Early spring brings with it warmer weather, longer days, and of course a distinctive pastel look across much of the world. These delicate floral tones are a long-running spring fashion staple, but are relatively uncommon in luxury watchmaking. Oris aims to change that as part of its 2021 novelties, bringing three springtime pastel colors to the wildly popular bronze Divers Sixty-Five watch line. With unique candy-colored dial designs, a vintage inflected midsize case, and warm bronze construction, the new Oris Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy series adds a uniquely playful springtime statement to the brand’s lineup.
The bronze case of the Oris Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy measures in at a compact 38mm diameter. While the overall dimensions are shrunk slightly from the mainline bronze Divers Sixty-Five, the shape still follows the series’ popular formula while perhaps ringing a bit more true to vintage ‘60s sizing conventions. The long tapering lugs, unguarded pillbox crown, and narrow unidirectional dive bezel here are all staples of the series, offered in a bronze alloy that trends pinkish and heavily saturated in initial images. Like previous bronze Divers Sixty-Five variants, the relief pattern used for the bezel insert’s full diving scale should evolve over time as a complex and varied anchoring point for bronze verdigris, creating a truly one-of-a-kind look as it ages. The Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy’s solid stainless steel caseback is engraved with the brand’s old school ’60s shield logo in a nod to its heritage. Despite this robust screwdown element, the Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy musters a somewhat underwhelming 100 meters of water resistance. This below average depth rating for a diver style watch has drawn some ire for the series from enthusiasts in the past, and the Cotton Candy line is unlikely to change perceptions on this front.
By far the most surprising new elements for the Oris Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy series are the dials. Bronze cases are traditionally paired with dark, heavily masculine dial shades, and by combining this bold nautical material with delicate pastel colors, it reframes both the dial and case designs visually. There’s a pleasing whiff of old-school East Coast prep style to the combination, calling to mind the Kennedy family yacht more than the weathered naval equipment feel of most bronze divers. In mint green, baby blue, and a light candy pink, the familiar mix of applied diver indices and pointed baton hands takes on a new and lighter character. Of the three, the pale blue variant is likely to be the most versatile, but the aged penny color of the green dial model should provide an interesting interplay with the case once the bronze has developed a layer of patina.
Oris powers the Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy series with the Sellita SW200-1 based Oris 733 automatic movement. At a time when much of its competition, as well as the brand’s own catalog, is transitioning to in-house movements, Oris’ use of the 733 here runs the risk of feeling dated. The 38 hour power reserve at a 28,800 bph beat rate potentially reinforces that notion. Oris offers each model in the Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy line with a pair of strap options. The first is the brand’s take on the classic three link oyster style bracelet in full bronze, with a special coating to prevent the contact of bronze patina with the wearer’s skin. For those that prefer leather, Oris also pairs all three variants with a light tan leather strap with white contrast stitching.
By bringing both a smaller size and a playful warm-weather ethos to the bronze Divers Sixty-Five line, the Oris Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy series provides one of the brand’s most distinctive and stylish diver offerings to date. The Oris Divers Sixty-Five Cotton Candy line will be available through authorized dealers in June 2021 at an MSRP of $2,450 on leather and $2,750 with the optional bronze bracelet. For more information, please visit the brand’s website.
