November 10, 2020
Words By Blake Buettner
We brought you news of a new Sub 300 from Doxa a few months back, a regular production variant of the once limited edition reissue from 2017. The introduction caused some consternation among the LE owners, but the consensus seemed to welcome the full time addition of such an important watch to the brand’s line up. This is the watch that put Doxa on the map, afterall. The move comes thanks to new leadership within Doxa who saw fit to bring back the most recognizable face of the brand, a welcome if not entirely shocking decision.
In the late ‘70s, Porsche introduced the 928, a car that was meant to replace the 911, as that platform had clearly hit its limits (/s). The 928 moved the engine from the rear, to the front, gained a few cylinders and even made the switch from air-cooling to water cooling (about 20 years before the 996 would bring it to the 911 family). What’s any of this got to do with Doxa? Well, the 928 never did replace the 911, obviously, and today the 911 defines the Porsche brand from a spiritual standpoint more than any other car, for any other brand. In recent years, Doxa has made a few of their own 928s. While some are fine watches, none bring the clarity of voice to the brand that the Sub 300 does. It is their north star, and its presence as a regular production model makes a great deal of sense. None of this to downplay the frustration of the LE owners out there, of course.
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$2450
Review: The DOXA Sub 300, A Return To Form
Case
Stainless Steel
Movement
ETA 2824-2 COSC
Dial
Silver, Navy, Orange, Teal, Yellow, Black
Lume
SuperLuminova
Lens
Domed Sapphire
Strap
Rubber, Steel BoR
Water Resistance
300M
Dimensions
42.5x45mm
Thickness
13.4mm
Lug Width
20mm
Crown
Screw Down
Warranty
Yes
Price
$2450
The Sub 300 of Old
Why all the fuss over this admittedly strange looking dive watch? The Sub 300 made a name for itself thanks to widespread adoption among recreational divers looking for a capable tool that provided modern solutions. For its time, the Doxa Sub was quite modern. Options from Rolex and Blancpain were nearly a decade old by the time Doxa released their own Sub, and the sleek case, bright orange dial, and beads of rice bracelet all offered a fresh look from the established norms. Today, these are the very features that dated the design, and why we find it so delightfully funky in tone compared to the more austere Submariner and Fifty-Fathoms.
Doxa gained plenty of street ‘cred thanks to Jacques-Yves Cousteau wearing and even endorsing the watch by placing his brand, US Divers’, logo on the dial. High praise indeed from the man behind the aqua-lung and in turn responsible for evangelizing recreational and professional diving to its success.
The Sub 300 featured a broad and flat tonneau style case that was meant to create more of a streamlined connection with the wrist, being less susceptible to catching on any underwater obstacles and providing some protection for the crown as well. The thick cut notches on the bezel made manipulating with gloves possible, and most prominently, a bright orange dial for high visibility and contrast underwater. Another unique feature is the oversized minute hand which dominated the comparatively small hour hand to place priority on the elapsed minutes during a dive. This was complemented by the no-decompression scale built into the bezel, with the depth on the outer track and the minutes along the inner ring. This allowed for a quick reference useful for casual diving, at a glance you can line up the depth you plan on diving to, say 30 meters, and see that you can safely spend 25 minutes at that depth before needing to make decompression stops. The deeper you go, the less time you’re afforded before needing to decompress.
All of this added up to a dive watch that was unique in its appearance as well as its function set. Doxa employed the form follows function rule, and as we’ve seen before, that can have its own way of producing something visually compelling. Such is the case with the Sub 300, which has quickly captured the hearts of new collectors since being reintroduced in the form of a limited edition in 2017.
The New Sub 300
Doxa picked up where the Sub 300 left off with the LE release of 2017. The watch was a near facsimile of the original, which worked surprisingly well today even if the look is pure ‘60s. A comfortable watch transcends the era of its production, so it’s no surprise that the new 300 is as easy wearing as ever. The LE was produced in silver, black, and orange with each color getting 300 units produced. They sold out in short order and as a result, there remained a Sub 300 sized hole in the Doxa collection.
Earlier this year, Doxa revealed a regular production variant of the Sub 300, with a (very) slightly revised dial, new colors and strap options, and no production limits. The changes bring some freshness to the Sub 300, not that it really needed any, but in addition to the silver, black, and orange dials we got a navy blue (Carribean), yellow (Divingstar), and teal (Aquamarine). The watch takes surprisingly well to the new colors, which we’ve seen make appearances across much of the Doxa range at this point.
