Throwback Thursday: 2nd Mechanical Watch, Oris Divers 65

My last throwback Thursday post was about my 1st mechanical watch, the Hamilton Khaki Field Auto, and the lesson I learned from it: buy what you like. My second mechanical watch was the Oris Divers 65.

First, I knew I wanted a diver, and I was willing to pay somewhere around $1,000 - $2,000. Oris was on the short list for that price point. Whereas the Oris Aquis gets much more recognition, the aesthetics of the Divers 65 really pulled me in. The inky blue dial. The sculpted case, and the slim aluminum bezel. The date window at 6 o’clock, preserving symetry. The domed sapphire crystal. There were some areas for criticism: it used a standard ETA movement, the bracelet had faux rivets, and the lume color on the hands did not exactly match the hour markers. I think the lume issue is the watch’s only real shortcoming, but the price and overall design of the watch were very compelling. I knew it was better to buy what I liked, so I decided to purchase this instead of the Aquis.

I purchased it in March 2022. I have to say this was a fantastic watch. The quality compared to my Hamilton Khaki Field was night and day. I could really feel where my money was going. The case dimensions and wearing experience were great. The bracelet had a very dramatic taper from the case to the clasp, which gave the watch a lot of character. As this was my first mechanical watch on a bracelet, I learned that I generally prefer the wearing experience of a quality bracelet to a leather or nato strap.

I also realized that, because the watch used an ETA movement, it allowed me to afford a better designed and better constructed watch than might otherwise be available to me. Oris’s in-house caliber is considerably more expensive, and it would have made this watch prohibitively expensive for me at the time. And best of all, the movement was very accurate so I didn’t feel like I was missing out. This watch gave me a deep appreciation for ETA and Sellita movements.

I would go on to sell this watch later, but I still highly recommend this watch. If you want a one-watch collection at this price point, it’s hard to beat the Divers 65.