BY HARLAN CHAPMAN-GREEN
Lots of watchmakers make multiple variants of the same style of wristwatch. Think about names like Breitling and the multiple styles of the Navitimer pilot’s watch they’ve made over the years, or Omega’s Seamaster, which comes in modern-styled variants like the Diver 300m or the Planet Ocean, and the vintage-inspired Seamaster 300, they’re all diving watches but with different styles. Omega’s split between vintage-styled pieces and modern ones is where we’re looking today with Oris. Fresh off the heels of their AquisPro 4000m launch (with the Aquis being their modern-styled diver of the range) comes this, the freshly re-designed Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph.
The Divers Sixty-Five is a cool watch, although I suspect it has trouble standing out next to Oris’ other models in shop window displays. You don’t see many Sixty-Fives in watch forums, but I could be looking in the wrong place. The chronograph is an even rarer specimen, probably owing to its size. The older models were 43mm across and nearly 17mm thick, so you had to have some meaty arms to make them look proportional.
Thankfully, the new Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph has been on a diet and is looking good for it. The watch measures 40mm x 15.4mm, so, still quite chunky but a lot more usable for most people. The case is made of stainless steel this time. Previous models used bronze a lot which is nice if a bit niche, I think the steel will appeal a lot more to everyone. There’s also a black deer leather strap available, or you can have a riveted multi-link stainless steel bracelet. The water resistance is 100m, which is the minimum required by ISO6425 to be considered a diving watch.
The black dial is clear and readable, the twin-subdial layout with chunky markers is undoubtedly easy to read, and smatterings of SuperLumiNova make it visible at night. The black aluminium insert on the unidirectional bezel looks smart.
Inside the watch is the self-winding calibre 771, which is based on the Sellita SW 150. It comes with a 4Hz beat rate and 48-hour power reserve, hacking seconds for precise time setting and Oris’ famous red rotor, although the caseback obscures that.
Unlike other variants of the Divers Sixty-Five Chronograph, this one isn’t limited in production and is priced at CHF 3900 on the leather strap, and you can add another 200 Francs to that price if you want the bracelet option.
