Watches Appreciation And Resouces: Hands on the Oris Diver Sixty-Five 42

The Oris Diver Sixty-Five was introduced in 2015 with a 40mm case, classic dial and a lot of fanfare. Oris is capitalizing on that success with a larger version with more dial options. The Diver Sixty-Five 42 is bigger, solidly-simple in its design and function while offering dial colors for almost any desk diver attire.

Oris has been around since 1904 and now organizes their watches into four collections: culture, aviation, motorsports and diving. Although the latter diver category accommodates those with gills and those without, the Sixty-Five is clearly aiming at a mechanical watch lover who wants the look without the underwater gear.

I had been hunting for a hands-on with the Sixty-Five since it came out. My only Oris diving reference was the behemoth Aquis Depth Gauge, which is their mechanical underwater monster designed to indicate diving depth by allowing water to enter a small hole at 12 o’clock to create a water mark.

The Sixty-Five was not that kind of monster. Instead, I found it to be a low profile, modern sized rendition of a classic diver with a simple design, beautifully subtle curved sapphire crystal and aged-looking luminescence.

The newer and bigger 42mm case is on the big side of what I’d consider ideal for my 7.5” wrist, but I don’t mind how it rides. It offers a respectable 100m water resistance, and the screw down crown is added assurance that you can get this thing wet. From the top view, it’s all dial and bezel and you don’t notice the polished stainless steel case sides since all you can see are the brushed lugs.

The vintage-inspired, bubble-curved glass is a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal and comes with anti-reflective coating on the inside to reduce glare and increase legibility underwater.

The steel, unidirectional bezel feels solid as you move it around the dial. It’s easy to grip and the black aluminum bezel inlay gives nice contrast for each of the 60 clicks. There is a small, dot of lume on the triangle pip on the bezel but the bezel lacks the lume a die-hard diver may require.

The silver dial offers subtle contrast between it and the hour and minute baton hands which are filled with Super-LumiNova. The hands are the ideal shape and length as they interact with the minute track, date window and sweeping second hand. The sweeping second hand is easily tracked in light or dark with its luminous circle hovering over the dial. The applied indices are a perfect proportion and shape and come to life in the dark. The trapezoid date window at 3 o’clock is such a subtle design nuance that it may go unnoticed as it frames the typical black Arabic numeral date on a white disk.

The movement in this watch is a mechanical mainstay in Swiss watchmaking. Oris calls it the Cal. 733 but it’s a modified automatic Sellita SW-200-1 which is modeled after the ETA caliber 2824. Aside from the normal time and date, it gives you a hand winding option as well as a hacking feature to stop the sweeping seconds hand to precisely set the time. The automatic movement has a standard reserve of 38 hours and hums along at a reputable frequency of 28,800 VpH. The signed, screw-down crown unscrews with ease and clicks into the hand-winding mode quickly. From there, it’s one more click to set the date and another to set the time.

You don’t get to see the Oris, red rotor through a display case back. Instead, it’s a steel Oris emblem. I have to wonder if they missed a chance to show off the movement on this watch and not suffer a decreased water resistance. There’s a signed buckle on the vintage leather strap, but this would also look great in the bracelet or rubber strap or a killer after-market NATO strap. The silver dial looked fantastic on my gray NATO.

I really liked this watch and am eager to see it on a bracelet. If there are design suggestions, I would love to see this as a 40mm and without the polished case. Who knows, maybe even different dial colors wouldn’t hurt. Would a red dial be too much? Despite these subtle or absurd suggestions, this watch has a modern feel, a vintage look, solid case, curved sapphire crystal and color options to make it a must-have in your collection. It’s priced at 1,900 CHF as tested. oris.ch

Watch Overview

Brand & Model: Oris Diver Sixty Five
Price: Swiss retail price CHF 1,900 on a strap, CHF 2,100 on metal bracelet
Who we think it might be for: This is for the person who wants a diver in their collection, but will not dive with it.
Would I buy one for myself based on what I’ve seen?: Yes, I would get one, but probably with a bracelet and maybe the blue dial.
If I could make one design suggestion, it would be: I would consider during an all-brushed case at 40mm.
What spoke to me the most about this watch: The silver dial matches my Airstream.

Specifications:

Brand Model: Oris Diver Sixty Five Ref. No. 01 733 7720 4051 RS
Movement: Automatic movement Oris Cal. 733, based on Sellita SW 200-1, with date at 3 o’clock
Size of case diameter (mm): 42mm
Case height (mm): 14mm
Weight: 87 grams with leather strap
Case material: Stainless Steel
Case Back: Screwed stainless steel case back engraved with Oris shield emblem
Crown: Signed, screw-in stainless steel crown
Crystal material: Bubble-curved sapphire crystal domed on both sides with anti-reflective coating inside
Water resistance (m/ft/atm): Water resistant to 10 bar/100m
Strap/Bracelet material: 21mm wide at the Brown leather strap, black rubber strap, or a stainless steel bracelet
Illumination: Super-LumiNova®