The new Sub 300 sits within a broad collection of dive watches from Doxa, and it’s worth clarifying some of the finer details as the naming can get confusing. The Sub 300T Conquistador looks quite similar to the Sub 300, set apart by Ft markings on the bezel (rather than meters), the “T” appearing on the dial, and for the eagle eyed, the lack of a lume dot at edge of the date aperture. The T model is a more robust Sub, with a 1200 meter depth rating. The Sub 300 is rated to 300 meters, but you get a thinner case as a result. A welcome trade off for the vast majority of us.
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Case & Dial
The case is a defining feature of the Sub 300. It’s broad and flat across its disc like shape, tapering down to the wrist rather than sitting atop of it. You can feel the design at work in regular wear, and the visual impact of the case is almost jarring at first. This is due to the case to dial ratio, as the case measures 42.5mm in diameter, but the dial itself is a mere 27.3mm in diameter. There’s a lot of case, and not a lot of dial, which takes some adjusting to, but it does add to the charm of the watch overall.
Another feature that requires some adjustment on the viewers part is the size of the hour hand in relation to the minute hand. It appears almost as an afterthought, in comparison to most dive watches we see, which feature short but wide hour hands against tall and thin minute hands. Here, the minute hand is both wider and taller than the hour hand, so your brain (my brain, at least) needed a quick orientation with each glance.
The dial places the brand and model labelings at opposite ends, as you’d expect, but instead of appearing at 12 and 6 o’clock, they appear at 10 and 4 o’clock respectively. The fonts used for these labels have been thickened a bit from the LE a few years ago, giving it a more modern presence, for better or worse. These all appear against a radiant sunburst texture applied to the dial, and read against black hour markers with strips of Super-LumiNova running down their center.
On The Wrist
The Sub 300 wears a bit differently than your average dive watch. The case dimensions create an oval footprint that adheres to the wrist in profile, looking rather svelte in the process. The case wall is a mere 3.2mm thick, the rest happens well inside of that, meaning the underside tucks in neatly, and the bezel sits well higher than the termination point of the case. The overall thickness is 13.4mm, with much of that happening in the bezel and domed crystal. The rest just fades away under the fold of the case, so wear is quite practical if you can accept the overall shape of the case.
Doxa is offering the Sub 300 on their beads of rice steel bracelet, which is quite excellent, as well as rubber option that is cut to fit. The rubber strap is affixed to a folding clasp with ratcheting dive suit extension that is very easy to use for on the fly adjustments. There is no taper to this strap, however. It’s 20mm between the lugs, and it’s 20mm at the clasp. That makes for a much meatier feeling clasp that you might prefer. It’s very large, and if you have a thin wrist, you will notice. Luckily, this is a watch that looks pretty fantastic on leather or nylon, but I’d recommend the beads of rice as a default starting point.
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Movement
Doxa is using a COSC certified ETA 2824-2 automatic movement in the Sub 300, meaning its 38 hours of reserve will provide you -4/+6 seconds of accuracy per day. We see fewer of these movements outside the Swatch realm these days and it adds a level of value here that is much needed considering the price.
The 2824 is well understood and certainly a workhorse movement that we like seeing in tool watches like this. Whether or not it’s worth the premium that Doxa is charging remains up to you, but I think there’s certainly a case to be made for its inclusion here for the benefit of the COSC certification.
Price & Conclusions
The Doxa Sub 300 is priced from $2,450 and goes up to $2,490 on the steel beads of rice bracelet. A survey of other independent brands and their dive watches will likely yield options at better prices out there, more than a few come to mind, actually. While better value options do exist, few will have the heritage or swagger of the Doxa. If that means anything to you, the premium here is worth the price of admission. There are certainly faster cars out there than a 911, many of them cheaper, too, but if you want a 911, little else will suffice. Such is the allure of the Sub 300, once it’s under your skin it has a way of staying there.
The Doxa Sub 300 is available for purchase directly from Doxa. Learn more here.
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Author Blake Buettner
Blake is a Wisconsin native who’s spent the past decade covering the people, products, and brands that make the watch world a little more interesting. Blake enjoys the practical elements that watches bring to everyday life, from modern Seikos to vintage Rolex. He is an avid writer and photographer with a penchant for classic cars, non-fiction literature, and home-built mechanical keyboards.
