Says Oris’ co-CEO Rolf Studer, “Honestly, we made the Divers Sixty-Five ‘Cotton Candy’ collection because we thought they were beautiful; we didn’t expect them to be the run-away success that they’ve become. People seem to have embraced them as symbols of optimism, hope and love, and we are so happy that they’ve been embraced in this way. At the same time, we are struggling to deliver enough watches to meet the demand.” Since time immemorial, artists, tailors, designers and psychologists have understood the way color has a powerful effect on our moods. Colors like blue have an extraordinary ability to imbue calm. Pink creates a powerful sense of positivity. Green is known to be the most restful color and is even believed to improve fertility. But more than that, to me, the beautiful vivid colors of mint green, sky blue and pink that grace the dials of the Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy” are a celebration of our survival through what is, hopefully, the most life-changing pandemic we will ever experience in our lifetime. After a mournful period of elegiac isolation and the ensuing existential malaise — or as the Germans call it, Weltschmerz — we need totems of positivity more than ever. We need watches that resonate with, as Studer puts it, “hope” and “optimism,” to be worn in moments when we reconnect with the world, re-embrace our friends and family, celebrate our loves and friendships while appreciating all the immense, immeasurable beauty in the world.

When I first saw the movie American Beauty, I was struck by the line, “There’s so much beauty in the world. Sometimes I feel like I’m seeing it all at once, and it’s too much; my heart fills up like a balloon about to burst. And then I remember to relax and stop trying to hold on to it. And then it flows through me like rain, and I can’t feel anything but gratitude — for every single moment of my stupid, little life.” Now after going through 2020, I feel these words resonate within me so powerfully. They fill me with a sense of gratitude to be alive and ambulatory and endowed with a profound receptivity to all the beauty life has to offer and that I had overlooked before. That’s what the Cotton Candy watches make me feel when I wear them.

Here then are the five reasons I bought all three watches of the Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy” collection.

Reason One: They Are Beautiful

The extraordinary thing about the Cotton Candy watches is they transcend the sum of their parts. Sure, the Divers Sixty-Five is impressive with its bronze case and bronze bracelet. Even without the phenomenal dials, these watches have so much wrist presence. A lot of time, people will think you are wearing a full rose gold diving watch until they notice the stunning patina that makes each watch unique. But you add the Cotton Candy dials and the watches literally explode off the wrist with so much charm. The colors that Oris has selected could well be the result of a deep chromatic analysis on what resonates with us psychologically. Studer and his team have chosen the perfect pink, the perfect mint green and the perfect sky blue, all of which stir up a powerful sense of comfort and nostalgia with images ranging from childhood candy to Yves Klein paintings, to Sonny Crockett’s T-shirts in Miami Vice. The point is, it doesn’t matter if you are a watch fanatic or if you are a relative neophyte or don’t care about watches at all — everyone I know who has set eyes on these watches are drawn to their allure.

Reason Two: They Are the Perfect Size

The Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy” watches are the best argument I know for all dive watches and sports watches being made in 38mm in diameter. Put it on your wrist and you’ll find the watch strikes the perfect balance between robust muscular presence and elegant wearability. At 38mm, it looks perfect on the wrists of both men and women. I think that truly good watches always transcend gender; they are instead a revelation of character. Marcel Proust once said that style is “the revelation of the particular universe that each of us sees and that no one else sees.” And I think that with any of the Cotton Candy watches on your wrist, you would be revealing the positivity of your spirit.

Reason Three: They Punch Way Above Their Weight Class

What I love about Oris is that they are committed to basically outperforming 99 percent of the other brands on the market in terms of their price value proposition. At USD 2,750 on bracelet, the Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy” is an incredible bargain. First, regardless of the price, it is the only dive watch in the world that comes with both a full bronze case and a full bronze bracelet. The caseback and bracelet clasp are stainless steel, and the crown is bronze PVD treated steel. But the rest of the watch is full unadulterated bronze. The movement is the Oris caliber 733, based on the venerable Sellita SW 200, which hacks and has a date feature. Put the watch on your wrist and it feels like something that would cost at least a thousand dollars more, making it a true rarity in the watch world.

Reason Four: You Can Get Them

Of course, many people have compared the Cotton Candy collection to the Rolex Oyster Perpetuals with the Stella-inspired vibrant dials released last year. I would say in their edifying capacity to cheer you up there is, of course, a similarity, though I would say the colors on the Cotton Candy collection are even punchier than those of the OPs. However the watches differ in one major way. The Rolexes are basically un-gettable unless you are willing to go into the secondary market to pay a premium. The Oris watches are becoming tougher to get simply because of the excitement around the Cotton Candy collection, but you can still find them and we will make sure to always have a set of all three colors available online and in our shop in the Maldives.

Reason Five: They Make Me and Everyone Else Smile

Yes, the Oris Divers Sixty-Five “Cotton Candy” collection are the horological equivalent of my dachshund, Bandit, who makes everyone, dog lover or not, smile when they see her, so winning is her personality. But in all seriousness, everyone, and I mean everyone that sets eyes on these watches or tries them on, will have a big smile on their face. I’ve written this entire story with the pink dial version on my wrist and, I have to say, the palpable sense of positivity is real.

Tech Specs

Movement: Self-winding caliber 733 (based on Sellita SW 200); 38-hour power reserve
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds and date
Case: 38mm; bronze with stainless steel caseback; water resistant to 100m
Strap: Bronze bracelet or brown leather with bronze pin buckle
Price: USD 2,750