Having been a child at the turn of the century, 2025 feels like a significant year to me – a quarter of the way through the 21st century! While there’s nothing specifically special about it, it still has the feel of landmark year. For Oris it’s a landmark year as well because they are celebrating the 60th anniversary of one of their core collections, the Divers Sixty-Five, which first debuted in, well, 1965. To mark the occasion, they’ve released the Oris Divers Sixty-Five 60th Anniversary Edition, a modern reinterpretation of the original 1965 watch.
This is not the first time Oris have reinterpreted the original Divers Sixty-Five as back in 2015 they launched a 50th Anniversary Edition that followed the same inspiration. The elements of the original that Oris have recreated are very apparent to see. Particularly the retro style Arabic numerals at 12/3/6/9 with their stylised, chunky typography. They look a bit goofy by today’s sleek dive watch standards but I personally find them very charming. They remind me of the Yema Skin Diver Slim from last year.
Another key element of the 2025 edition is the Oris logo, which is presented in the retro style of the original logo for the first time since the brand updated the design to the current version. The 2015 version used the contemporary logo so if you see the watches side by side, that’s an easy way to identify which is which. You could also use the date window positioning because the 60s original had its date at 3 o’clock, the 2015 had its at 6 o’clock and the Divers Sixty-Five 60th Anniversary Edition has done away with the date altogether.
As for the case, the modern reinterpretation measures 40mm in diameter in steel, offering solid durability. It’s fitted with a bi-directional rotating bezel, which is an oddity on a diving watch where uni-directional rotation is the norm. However, it stays true to the original which also had a bi-directional bezel so it makes sense to keep that the same here in the homage edition. Dive watches were really kicking off in popularity in the mid-20th century around the time that the Divers Sixty-Five was produced so the formula for what a dive watch is and should be was a lot more fluid than it is today.
Inside that case is the Oris 733 automatic movement with 38-hour power reserve. This is the Oris branded version of the Sellita SW200-1, which is starting to look very outdated compared to Oris’ in-house movements like the Calibre 400. I appreciate that third party movements allow them to offer watches at a lower price point however at £1,950 it’s still not the level of accessibility you expect to see from watches with Sellita movements.
We recently looked at a handful of affordable alternatives to the Omega Seamaster Diver 300M and a couple of those also housed the Sellita SW200-1 for half the price of the Oris. And the real kicker is they had better specs in other areas too like their water resistance ratings, as the Divers Sixty-Five 60th Anniversary is only rated to 100m. I will say that specs aren’t everything to a watch and shouldn’t be the be all and end all of your purchasing decision.
What’s inside a watch will not affect your dopamine levels anywhere near as much as the style and aesthetic when you wear it and the Divers Sixty-Five is a great looking watch. Retro style reborn under a modern guise is a winning combination in today’s zeitgeist.
Price and Specs:
More details at Oris.
