One week on the wrist with a Phoenix ? An Oris Divers 65 ‘cotton candy’ review

The hunt is what keeps us all hooked isn’t it?

I wasn’t in the market to purchase a new watch to add in my collection but I can’t help to always look around for a good catch. One week after coming back from vacation and blowing up the budget, I truly did want to get responsible and make wiser decisions. However, I couldn’t help but to look online for watches for sale around my area. And there it was a not so shinny with bad taken pictures of a watch that was for long time on my list. The Oris Divers Sixty-Five bronze ‘Cotton Candy’ in Skyblue colour.

The watch has a lot going for it. The dimensions are spot on at 38mm with the bracelet tapering around the wrist nicely. The dial is clean with that royal blue colour contrasting nicely with the bronze roughness. The hands and indices shines brightly to allow readability when light reflects on the domed sapphire. The crown is big enough to grip and easy to operate. The 120 click bezel action is good, not great, easy to grip and operate but a tiny wiggle could still be felt (maybe a 60 click bezel would have solved this issue? Who knows).

Now let’s talk about that bronze… I always said to myself if I am buying a bronze watch one day it would be an Oris. They simply know how to execute and include it in their designs flawlessly. I bought this Oris fully patinated bracelet, case , bezel and crown. I read about how this metal oxidization gives the bronze a protective layer. I can say it surely looked and felt like more slippery in a way that it could avoid scratches. Couple of days later, however, I decided to start all over by removing the previous owner’s patina and instead making my own patina so that I could bond with the watch. The cleaning part was a bit sketchy since it seems there are a lot of ways possible to remove the patina but no common consensus. I ended up going with submerging the watch in vinegar for 2 minutes , then rubbing and rinsing with warm water. I mean I am not an Alchymist but turning a watch from glossy dark brown to a mat rose gold in under 2 minutes is very close to being one. That part right there felt different from all the other watches in my collection. It felt like it’s a Phoenix resurrection moment and I think this is beautiful.

On a less beautiful note, there are a couple of places where improvements can be had. Such as the movement winding action, this is a Sellita SW200-1 base movement but that winding action isn’t smooth and that rotor noise not very discrete. I will take it to the AD to see if it is in allowable noise range for a Sellita base. The other point to improve is that weak lume it is way below par. The bracelet is another place where no one talks about. It is unique to the bronze bracelet the absence of the faux rivets and push pins where they got them replaced by a double headed screws. Screws are better than pins no questions about it but double headed screws are a pain to operate. I wish Oris could have simply settled on regular screws instead. After all the Oris credo “ things must make sense ” and yet here we are…

In conclusion, the watch is impressive and unique with lot of character and charm going for it. If you can get your hands on one try it but proceed with caution because that machine could stick with you for a lifetime.