One of my recent go-to phrases is “what is authentic is simple, what is simple is calm, what is calm is authentic.” I actually just made that up but it is the spirit of that sentence that has been speaking to me a lot lately. Whenever I describe what kind of watch collector I am to someone else I always say “I’m a boring watch collector” because I prefer monochromatic dials, the absence of complications, and legible layouts. What I consider to be simple and which brings me peace and calm. And my preference in watches seems to be going the opposite direction of what sells most nowadays: colorful dials, intricate dial textures, materials that come from out-of-space, and ultra-sophisticated composite case compounds. So again, what I prefer is not what most talk about these days and today’s protagonist will certainly not win a GPHG Award for boldness in design. But it works for me—oh so well. 

Enter the new Oris Divers Date in black. Oris is a brand I’ve known about for a long time, ever since one of my best friends loaned me his 40mm Diver 65 in Gilt a few years back. Upon immediate installation of said timekeeping device on my wrist, I knew I had found my grail watch, sort of. At that time I was only interested in divers so its design and my horological tastes were an almost perfect match. (What was not perfect for me were the gilt accents.) Today I’m a bit less into dive watches, however handling the new Divers Date in the metal and in the comfort of my home has brought many good memories back to mind. It has also rekindled my longstanding love and passion for these ultra versatile watches and Oris’ latest iteration of their skin diver has everything I need and none of what I don’t. It’s perfect. So thank you! 

End of the review? Not quite. 

Specifications

Well, there are many elements which make the Oris Divers Date the perfect diver for me. First, it’s well-built and made with the good stuff. Second, I love the way it looks. From technical and mechanical standpoints, you’ll find everything you need: a reliable Oris caliber 733 which is a Sellita SW200-1 that runs at 4Hz and has 41 hours of power reserve; a double-domed sapphire crystal with inner anti-reflective coating which endows this model with more than decent vintage vibes but which makes it a pain to photograph; generously lumed hands and applied markers (I suppose BGW9 as it glows blue;) what seems to be a ceramic bezel insert (unspecified on the brand’s website;) 200 meters of water resistance (screw-down crown and case-back;) a riveted stainless steel bracelet with quick-release spring-bars and five holes of micro-adjustments. So I already like the spec sheet as it indeed guarantees that the Oris Divers Date is versatile from a mechanical standpoint. 

I haven’t yet mentioned the watch nerd-in-me inducing bezel action we dive watch lovers so cherish. The bezel is unidirectional and has 120 smooth and precise clicks. I suspect a ball-bearing mechanism instead of a click-spring one as it reminds me of those found on high-end Swiss divers. And to be fair, I’ve now experienced similar bezel actions from very good micro and independent brands and guess what, Oris is of the later kind. I mentioned the bezel separately to try to make the following point: the Divers Date is made in Switzerland by a brand that has a few decades of watchmaking under its belt which can be seen and felt. Not only does the Divers Date come with good specs—in other words, good components which nowadays many brands also have access to—but everything is well machined and well finished, precise, smooth, and gives out a global feeling of quality and durability. 

I recognize that the latter is a bit subjective and that one has to handle the watch in the metal to get a good grasp of how good this watch is. But in my experience when a watch feels well-made it generally means it is well-made. 

Design

Putting specs aside, the Oris Divers Date shines (to me) for having a perfectly simple and a tad boring design. And this is a good thing as this is what some of us need and want. At its core, this model is a tool watch whose purpose is to help the wearer be able to easily read the time and keep track of elapsed time under water. To that end, we find a glossy black dial against which the white applied markers are easy to see, so are the hands as all elements have good applications of lume which appears white during the daytime, further aiding in creating that contrasting effect. Reading the time is also made easier by using hour markers of various shapes, for example batons at the 3 and 9, an inverted Oris “shield” triangle at the twelve (is that a thing?) and circular markers everywhere else. To this we can add pencil-style hands which are classic looking and well-proportioned. 

All three hands are polished and all hour markers have polished surrounds. This, in addition to the glossy dial, helps in reflecting light at various angles which aid in making the dial easier to read given the heavily domed crystal. Whilst that crystal makes the dial hard to photograph (at least to me,) it does create vintage-like distortions at the edges which many people go crazy for. And you wouldn’t be able to read the time with a glossy dial and domed crystal if the hands and markers were not polished, which is sort of the opposite of the winning combo of flat matte dial + flat crystal + brushed hands. Does that make sense? Do I make sense? I hope I do. All of this goes to show that Oris has been designing watches for a long time in order to be able to create this particular balance. 

Moreover, the Divers Date comes with a thin case which fits my wrist perfectly. (Another sign indicating that this model is my Grail Watch.) It has short but large lugs, straight and fully polished flanks, and an overall simple yet classic design. Of particular interest is the way the case rests comfortably flat on the wrist even though the lugs do not curve down towards the wrist. This is again proof Oris knows what it’s doing because I’ve handled many watches with straight lugs which were as uncomfortable to wear as boots of the wrong size. Or a sweater that’s too small or a hat that’s too large. But anyway. The design of the case perfectly matches the simple and classic design of the dial, of course, and the former doesn’t take away from the latter in terms of legibility and functionality. (Recently I’ve been loving highlighting the correlation between case and dial design.)

The Heart of the Matter

At the heart of the matter is the fact that the Oris Divers Date is beautifully classic, simple, and versatile. The kind of diver we don’t often see coming from established Swiss brands anymore as it fetches what I would consider to be a not-surprising and not-shocking price of $2,700 USD for 1) this type of brand; 2) this type of watch made of this type of components; 3) the type of collection which has a story and strong heritage. In other words, the Divers Date is the type of watch a brand could have easily charged twice as much for for no good reason except that of coming with “heritage.” I for one love the fact that I can buy a good diver from Oris, an established Swiss brand, from a collection which has a story almost 60 years in the making (Oris launched the Divers Sixty Five in 1965, a model that can be seen as being the Divers Date’s older sibling) and knowing that I have a good product on the wrist. 

Moreover, and what clicked to me writing this review and handling the Divers Date, is the importance of experience. Oris was founded in 1904, that’s 120 years ago from the time I’m publishing this review in 2024. And since the brand released its first Divers Sixty Five 60 years ago, Oris has spent many years designing and manufacturing watches which shows in the watch’s proportions, design language, and overall specs-to-value ratio. For example, in the perfect dial proportions, the classic case design, and the dramatic taper on the bracelet. The new Divers Date is what many wish the Rolex Submariner would be today—that is affordable and well-made, without fancy materials but with decent tech—which gets the job done for those who need a proper fly-under-the-radar diver. And I would argue that, contrary to what many would say, a modern Tudor Black Bay is not that either. 

By the way, did you notice I haven’t mentioned the watch’s dimensions? Because they don’t matter to me here—because the watch is perfect for me regardless of its dimensions—but they might for you: 39mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, and 12.1mm thick. 

Conclusion 

What makes the Oris Divers Date my grail watch? Well, it’s a combination of heritage—because yes, it does also matter to me sometimes even though I mostly write about brands which have none—good specs for the asking price, a clear and legible dial, a simple case, and an overall subtle visual character which is what makes my horological heart goes BOOM BOOM. If, for some unfortunate reason, you don’t fancy black dials, you’ll be happy to know that the Oris Divers Date also comes with cream and petrol blue dial options. Naturally you can learn more about this new collection by visiting the brand’s website. 

Thanks for reading.