The Last Oris Divers Sixty-Five Ever

Orus has developed one of the most passionate enthusiast followings in the industry in the past decade. Much of this has come from key pillars of design with pieces that were well positioned in price and aesthetics to sit well with the modern watch buyer. Of these core collections that helped lead the charge in this period was the Diver 65. A look to the past to one of Orus' most celebrated vintage pieces of the mid 20th century. However, the line officially ends here as the Diver 65 has reached the conclusion of its long run with the final version that we're going to look at today, the Diver 65 60th Anniversary Edition. The Orus 65 made its debut in the modern Orus collection in 2015, but its original inspiration goes back much further. all the way back to 1965 naturally when the Orus dive watch the so-called waterproof was introduced. That original recreational dive watch from the brand measured 36 millimeters in diameter and featured the distinctive and sizable reverse loomed numerals, a birectional bezel, a screw down crown, and a domed acrylic crystal. It was equipped with a hand winding movement, the 17JW Orus caliber 654. something of an anomaly today as automatic movements have long been the dive watch standard, reducing the chances of water ingress from the crown. That original waterproof is still sought by collectors and it's easy to see how many of its distinctive design elements carried through to the Diver 65 at its introduction 50 years later. And for that 50th anniversary, Orus launched the Orus Diver 65 in 2015, a 40mm update of the classic style with modern appointments that included a dome sapphire, a unidirectional dive bezel, an automatic movement, and super luminova. Naturally, collectors ate up the retro goodness that came with this package. And with its renewed success, the model went through scores of iterations in the years that followed with case size variations, additional dial configurations, colorways, material choices that included full bronze, and a plethora of special editions which built on the popular platform for a solid decade. In this period, the Diver 65 was the friendly retro opposition to the Aquac's modernity. However, signs of a changing approach came last year when Orus released a style adjacent design with the Divers Date. The Divers's Date was stripped of some of the throwback charm, delivering several new features in its place, including a new case size, ceramic insert, and enhanced water resistance of 200 m. Now, according to Orus, the Divers date will eventually replace the niche of the Diver 65, meaning we are reaching the end of a decadel long run. But before the final curtain falls on the model family, Orus greeted us with a celebratory swan song, the Orus Diver 65 60th anniversary edition, which has turned up the volume on the 60s allure for its last act. One of the greatest attributes of the Diver 65 is the way it wears, and Orus isn't messing with the formula here. It follows the triedand-true 4020 formula for case diameter and lug width with a 12.8 mm case height and 48 mm lugto lug measurement. Apart from the modern dimensions that wear relatively true to size, the look is pure vintage. With this being my personal favorite Diver 65 configuration, especially for the dial, but more on that later. Finishing follows the flow you might expect with brushed top surfaces and polished sides and back with the closed screwed in case back sporting the retro ora shield. The signed deeply ribbed crown is unguarded and it does screw down contributing to a water resistance rating of 100 m. Now, people are typically pretty hard on this watch for the water resistance rating because it has divers in the name and then in addition to that only has 100 meters of water resistance. So, what gives? I'm always just quick to remind though that the standard for a dive watch from ISO only calls for 100 m of water resistance. Another call back to the very first Orus dive watch is the inclusion of a birectional bezel. a departure from the typical unidirectional version found on modern variants, which will add some utility for timing, although also places this as more of a dive style watch than one catering to the professionally capable. It features an aluminum insert with a fully demarcated scale and a vintage tone loom pip at 12. A double dome sapphire crystal protects the dial, boasting an anti-reflective coating on the underside. And those curved edges play havoc on those dial markings below in the best way possible. The 60th anniversary edition gets a nice bonus in its inclusion of both a bracelet and a strap in the package. The three-link bracelet amps up the mid-century vibes to 111 with a vertically brushed finish and those love it or hate it faux rivets on the link's outer edges. The sign clasp features a dual push button release lending a quality feel and getting a great fit should be a breeze as the clasp offers five points of micro adjustment as well as half lengths. The smooth black leather strap gets an attractive two- stitch execution and is finished off with a signed stainless steel pin buckle. And if you're one of those hard to satisfy types or just think that variety is a spice of life, the 20 mm lug width makes it simple. Dials are usually the first thing a watch collector notices and Orus clearly recognized that with the last hurrah of the Diver 65. The inverted loom on the 