For those unfamiliar, RedBar Crew is a network of watch enthusiasts that started as a gathering of friends around drinks and watches and grew into an official organization that has spawned multiple chapters in the US and internationally. The group aims to promote watch enthusiasm (not snobbery) across the globe and contribute to charitable causes in the areas in which the crew convenes. It makes sense, then, that the group’s first crack at a limited edition collaboration would be with Oris, an independently operated watch brand that has its own charitable streak.
The resulting watch is a new take on the Oris Divers Sixty-Five, a faithful reissue of a dive watch the brand produced during the 1960s. The modern model has spawned a great number of color schemes, but RedBar’s version, appropriately, sees the diver done up in a beautiful, deep red gradient with the date window removed. That’s complemented by a bronze bezel with a black insert, and hour markers and hands finished in a gold tone. The rest of the watch remains faithful to the standard Sixty-Five: it has a 40mm case, a Sellita-based automatic movement and is rated water-resistant to 100 meters.
“The 40mm Divers Sixty-Five case was our ideal platform. It is a tried-and-true sports model with real chops, a great design platform, and an entirely attainable price point,” says James Lamdin, founder of Analog/Shift and a founding member of RedBar who helped work on the watch. “What’s really cool is that [Oris] were able to find a dial done in this color in their archives from the mid 20th century, and it was reborn here — not just as a tip of the hat to RedBar, but to their own design heritage.”
“Working with Oris was really an incredible experience. As an independent brand, they are light on their feet and were able to make this happen for us much more quickly and with more communication than we could have hoped for,” Lamdin continues. “They’ve become a longstanding friend of the RedBar phenomenon, regularly hosting events for our chapters and making charitable donations. It has become evident not only to the executive team but to our members far and wide that not only does Oris share our desire to give back, but that they aren’t the stuck-up Swiss brand so many collectors have come to expect in this industry.”
The watch will retail for $2,100, though only 100 pieces will be made and all are available only to registered RedBar Crew members. And keeping with both RedBar’s and Oris’ commitments to philanthropy, a portion of the proceeds will go to the RedBar Fund, which donates to charities local to different RedBar chapters.
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