Oris Divers 65 Chronograph Review

The Oris Divers 65 has been a hit. Available in a variety of dial configurations, colorways, and case sizes, one could argue it outpaces the Tudor Black Bay in available options. The vintage-inspired Divers 65 line pulls inspiration from the 1965 dive watch . Almost every model has a similar look with fauxtina lume.

Oris has found a cash cow in the Divers 65 line of 3-handers so it makes sense that the brand would expand upon the line by adding a chronograph. The chronograph with two subdials is what we will be looking at today.

Aiming to give the Tudor Black Bay Chronograph a run for its money, the Divers 65 Chronograph looks to bring all the good things about that watch into the Oris workshop for some flair of its own, not to mention undercutting the Tudor’s price by nearly $1,000.

On the Wrist

Oris offers the Divers 65 3-hand models in multiple sizes, but the Chronograph is only offered in one size, 43mm. While it is a relatively large watch, the composition of the dial and case shape help bring it down to a more manageable size for those with smaller wrists.

First, the bicompax configuration not only makes the dial symmetrical but the size of the subdials helps proportion the dial. Everything on the dial is bold and legible. Oris did a nice job making the Divers 65 Chronograph readable but it’s not without a quirk or two.  I would have preferred the logo to be slightly smaller; it stands out a little too much compared to the rest of the text and markings on the dial.

At a daunting size of 52mm lug-to-lug, the Divers 65 Chronograph is sure to scare a few people off. However, I found it wore as if it were a few millimeters smaller, closer to 49mm. The lugs angle down from the case and hook in slightly toward the ends, scaling down the watch slightly. Oris does a fantastic job taking bigger watches like this and the Aquis and making them look smaller than they are.

With that said, the name of the game with this watch is wrist presence. Everything about the Divers 65 begs to be noticed. The gilt accents, the domed crystal, and the size all command wrist presence. On my 6.75” wrist, I never felt it was too big, but it certainly let me know it was there. For a 43mm watch with a long lug-to-lug distance, it was extremely comfortable and had just enough heft to it.

Oris Divers 65 Chronograph In Motion

Dial Details

Every Divers 65 model has some element of fauxtina and the chronograph is no different.  Oris opted to keep the aged lume on the Divers 65 chronograph and surround it with gilt, or gold, accents. I’m personally not a huge fan of gilt, but Oris managed to execute it well here. A decent number of white markings on the dial and bezel are mixed in to not make the gilt feel overdone.

The stars of the show on the dial are the applied markers. Jumping off the glossy black dial, they add a great amount of depth to the dial, which is quite a feat considering the curvature the dial already has. When the dial is hit by bright lighting, the entirety of the marker looks like pure gold. The same can be said for the hour and minute hands.

Speaking of the hour and minute hands, they are large and leave no question about what time it is. I’ve always liked the handset on the Divers 65 model and what appears to be an upscaled version on the chronograph looks especially nice. The style of the hands is carried over to the hands on the subdials. However, I felt that the chunky style of the hands didn’t work as well on the subdials.  It doesn’t matter as much for the running seconds, but I found the minute totalizer hand to obscure what minute it was. When you’re tracking time, this can be a nuisance.

The rest of the dial is executed extremely well. I like the exclusion of a date complication on the Chronograph models; it keeps the dial balanced and uncluttered. The gilt accents are carried over to the hash marks on the outside of the dial as well the Oris logo and water resistance rating text.

All of this is displayed underneath one of the best sapphire crystals in the game. The domed sapphire crystal on the Divers 65 line is just plain lovely. It distorts the edges of the dial in such a pleasing way. On paper the watch is almost 17mm thick but so much of that comes from the crystal, it shows you how much dome it has.

The lume on the Divers 65 is somewhat perplexing. The lume on the hands (including the subdials) glows brighter and longer than the markers. It was hard to tell if the lume was two different colors between the hands and markers. I would have preferred the lume used on the hands to be used on the entire watch.

Case, Bezel & Strap

I’ve spoken a lot about Oris’ case finishing and the Divers 65 is no exception. Seeing as this model falls into their upscale offerings, I’m not surprised to see it well-finished. Oris kept it simple and held true to the vintage inspiration of the Divers 65 and kept sharp lines without chamfers. The lugs are angular with brushing on the top and polishing that runs down the side of the case. It’s simple and clean.

A nice touch that took me longer to notice than I care to reveal is the bronze ring on the edge of the bezel. The teeth of the bezel are finished in bronze that pairs well with the fauxtina elements of the dial. It adds a nice warmth that makes me think it would look naked without it.

With that said, I was disappointed with the bezel action on the Divers 65 Chronograph. The bezel felt clunky and loose with a decent amount of backplay. Considering how great the bezel is on the Aquis, this was surprising. I’d like to see Oris tighten up the tolerances on the bezel considering the asking price.

Oris’ straps have always been great. The rubber strap they offer on the Divers 65 3-hander is one of my favorites and I own the rubber strap for the Aquis and love it. The included leather strap on the Divers 65 Chronograph is just as good. It is a rather thick chunk of leather that balances well with the size of the watch. The only annoying thing is the 21mm lug width. Just make it 22mm and make us all happy.

Powering the Divers 65 Chronograph is the Oris caliber 771, which is built from the Sellita SW510. The movement is essentially a clone of the Valjoux 7750 so it will be a robust and reliable movement beating at 28,800 vph.

Final Thoughts

Oris has been making some of the best affordable dive watches for some time now. The 3-hand Divers 65 line is undoubtably a cash cow since they are constantly releasing new iterations of the watch. The Divers 65 Chronograph is an excellent addition to the line.

I don’t have an issue with the size of this watch though I know many will. It’s a dive watch and chronograph, two types of watches that are larger by nature. With that said, Oris has taken many of their offerings and introduced new sizes. I’d love to see Oris do that here. A 39-40mm version of this watch in new colorways would be amazing. They would have me standing in line for one.

Regardless of that, the Divers 65 Chronograph is a great watch. It ticks a lot of boxes for those wanting a sporty watch with some added flair. The gilt accents, balanced dial, and reliable chronograph movement make it a winner. You’d be hard-pressed to find an automatic chronograph offering this much for the same price.

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