Hands-On – Oris Divers Sixty-Five Silver Dial (And Why A Bright Dial Diver Can Also Work)

In a recent piece of news, Oris announced a new iteration for the 42mm Divers Sixty-Five. While this model already exists in blue or green, it now comes with a rather unexpected dial, which even if strongly playing on the usual vintage theme of the collection (and maybe even more now) is featuring a silver color, something rather unusual for a dive watch. Well, this Oris Divers Sixty-Five Silver Dial was clearly requiring to be seen in the metal (no press photo can give credits to a watch), something we did during the brand’s pre-Baselworld Preview where we already saw the Oris Altimeter Rega Limited Edition. And believe us, it was necessary.

If you are here, reading these lines, you must have already a certain interest in watches. Thus, you are probably already aware of the Oris Divers Sixty-Five and most of its variations. And if not, here is a small reminder. The “65” was introduced at Baselworld 2015, in its black dial / 40mm version, as a modern interpretation of a 1965 dive watch from the brand. And it created some buzz… This watch (and the following collection) is nowadays one of the brand’s best-sellers – and it definitely helped Oris to go through the current “crisis“. The Oris Divers Sixty-Five is a solid dive watch, properly vintage-inspired, combining good quality, very cool design, retro-feel, robust automatic Sellita movement and accessible price (below 2,000 Euros).

After the 2015 version and its 40mm case, the brand introduced the 42mm version, still vintage-inspired in style but with a different, more classical and more versatile dial – first introduced in blue and later in green. Indeed, it get rids of this quite original dial to now feature a more traditional diving dial, with luminous dots and plots for the hours. This watch is all about a diver: 100m water resistance (too low for some but we say more than enough for 99% of the collectors), a 60-minute rotatable diving bezel (with 120 clicks), a legible and pleasantly designed dial, enough night-luminosity to be used as it should be… Overall, not only its design is super cool but the Oris Divers Sixty-Five (whether the 40mm or the 42mm versions) is an efficient, well-priced and well-constructed dive watch. But that is not the point of today’s article. We’re not going to do the story again. The idea is about the new silver-tone dial that Oris chose to add to the collection. And as the “65” is a dive watch, such a choice could have been questionable.

First of all, before going into the real deal of this silver dial, we must admit the clear beauty of the render. It is just cool, once again. While the other Oris Divers Sixty-Five watches were already rather vintage in terms of look, this silver dial version, even if it has nothing historically relevant, is just the most vintage-looking version – at least in terms of visual perception, especially combined to this brown aged leather strap (a rubber and a metallic bracelet are also available). Once again, the press images showed by Oris were not entirely faithful to the reality. In the metal, the color is more silver than grey – it is lighter, more lively, warmer than the stock images. The tone is also less cold and deeply plays with the ambient light, and this is why this watch looks even more vintage. Then, there are the indexes. Once again, the press images were depicting almost yellow indexes. The reality are some rather light cream indexes, which matches with the vintage-inspired theme. A few nice details that are used on all the “65” are still there: applied and metal-circled indexes, trapeze-shaped date window, domed dial, clean look with few text and tracks… In terms of visual aspect, it’s all good.

However, like always, there’s a but. When it has been introduced, some pointed the fact that a dive watch should have a dark dial rather than a bright dial, for safety and legibility reasons. It is true that if you search in the “dive watches” section of our magazine, you’ll find only a few with white or light grey dials. Why that? Simply because a dive watch is a tool that needs to provide the highest possible legibility in low light conditions, meaning that a high contrast is required between the dial and the hands. This is why most dive watches (even from Oris) are fitted with black or deep blue dials with silver or white hands. How does it work now with a silver dial and silver hands? Well, without saying that it shows the same high contrast as the black / blue dial versions, this silver option – as you can judge by yourself on the photos – provides enough contrast and offers a very good legibility. Then, the luminous plots are the same as the other versions, and once diving, that’s the only thing that really counts. Finally, this silver dial counteracts a rather annoying effect on the dark versions, which are coming with glossy dial and thus, having a lot of reflections. Not with the silver version. You see, not that bad in the end.

Overall, this Oris Divers Sixty-Five Silver Dial is another very nice addition to a robust, respected collection. it just looks different, which doesn’t mean it is less efficient as a dive watch. Once again, the quality / price ratio is excellent – 1,850 Euros on rubber or leather strap, 2,050 Euros on the super cool riveted metallic bracelet. Available in Spring 2017, after Baselworld. oris.ch.

Specifications of the Oris Divers Sixty-Five Silver Dial

• Case: 42mm diameter – Multi-piece stainless steel case, satined and polished – Sapphire crystal on the front, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside – steel caseback – 100m water resistance
• Movement: Oris 733, base Sellita SW 200-1 – Automatic – 4Hz frequency – 38H power reserve – time and date
• Strap / bracelet: rubber strap on pin buckle / aged leather on pin buckle / riveted bracelet with folding clasp