In a marketplace saturated by retro dive watches and watch company reissues complete with artificially aged lume, dials, and hand sets, it can be hard to imagine a less funky and colorful world only half a decade ago when watches were generally just iterations of modern lineups. Which is why when big hitters like Tudor released their modern Black Bay lineup evoking a vintage appeal for the modern clientele it was a revelation. Comparatively, when Oris, which has its own rich heritage, released the Oris 65 Diver, it blew the doors off the watch world with it’s single minded true-to-1965 funkinesss.

The details. The Oris Diver 65 runs on a modified Sellita SW200 housed within a steel 40mm wide case. What the case design lacks in luxury flair and intricacy it makes up for in sporty utilitarian functionality that reflects its history as a diving watch. The watch face is framed in a DLC coated aluminum 120 bezel that creates a black on black appeal that minimizes distractions and draws the eye towards the dial.

The dial is the real show stopper. Lifted directly from the original design from the 1960s, Oris kept the integrity of the piece by only modifying the date window and placing it at 6 o’clock. The numerals are printed in a creamy parchment color that we tend to call “faux patina” these days. The glossy inky black dial interestingly domes as it matches the curvature of the exaggerated domed sapphire crystal of the case. The dome-on-dome effect is mesmerizing.

Overall, as with seemingly everything Oris does, this watch presents as an unmistakeable original genuine design at a value driven price point. It presents a fun dive watch you can wear with pleasure but won’t be afraid to bang up on vacation or swimming. As of this writing Oris had gone on to release countless variations of this original design, even collaborating with numerous outlets to produce variations of different colors, sizes and materials. There is bound to be an Oris 65 for everybody out there.