to enjoy the anachronistic look the watch projects.

Verdict: The Oris Divers Sixty-Five retails for $1,850. For your money, you get an interesting sport watch with a workhorse, no-frills movement. Let’s unpack that price point for a minute and think about some comparisons. Obviously, the one that jumps to mind is the Longines Legend Diver, which was a big hit. That watch will run you about $2,300 new. I think it comes down to a question of aesthetics between these two choices. Personally, these watches fit an interesting niche for me. Anyone who knows me or my Instagram feed would say, “hold on a min, Mr. high-and-mighty-beholden-to-no-human c*cksucker. You collect pristine and incredible examples of excellent vintage watches, you would never buy/wear a watch like this.” Well, if you said that, you’d be mostly right. The problem with vintage watches is that their gaskets and seals are also vintage. Unless you love rusting-out movements, you can’t take your vintage dive watch diving or swimming, and that’s where a watch like this would come in handy. I could see myself wearing the Oris Divers Sixty-Five for watersports and international travel to less savory destinations like, sayyyy oh, I don’t know…anywhere above 96th St. I often talk to my watch buddies about the perfect “beach” watch, as I like to call it, and I think the Oris Divers Sixty-Five would fit nicely in this role, especially for someone with a penchant for the vintage look. The greater question for me is really one of ‘price points’ in the modern watch industry, and this isn’t really the time or the place to have that discussion, but it is an issue I’d like to take a deep dive into soon.