- Size: 40×48 x13mm
- Case Material: Stainless Steel
- Movement: Oris 733 (SW200-1b), Mechanical, Automatic
- Water Resistance: 100m
- Strap: Steel Bracelet or Leather Strap
- Reference: 01 733 7707 4053-07 8 20 18 / 01 733 7707 4053-07 5 20 89
- Price: $2,400 (Bracelet) / $2,200 (Strap)
I collect Rolex and Speedmasters predominantly. I stay within their classic models while also looking for the nuanced differentiator within that segment. I’ve had plenty of prior experience with Oris, through hands-on reviews and Beyond The Dial’s support of mission-based journalism. Allen owns a Divers-Sixty Five x Momotaro which I think is pretty cool. And yet… nothing has caught my eye up until now that would make me consider ownership, but now I feel Oris has finally arrived in my lane with the Divers Sixty-Five Glow.
The Case
The Oris Divers Sixty-Five has a classic 40mm stainless steel brushed case. The propensity of iconic 40mm watches confirms this to be the sweet-spot in the saturated category of dive watches. If you do prefer a different case size, Oris offers 36mm and 42mm versions of the Divers-Sixty five. I won’t get into the details of the entire D65 line, but the catalog is vast.
Let’s face it. You aren’t going diving deeper than 100m (300ft). Not a chance. Also, keep in mind that Oris claims that 100m equals 100m. Water-resistance in more than just a tightly sealed crown. If I ever find myself 100m deep, I’d trust Oris’ 100m rating over a microbrand’s 200m claim any day.
The Glow is a regular production piece, not a numbered or limited edition. There is nothing about the Divers-Sixty Five Glow that differentiates its case geometry from other models in the same line. As with the other Divers Sixty-Five cases, you get the same vintage nods such as the exposed 6.9mm crown and domed (sapphire) crystal. There is no touch of bronze to be had on the Glow, it’s just steel, steel, and more steel… Just the way I like it.
The Dial
Until the Glow model, nothing had caught my attention in the Sixty-five catalog however, that was not to say I did not have my opinions of the earlier variants:
- Topper Jewelers edition – fried egg pip, numerals too funky, date window at six o’clock
- Movember edition – underwhelming, gold hands, date window at six o’clock
- Hodinkee edition – overuse of fauxtina, hype, steep secondary market price
- Red Bar edition – gold hands, bronze bezel
- Revolution edition – same as the Red Bar (plus that weird orange)
- Timeless Jewelers edition – same as the Red Bar and Revolution
- Momotaro edition – same as the Red Bar, Revolution, and Timeless Jewelers
As you can tell from that list, I’m picky, however, none of these aforementioned gripes affected the Glow. Sure, Oris merely changed the color of the paint which on the face of it does not such like a big deal. But it swayed this reviewer and the neon teal over gray colorway was enough to have me playing mental watch Tetris to fit this Oris into my collection.
You’ve probably heard of fauxtina before, but fauxluminensance might be uncharted territory. The teal color looks like dayglow… so much so, one might think the lume is on all the time. This is contrasted by a smoky gray dial that doesn’t blow apart the classic ethos of the overall D65 design. So, exactly what color are those applied markers and hands? Oris’ marketing team describes the Glow as “inspired by the way the light pierces ice”. So what color are they?
Then it hit me: Oris was going for a robin’s egg blue, or as it is known in the luxury world: Tiffany Blue. The ISCC–NBS System of Color Designation uses adjective modifiers on color terms to describe individual colors. The official description of Tiffany Blue is “very light bluish-green”. Indeed, when placed side by side, Tiffany Blue and Oris Glow look almost identical.
To my mind, the color choice is significant. It certainly allows Oris to remain on-trend with industry juggernauts such as the Patek Philipe with its 5711, and Rolex with its Oyster Perpetual, both now sporting light blue dials. Oris can hang with this company while still being the subtle cool kid.
Lume treatment on colored markers and hands can be tricky and this is one of the areas where Oris cut corners with its C9 Superluminova. The bezel pip and hands are lighter in color compared to the hour markers. It’s not a deal breaker but it just seems like an unnecessary and unfortunate difference.
The Movement
I love how Oris clearly states that its caliber 733 has a Sellita SW200-1 base. There is no smoke and mirrors here disguising a third-party movement as Oris’ own. The automatic-mechanical SW200-1b is the no-date version of the popular SW200-1 movement. Since Oris is an independent brand, sourcing movements from Sellita, rather than ETA, keeps the Swatch Group at arm’s length.
I love the high pitch sound when hand-winding the Sellita SW200-1b. However, you don’t get the tactile feedback that you would wind a high-end mechanical watch. And while the movement may not be on display through the caseback, the SW200-1b does have an important visual task to perform on this watch… eliminating the date window on the Divers-Sixty Five. Hooray!
I do believe Oris will start moving upmarket by integrating its in-house caliber 400 movements into more of its product line. Especially since we know that the caliber 400 can squeeze into a 38mm D65 case (Hodinkee Ltd Ed). Until then, the Sellita movement is a great option to maintain a competitive price point and offer the customer ease and low cost of service.
The Bracelet
I always advise readers to buy a watch on a bracelet, and the Oris Divers Sixty-Five Glow is no different. The most important feature to note is that the 20mm lug width tapers aggressively to 14mm at the clasp. While it may look dainty, the Oris Divers Sixty-Five is very comfortable to wear thanks to that taper. The first center link goes straight down and makes the case a comfortable fit on even the most unusual wrist shapes.
If you don’t like faux rivets, don’t overreact. Just like the faux rivets on Tudor bracelets, you won’t notice them when on your wrist. What you will notice is that the bracelet fits perfectly which is so much more relevant than faux rivets. While I prefer on-the-fly adjustments (like Oysterglide), Oris makes a strong case without that feature. The D65 bracelet has five micro-adjust holes on the milled clasp. That’s two more than the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight and three more than the Omega Speedmaster. The Oris bracelet also comes with two half-links. The Tudor and Omega do not.
My only criticism of the D65 bracelet is that the links are adjusted with pins, not screws. However, this fact would not prevent me from buying this watch because once the bracelet is properly sized, that issue becomes irrelevant. For me, Oris has provided enough other merits to outweigh the inconvenience.
Conclusion
I showed the Oris Divers Sixty-Five Glow to a watch-collector friend with a similar mindset and taste to my own. His immediate response summed things up perfectly: “this is the first Oris that I’ve really liked”. I agree with this sentiment, and would go even further: the Divers Sixty-Five Glow is a watch that could legitimately compete for wrist time against the Tudor Black Bay Fifty-Eight.
There is no limited edition chase or grey market gouging with the Glow. Consumers are sick of AD games and are searching out options that are actually available to buy. The lack of limited edition chase and grey market price-gouging makes the Divers Sixty-Five Glow a great choice for those wanting a stylish luxury watch.
Oris has worked hard to earn a physical spot next to brands like Omega and Breitling at traditional brick-and-mortar retailers. Heck, Oris even has an advertisement in left-field at Yankee Stadium. Every year Oris gets one step closer to greatness. I believe that the Divers Sixty-Five Glow deserves to be up there in Oris’ 2021 all-star line-up next to the Cotton Candy and the Caliber 400 Hodinkee Limited Edition. I can’t think of a daily-wearable watch that was released in 2021 that I like better than the Oris Divers Sixty-five Glow.