12369 numeral markers was one of the most striking details of the first Diver 65 and they were a visual cue lifted directly from those originals. For the 60th anniversary edition, the markers now are included again for a faithful appearance. The loom has a mild tinge of Fotina and also appears in the pencil handset and lollipop secondhand tip. Despite getting this coloration, the loom shines better than most diver 65s with the retro numerals providing an unconventional look even when the lights are off. The white manatra appears inboard of the numerals while the orus logo below 12 has reverted back to its former years. You'll even find the word waterproof, a term that hasn't been widely used for quite some time. Anti-shock and then jewel count above six are two more callbacks to the '60s with everything matching the overall aesthetic. Like many Swiss brands that can no longer source ETA movements from the Swatch Group, Orus utilizes a Celita base for many of its calibers when they're not employing the help of the caliber 400 series. The automatic Orus caliber 733 is based off of the Celita SW200-1, a reliable choice that a majority of Swiss manufacturers have migrated to. The Celita compares almost spectospec for the ETA 2824 with a beat rate of 28,800 vibrations per hour or 4 hertz along with hacking and hand winding. hacking stop in the seconds when you pull the crown to the farthest position and a power reserve of 41 hours approximately. While the power reserve may seem rather ordinary compared to some other brands, the SW200 has been proven to be a bulletproof, reliable, and easily serviceable and regulated movement and especially for a dropin for that 2824. The movement's decoration is simple and clean. It features an eticron regulator as well and features the red Orus rotor that has become a signature for the brand, although it is hidden behind the closed case back in this instance. The in-house Orus caliber 400 movement isn't offered in this 60th anniversary diver 65, but the 120 hour caliber 400 movement would likely add more than $1,000 to the price tag of this package. So, I'm absolutely okay with this having just the Celita movement. One other thing to note is Orus will extend its 2-year warranty to three with online registration. So that's something to definitely be aware of if you're buying this through an authorized dealer. Now for some final thoughts. So the Orus Diver 65 has been one of the main stays of vintage dive watch design. While I have been into watches, although it never could go toe-to-toe with the Orus Aquis on the specification front, there was an endearing aspect to the blueprint that made it one of the most commercially successful dive watches in its class, finding its way on the wrist of tens of thousands of enthusiasts in the process. Most of the common criticisms of the Diver 65 remain with this anniversary edition. Some will call out the 100 meters of water resistance not being enough. The riveted bracelet won't be everyone's cup of tea. The bezel being birectional is not suited for professional applications. And the loom is not class leading. Though with the larger surface area here for those numerals, it is going to be improved over the stick marker dial options of this family. These points are all fair and are mostly callouts that come up if you're just merely thinking this through a logical framework. A point that is never fully the case in the romantic world of watch collecting. The Diver 65 was never intended to appeal to just merely rationale. It was always a diver that could deliver on many of the points you would need for an aquatic companion, all while taking you back to another period of dive watch design in the process. It was never the most speced outwatch and I think lovers of this collection were always able to accept this fact, preferring charm over the bells and whistles with the dial in this anniversary edition being a time capsule of effortless cool. And with this final farewell, I think Orus nailed this underlying premise, not leaning into conventional norms of dive watch design totally, but taking a final bow with a watch that will never be forgotten in the minds of enthusiasts. But all right guys, that is my take looking at the new but also old and now on its way out Diver 65 collection. This 60th anniversary being the last stroke of the painting that is the Diver 65. Uh what do you think about this model? Are you someone that's sad to see this collection be moved on from by Orus? It seems like the Orus Divers date is the future for this collection, leaning into more professional specifications in the process. But there was just always something about the Diver 65. I didn't always check off all the boxes that many people would think about, but for some reason, I always just liked it a lot. Love to see some comments down below about people that own this model especially, but even other previous iterations of the Diver 65. I know there's many of you out there. If you enjoyed the video, please give this one a thumbs up, subscribe, hit the bell icon. Really do appreciate that. Also, check out teddyar.com. Teddyar.com is an authorized dealer for all the brands that we carry, over 35 brands. Every purchase from teddy baldesar.com comes with quick and fast fulfillment, dedicated customer support, and a full factory warranty for all the products that we offer. 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