Along with many critics and collectors, the Oris Divers Sixty-Five was our favorite 2015 timepiece under $2,000. Now, thanks to our unique relationship and shared vision with Oris, my brother Russ and I are proud to announce the Oris Divers Sixty-Five Topper Edition: a 100-piece limited edition non-date version of the Divers Sixty-Five.
Following up on its previous models with tropical and textile straps, Oris is now also offering a riveted bracelet option for its vintage-inspired dive watch, the Oris Diver Sixty-Five (see review here), introduced in 2015. In the hands-on photos below, we show you the new bracelet mounted on the recently introduced “Deauville” version of the watch.The bracelet’s design is based on the one used on this vintage model from 1965, pictured below. According to Oris, the new stainless-steel metal bracelet (with a folding clasp, as seen below) should add approximately $300 to the retail price of the Diver Sixty-Five (CHF 1,950 versus CHF 1,750 on a strap).
“Real watches for real people” is the slogan of Oris and although I seldomly take these kind of lines very serious, this one does make sense actually. Real people, like you and me, who have to save-up for a nice watch, a real watch. Don’t be mislead by all the images of tourbillon watches or minute repeaters shown everywhere, they only represent a very small market. Oris showed us that they were able to move the watch industry, or more important, its consumers, with their €1700 Euro Sixty-Five divers watch. Where a lot of other brands were occupied last year with increasing prices and trying to justify these to their clients (retailers and consumers) during the SIHH and BaselWorld, the talk of the town was Oris with their Divers Sixty-Five timepiece.
There is a certain balancing act that must be respected when designing a successful “automotive-themed” watch, with many examples simply falling prey to the uncanny valley of making the watch look much like a car, wheel, or gauge. With the new Oris Williams Engine Date, the brand has found an equilibrium with a legible steel sport watch that won’t look out of place in a pit lane. Oris has enjoyed a long-standing partnership with Willams F1 and the new Williams Engine Date is far from their first automotive themed watch (they also work with Audi). Using the same distinctive case design established by the previous Oris Williams models, the Oris Engine Date adds some dial skeletonization and detailing to further establish a connection with automotive designs.
Much like the Oris Williams Day Date, the Williams Engine Date uses a 42 mm steel case with a mix of brushed and polished finishing. With an anti-reflective sapphire crystal up front and a mineral crystal display case back, the Engine Date is water resistant to 100m. Despite being automotive-themed, the dial design is legible, with large numerals at three and nine and wide luminous hands.
With their new Carl Brashear Limited Edition dive watch, Oris pays tribute to the U.S Navy’s first African-American Master Diver, the thoroughly impressive Carl Brashear. With a classic and clean diver aesthetic rendered in bronze, this limited edition piece expands upon the success of the Oris Divers Sixty Five, which was announced at Basel last march. There is no shortage of tribute and themed limited edition watches out there, but it’s especially refreshing to see the Oris Carl Brashear Limited Edition watch in honor of an amazing man who might not be quite a household name.