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FAQs
What movement does the Doxa sub 300 use? ›
The Doxa SUB 300 is 42.5mm-wide with a 45mm lug-to-lug distance. The polished and brushed stainless steel case is 13.4mm-thick, and inside the watch is a Swiss Made ETA 2824-2 automatic movement that has been given a COSC Chronometer certification.
What movement does doxa use? ›The DOXA SUB 200 harks back to a golden era in recreational diving timepieces. Released in 2019, it's an affordable Swiss-made 200m water-resistant three-hander with an ETA 2824-2 movement, from a venerable brand with a rich association with dive watches.
What is the accuracy of Doxa? ›Movement. Doxa is using a COSC certified ETA 2824-2 automatic movement in the Sub 300, meaning its 38 hours of reserve will provide you -4/+6 seconds of accuracy per day.
How much does the Doxa Sub 300 weigh? ›The case of the DOXA Sub 300 Carbon Whitepearl sits on the wrist at 42.5mm in diameter and with a height of 13.4mm and yet despite its imposing size, the forged carbon construction gives it a weight of only 87 grams.
What is the difference between DOXA SUB 300 and SUB 300T? ›The SUB 300's stainless steel case is 42.5mm wide, 45mm lug-to-lug, and has a thickness of 13.4mm. Its sapphire crystal protrudes in a “box” style, adding a retro feel to it. The SUB 300T, on the other hand, has the same 42.5mm diameter, but it has a shorter lug-to-lug distance of 44.5mm.
What watch does Dirk Pitt wear? ›For thriller writer Clive Cussler, his adventurer hero Dirk Pitt could only wear one watch, the model favoured by his creator: an orange dialled Doxa SUB 300T.
Are Doxas good watches? ›The consensus is that Doxa makes good quality watches.
It has 1200M water resistance, a helium release valve and a Swiss-made ETA automatic movement with a power reserve indicator. Although Doxa watches are colourful and have fun names, they are designed as tools to be used in extreme environments.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau wearing a Doxa. While Cousteau is without doubt DOXA's most famed real-world wearer, the brand also has a powerful fictional advocate.
Where are Doxa watches made? ›EVERY DOXA IS SWISS MADE
100% hand assembled in the heart of Switzerland, each DOXA meets – and in many instances even exceeds – these requirements. “Throughout the world the reputation of Swiss made watches is unrivalled.
Since 1898, DOXA has been producing some of the finest Swiss luxury sports timepieces on the market, with many of its models becoming firm favourites for collectors, beginners and professionals alike.
What does doxa mean in English? ›
Doxa (Ancient Greek: δόξα; from verb δοκεῖν, dokein, 'to appear, to seem, to think, to accept') is a common belief or popular opinion. In classical rhetoric, doxa is contrasted with episteme ('knowledge').
Is doxa better than episteme? ›An important principle of doxa is that it is culturally contingent, it changes from culture to culture so it excludes some part of a general audience. Episteme differs from doxa in this sense, it deals with less subjective views and uses objective observations to make arguments more substantial.
What size is the Doxa sub 300? ›The DOXA Sub 300 Carbon features a 42.5mm diameter, 45mm lug-to-lug case that is 13mm thick and composed of forged carbon, with an internal titanium casing.
Does the Doxa 300T have a helium release valve? ›In 1969, DOXA launched the SUB 300T Conquistador, the first general public diver's watch equipped with a helium release valve.
What is largest Doxa watch? ›SUB 300T. The big dog of Doxa reissues, the SUB 300T is based on the venerable 1969 SUB 300T Conquistador, which included the aforementioned dual-scale rotating bezel with depth in feet (not meters), and is thus compatible with the US Navy dive tables.
Is Doxa 300T COSC certified? ›The SUB 300's 42.5 mm case is made from the highest quality 316L stainless steel. The three-hand self-winding movement holds the prestigious COSC Certified Chronometer certification guaranteeing precision, robustness and reliability. It also provides a 38-hour power reserve. The date window is positioned at 3 o'clock.
How tall is the Doxa 300? ›The 300, with its boxed sapphire, has a height of 13.4mm. The 300T, with its flat sapphire, comes in at 14mm.
What size is a Doxa watch? ›The Doxa Sub 300 is a steel dive watch with a case that measures 42.5 x 45 x 13.4mm. Using an ETA 2824, the SUB 300 is an automatic watch with a sapphire crystal, a dive-specific "no deco" bezel," and 300 meters of water resistance.
