It's a known fact, Oris makes great timepieces. Their watches are so good in fact, that it can be a mind-boggling experiment to choose only one.

For instance, many enthusiasts and collectors have the following dilemma: should I get the Oris Aquis or the Oris Divers Sixty-Five?

While they are both great watches with their respective cult-like followings, they're different enough. In fact, choosing between the two should be pretty easy after reading their 4 major differences below.

1. Integrated Bracelet

The biggest difference to consider between the Oris Aquis and Divers 65 is the presence of proprietary lugs on the Aquis. In short, these lugs make it almost impossible for you to swap any kind of third-party straps to your watch.

With the Oris Aquis, you must either keep the original bracelet (which is excellent) or buy the OEM rubber strap (which will usually cost a couple hundred $). Even if you get an OEM rubber strap, the tri-winged screws are a pain in the neck to deal with, so this rules out frequent strap changes.

On the other hand, the Oris Divers 65 has regular lugs. This means that you can swap out the bracelet for anything, including third-party rubber, leather, and nylon straps.

However, some Divers 65 models have odd-numbered lug width (21mm, 23mm, etc.), so third-party strap choices can be a bit limited, but nowhere near as limited as the selection for Aquis straps.

2. Wearability/Versatility

Another important  dissimilarity between the Oris Aquis and Divers 65 is the way each of these watches wears. For instance, the Oris Aquis is a very bulky/stocky watch with square lugs, square crown guards, thick bezel, etc..

For this reason, the Oris Aquis is a hefty piece with a lot of presence on your wrist that will definitely get lots of attention. Furthermore, the Aquis screams "tool watch" and it will be very hard to dress up, no matter how hard you try.

On the other hand, the Oris Divers 65 has a sleek and elegant design which makes it wear quite smaller. On paper, the Divers 65 and Aquis cases are both ≈ 13mm thick, but the Divers 65 feels much thinner in person.

Indeed, the Divers 65 is the kind of watch that almost disappears on your wrist as you wear it, compared to the Aquis which will make its presence known throughout the day.

In my opinion, this sleeker frame makes the Divers 65 the most versatile piece of the two. While it's not a dress watch by any stretch of the imagination, it's still a timepiece that can easily be dressed up with the right strap, and worn comfortably in a business-casual setting.

3. Uniqueness

I think most of us strive to get unique timepieces that stand out from the lot and suit our personality. If being unique and getting an original watch is important to you, the Oris Aquis is the best choice.

Why? It's pretty simple: the Oris Aquis is a truly distinctive timepiece that doesn't try to replicate someone else's work, and it's scarcely replicated by others.

From the shape of the hands & indices to the placement of the date display, the shape of the lugs & bracelets, and much more, it's a built-from-the-ground concept that you won't see elsewhere.

Conversely, the Oris Divers 65 has a much more conservative styling that closely resembles most vintage dive watches. This isn't a bad thing if you're looking for a classic diver that pays homage to its ancestors, but it won't be as eye-catching as the Aquis.

In fact, the best way of putting things into perspective is to see the Oris Divers 65 as a modern interpretation of a classic vintage diver, whereas the Oris Aquis is a modern-day diver with its own DNA.

4. Water Resistance (& Other Specs)

You might bit a bit shocked to learn that the Oris Divers 65 only has 100m of water resistance, meaning it's not an actual "Diver's watch". While the definition for a dive watch can bit subjective, there's no way that can you can actually dive with your Oris Divers 65.

Of course, this watch will be able to handle recreational swimming and even snorkeling thanks to its screwed-down crown, but I'm not comfortable calling it a diver's watch. Conversely, the Oris Aquis is rated at 300m of water resistance, which is plenty for recreational diving.

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There are a few other places where the Divers 65 falls short of the Aquis, even though they are similarly priced. For instance, the Divers 65 is equipped with a plain-old aluminum bezel insert, which is much easier to scratch than the ceramic insert of the Oris Aquis.

Also, it's known across the industry that the Oris Aquis' bracelet is one of the best money can buy, so it's definitely the best of the two. I would also add that the Aquis generally has a slightly better finish (case brushing, indices beveling, etc..), but it's barely noticeable.

Conclusion

To conclude this article, I want to say that both the Oris Aquis and Divers 65 are excellent watches, and you will absolutely love your piece no matter which one you get. 

However, they're two different watches that will please different groups of people. If you're still unsure about which one you should get, you can look at the quick recap below: