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It’s been an undeniably good year for watches over at Oris. Whether your tastes skew toward the Aquis or the Divers Sixty-Five, there have been plenty of wonderful new additions to the Oris catalog in 2024, from the all-new Aquis introduced at Watches and Wonders to the slew of exciting LEs that have punctuated the year. For Geneva Watch Days, Oris is continuing the trend, marking Geneva’s second biggest week in watches with not only a new Divers Sixty-Five LE but a brand new generation of Aquis Chronograph as well.
Since its introduction in 2015, the Divers Sixty-Five has been a clear hit for Oris. It’s one of those watches you actually see in the real world, and the versatile model has been the platform for some of the brand’s most popular and sought-after collaborations and limited editions. This summer alone has seen three wildly different interpretations of the Divers Sixty-Five hit the market, each with its own distinct appeal.
This latest addition to the lineup sees Oris collaborating with France’s Ligue de Football Professionnel (LFP), along with LFP’s charity partner CNAPE (the National Convention of Child Protection Associations). Inspired by CNAPE’s mission, this 1,000-piece LE is replete with small details highlighting the partnership. Standouts here include the deep blue dial and the distinct font used for all the dial text, which is inspired by a child’s handwriting — a choice augmented by the rainbow of color used to spell out “water resistance,” a detail pulled from the logo of Les Défenseurs de L’Enfance, a children’s soccer tournament hosted by CNAPE, whose logo is also engraved on the caseback (without the colorful accents).
The Oris Divers Sixty-Five LFP Limited Edition is, beyond the visual flourishes, otherwise the watch we’ve come to know well over the last decade. This LE is available in the smaller 38mm case size of the Divers Sixty-Five and is powered by a Sellita-derived Oris cal. 733 automatic movement. Overall, it’s a handsome execution of the Divers Sixty-Five and one that serves an undoubtedly good cause.
In a slightly more novel turn, Oris is also launching a brand new generation of the Aquis Chronograph. Building on many of the refinements we saw earlier this year with the time and date Aquis, the new Aquis Chronograph is a compelling entry into the admittedly niche dive chronograph market — a market in which Oris has long found itself a key player.
Like the Aquis Date earlier this year, the updates to the Aquis Chronograph are myriad but subtle. Some brands like to make huge jumps between generations of a watch, but I think Oris has made the right move here by choosing refinement over reinvention. This is still very much the Aquis Chronograph as we know it, just a little bit better — the iPhone 4s to the previous generation’s iPhone 4, if you will.
The big change — which will be immediately obvious for those who have spent time with the Aquis Chronograph — is the move to a 3-6-9 subdial layout, replacing the discontinued model’s 6-9-12 configuration. It’s not the first time we’ve seen this layout from an Aquis Chronograph (2019’s Blue Whale Limited Edition holds that distinction), but it’s nice to see the popular layout make its way to the standard production line for the model.
Other changes include many of the same refinements as the standard Aquis including a refined case architecture, a more tapered bracelet, fine adjustment in the clasp, and reworked dial furniture. The launch release for the model comes equipped with a gradient blue dial meant to evoke the ocean, but one can expect a slew of colors and variants to follow in the next few months and years, so if this blue doesn’t grab your attention, a little patience will be necessary.
The new Aquis Chronograph sticks to a familiar 43.50mm case size, with 300m of water resistance thanks in part to a screw-down crown and screw-down pushers, and uses a Sellita-derived Oris cal. 771 in the engine bay. The automatic movement promises 62 hours of power reserve, 30-minute and 12-hour counters, and a date at 6 o’clock (unlike the Blue Whale which had its date at the oft-reviled 4:30 position).
The Oris Divers Sixty-Five LFP Limited Edition will be available in an edition of 1,000 starting August 29 for $2,800. The new Oris Aquis Chronograph is available now as part of Oris’s standard catalog for $4,900. Oris
