“The reason is there is not really a reason,” Oris co-CEO Rolf Studer says in the press release introducing the blacked-out Divers Sixty-Five. I appreciate the candor, and no doubt there’s some innate appeal to an all-black watch. It’s cool and covert and undercover, and in this case, it’s a first for Oris. If this were a general production watch maybe we’d complain about the practicality or legibility of a watch like this. But there are only 250, and surely the enthusiasts that’ll run out to scoop these up (it’s first-come, first-served!) aren’t buying these because they’re the most functional divers ever made.
While the Oris Divers Sixty-Five is a total heritage play, it’s fun to see it rendered in a modern feeling, blacked-out version. It kind of reminds me of the Black Bay Ceramic. There’s something about the tension of a more contemporary material and a vintage-inspired diver that, sometimes, works just fine.