What watch does Steve Jobs wear? ›What Kind of Watches Was in Steve Jobs's Watch Collection? Despite his immense wealth, Steve Jobs was known for his minimalist sense of style, and many of his watches reflect that, including his Seiko Quartz that he was famously photographed wearing in 1984.
What kind of watch does Guy Fieri wear? ›Fans of Guy Fieri are well familiar with the orange-faced watch he frequently wears. The Doxa SUB 750T GMT Professional is now available thr...
What watch does Brad Pitt wear in Oceans 11? ›
In the first of these films, 'Oceans Eleven', Pitt's character sported a two-tone 'Rolesor' Rolex Submariner, with a black dial. This model then returned in 'Oceans Twelve', although the character also wore a 36mm Rolex Day-Date with a 'glacier' dial at another point in the same movie.
What watch Navy SEALs use? ›The Luminox Navy SEAL watch is the timepiece that made Luminox famous. In 1992, the Assistant RDT&E Officer for the Navy SEALs, Nick North, was asked to seek a more dependable watch for night missions and found the solution when he discovered Luminox.
What is the highest quality watch brand? ›- Shinola. ...
- Weiss. ...
- Vacheron Constantin. ...
- Piaget. ...
- Breguet. ...
- Jaeger-LeCoultre. ...
- Grand Seiko. ...
- A Lange & Söhne. Germany's answer to Patek Philippe produces about a tenth as many watches per year and assembles each one twice to ensure absolute perfection.
Accurate, reliable and small timepieces could now be made without the mechanical movements that the Swiss specialized in constructing. In response, Doxa joined a group of Swiss watchmakers to consolidate resources. This eventually failed and Doxa, after being sold, ceased operations in about 1980.
What brand of watch does Brad Pitt wear? ›Vacheron Constantin brought the model back last year, though, and the market already seems much more welcoming of the watch. The picture of Pitt wearing the reissued timepiece was posted to Instagram (where it was spotted by GQ) by Lorel Monroy of Feldmar Watch Company, an authorized dealer in Los Angeles.
Who is the Holy Trinity of watches? ›You may have heard of the Holy Trinity of watchmaking. It consists of three of the top luxury Swiss watch manufacturers: Audemars Piguet, Vacheron Constantin and Patek Philippe.
Who owns Doxa watch company? ›More than 130 years after its creation, DOXA is today owned by the Jenny family, who acquired it at the turn of the century.
What are the big 3 watch brands? ›Also known as the 'Big Three', the holy trinity of watches includes Audemars Piguet, Patek Philippe, and Vacheron Constantin.
Should watch be tight or loose? ›The watch should be loose enough to slide your index finger underneath the band but not so loose that you can move the index finger around. If you cannot slide your finger underneath the band, the watch is too snug.
What watch does Keanu Reeves wear? ›You can find the Rolex Submariner Ref. 16610 on the secondary market for between $10,000 USD and $12,000 USD. Reeves appears to be a big fan of the Submariner, so much so that in 2021 he gifted his entire John Wick 4 stunt team new Rolex Submariners (John Wick 4 was the final film in the John Wick series).
Which watch did Elvis wear? ›
In real life, Elvis had a watch collection that at times could rival his car collection. He wore Hamilton, Bulova and even Rolex. When he was in Germany in the U.S. Army, he wore a pink gold Omega Constellation (from 1958-1960) that had a black dial.
What watch did German pilots wear? ›B–Uhren is an abbreviation for Beobachtungs-uhren, which translates as observation watches. The watchmakers created their B-Uhren with pilots of the Luftwaffe in mind. There are two types of B-Uhr watch; Baumuster A and Baumaster B.
What denomination is doxa Church? ›Doxa revolves around a common belief while Episteme is factual or a justified truth. In the most simplest form, the two could be misinterpreted and considered the same but they are not. An example of Doxa could be how people perceive political figures, like Donald Trump, as a racist.
What is the difference between doxa and Endoxa? ›Whereas Plato condemned doxa as a starting point from which to attain truth, Aristotle used the term endoxa – in the sense of "commonplace", "everyday", "consensus" – to identify a group or population's beliefs that had previously withstood debate and argument (and were, thereby, more stable than doxa). dbt:Pp.
Who made distinction between doxa and episteme? ›Aristotle contrasts episteme and doxa through the key notions of universal and necessary.
What are the 4 types of knowledge in Greek? ›What types of knowledge are there? In his Nicomachean Ethics (Book VI), Aristotle famously describes several intellectual virtues. There is Techne, or Art; Episteme, or Knowledge, Phronesis, or Prudence, Sophia, or Wisdom, and Nous, or Intellect.
