At this point in time, you are no doubt familiar with the Oris Divers 65 lineup. You may own one, have a friend that has one, or you’ve seen reviews on the line (such as this one from Victor). I last looked at one almost three years ago (here), but when the Oris X Momotaro version came up for a review loaner, I was intrigued.
Why is that? Well, I don’t know about you, but for me, a dive watch is more an exercise in style. Sure, I appreciate the watertightness of the case for day-to-day life, but I’m not actually diving with these watches. I am, for lack of a better term, a desk diver. So, with a watch like the Oris X Momotaro, it’s a very straightforward acceptance that those choosing this watch are choosing for form more than function.
Now, you might be asking – who is this Momotaro company? In short, they’re a brand that’s been producing high-quality denim in Japan for over 30 years (Oris has a short interview with them here). High-end denim has all manner of companies in the mix, but Momotaro distinguishes themselves via the white “battle stripes” that appear on their garments – and on the strap of the watch.
That’s right – with the Oris X Momotaro, you’ve got a denim strap coming to play. While I didn’t notice it in my short time with the watch, one would safely assume that the strap itself should sort of wear and age just like your favorite pair of jeans, and pick up a character that is unique to how you wear the watch.
Paired to that you’ve got the same 40mm stainless steel case that we’ve seen on prior Divers 65 watches. On top of that case, though, the materials team mixed it up and put a bronze timing bezel in there, lending a bit of warm coloration to the overall look. That same tone is then picked up in the indices and handset that themselves are offset by a cool, pale green dial – a hue we’ve not seen in the lineup before.
In the past, I’ve not particularly been a fan of two-tone watches, but I have been slowly coming around to it, depending on the watch. In the case of the Oris X Momotaro, I believe it works and it works well. It’s just the right amount of color, heavily balanced by all the cool tones in the strap and dial, as well as the austerity of the steel case itself.
In other words, I found the Oris X Momotaro to be an interesting study in really focusing on the form of a divers watch, tweaking and adjusting the look of it to acknowledge the land-bound life most dive watches live. oris.ch
Review Summary
- Brand & Model: Oris X Momotaro Divers 65
- Price: $2,200
- Who?s it for? You’re a fan of Momotaro jeans, and have been looking for a solid, capable watch to show your love of the jeans even if you weren’t wearing them
- Would I wear it? While I like a good pair of jeans, I’m not sold on it as a strap material. So, no, out of the wider Divers 65 lineup this isn’t the one for me
- The best thing about it: It truly is a lovely shade of green that they’ve gone with on the dial here
Tech Specs from Oris
- Reference: 01 733 7707 4337-Set
- Case: Oris Divers, 40.00 mm, 1.575 inches, Stainless steel
- MATERIAL: Multi-piece stainless steel/bronze case, minutes scale top ring
- SIZE: 40.00 mm, 1.575 inches
- TOP GLASS: Sapphire, domed on both sides, anti-reflective coating inside
- CASE BACK: Stainless steel, special engravings, screwed
- OPERATING DEVICES: Stainless steel screw-in security crown
- WATER RESISTANCE: 10 bar
- INTERHORN WIDTH: 20 mm
- Movement: Automatic winding hour, minute, second
- NUMBER: Oris 733, base SW 200-1
- DIMENSIONS: ? 25.60 mm, 11 1/2???
- FUNCTIONS: Centre hands for hours, minutes and seconds, fine timing device and stop-second
- WINDING: Automatic winding, bi-directionally rotating red rotor
- POWER-RESERVE: 38 hrs
- VIBRATIONS: 28?800 A/h, 4 Hz
- JEWELS: 26
- Dial
- MATERIAL: Green dial
- LUMINOUS MATERIAL: Indices and hands Superluminova light old radium
- Strap: Blue Denim strap with stainless steel buckle
- Extras: Denim Travel Pouch Set