Is Doxa Sub 200 worth it? ›As a package, while it lacks the funky oddball charm of the Doxas I've long known and loved, the Sub 200 is a really solid offering. As an extension of Doxa into a lower price point, I think they've done an excellent job. It's not perfect, but when you factor for $990 on the steel bracelet, it is seriously good.
How much is a doxa sharkhunter? ›Doxa Sub 300 T-Graph Sharkhunter for $4,100 for sale from a Trusted Seller on Chrono24. Be one of 4,000 successful private sellers each month.
What movement is in the Doxa Sub 600T? ›Finally, beating away at the heart of the 600T is the Sellita SW200-1 movement. This Swiss-made automatic movement comes with 38 hours of autonomy, 28,800 vph, and has reliability front and centre.
Is a helium escape valve necessary? ›
Once in the watch, this gas can't escape quickly enough, unless the watch is equipped with a helium release valve to let the helium escape from the watch during lowering the pressure. This is necessary to prevent the watch from exploding during decompression.
What is the purpose of a helium release valve? ›Helium escape valves keep diving watches from getting damaged during saturation diving. During the decompression process, this safety valve allows any helium molecules that may have entered a watch to escape.
What is the accuracy of DOXA? ›Movement. Doxa is using a COSC certified ETA 2824-2 automatic movement in the Sub 300, meaning its 38 hours of reserve will provide you -4/+6 seconds of accuracy per day.
What is the difference between Doxa sub 300 and 300T? ›The SUB 300's stainless steel case is 42.5mm wide, 45mm lug-to-lug, and has a thickness of 13.4mm. Its sapphire crystal protrudes in a “box” style, adding a retro feel to it. The SUB 300T, on the other hand, has the same 42.5mm diameter, but it has a shorter lug-to-lug distance of 44.5mm.
What watch did soldiers wear in Vietnam? ›The GG-W-113 was also issued to pilots while the MIL-W-3818B was issued to troops on the ground. The GG-W-113 was utilized in the Vietnam War, Persian Gulf conflicts, and other Middle Eastern combat scenarios. It remains one of the most recognizable military watches from the Vietnam War.
What movement is in Seiko skx009? ›It runs on a Seiko calibre 4R36 movement with both manual and automatic winding capabilities and roundabout the same power reserve as the calibre 7S26.
What is the history of the Doxa sub 300? ›Introduced in 1967, the DOXA SUB 300 became an instant legend when, in 1968, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and the crew of the Calypso brought not only the SUB 300's image but its eminent utility to TV viewers around the world on the series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.
What movement is in Doxa 600T? ›Powering the Sub 600T is a Sellita SW 200-1 Swiss Made automatic movement. Beating at 28,800 bph and featuring 38 hours of power reserve, the SW 200-1 is a reliable, easily serviceable movement that is a good match for the watch's intentions.
Does the Doxa 300T have a helium escape valve? ›In 1969, DOXA launched the SUB 300T Conquistador, the first general public diver's watch equipped with a helium release valve.
How wide is a sub 600T lug? ›Sized at 40mm wide, 14.5mm thick, and 47 mm lug to lug, the 600T has a chunky and angular design that is derived from the so-called "Aubrey Era" of Doxa (which started in 1978 when Doxa was bought by Aubry Frères Company, if you want to know more check out Cole's story, here).
What is the most accurate Seiko automatic movement? ›
Seiko claims that they offer the most accurate mechanical movement ever with the Caliber T-Zero. The mainspring in the above paragraph has the maximum potential energy in its fully-wound state. Naturally, it applies a very high torque to the moving parts of the movement.
Why did Seiko discontinue the Skx? ›As well, the movement couldn't be wound by hand, and one could not stop its second hand to set the time to the second accurate. Probably because of these reasons, and because the SKX wasn't ISO 6425-certified (I guess), Seiko meant to stop production and focus on diver's watches with higher overall standards.
What is the most precise watch movement? ›The most accurate watches on the market use quartz movements with the Quartz Industry standardising on 32kHz crystals as their oscillators in the 70's as a result of their reliability, small dimensions and low power consumption.
Who owns Doxa? ›More than 130 years after its creation, DOXA is today owned by the Jenny family, who acquired it at the turn of the century.
What movement is in Doxa 1500t? ›The movement
This model is equipped with the ETA 2892-2 self-winding calibre. The Swiss movement specialist needs no introduction, its expertise is widely known.