Introducing the New Doxa SUB 300
Doxa is a Swiss watch brand that was off the radar until mid-2019 when it launched the Sub 200 collection, with vintage divers look that did not go unnoticed by enthusiasts. But Doxa is much more than a fashion trend, is a brand with more than 130 years of history and its industrial and almost minimalist look contrasts with its precision and durability.
In 2017, Doxa launched a limited edition ‘Sub 300’ to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its first diver, the ‘Sub 300T’, a watch that came out in 1967 and was chosen to equip the sailors of Jacques Cousteau’s ship.
Doxa now brings a new Sub 300 collection, it is not the Sub 300T collection nor the 2017 Sub 300 Limited Edition, and the latter is controversial, but we will return to it later, this “new” launch is almost the same Sub 300 Limited Edition, but with few distinct aesthetical characteristics, in terms of dimensions, it is 42.5mm in diameter, 13.4mm thick including a new bubble crystal and 45mm lug to lug. The dial is really similar, despite some variations in the colours of the hour hand and the inscription of the dial ‘Divingstar’, on the bezel, we can find a different metric scale, while the 2017 version had a feet metric, this new version comes with a modern meters metric, another change pointed out is the colour of Doxa logo on the crown in this modern version it comes in orange. For the three 2017 variants, the 3 “missing” variants from most of its collections have been added, the navy ‘Caribbean’, the yellow ‘Divingstar’ and the turquoise ‘Aquamarine’. Another improvement of this new Sub 300 is the option for a rubber strap in the same colour as the dial or the traditional beads of rice bracelet. The price is the same as the 2017 Limited Edition and the bracelet option only cost €40 more than the strap version.
My last thought about it, I really like Doxa, even if I don’t have one, I like its watches and its quality and this new Sub 300 reflects that considering the price and the small differences between the Sub 300 and the Sub 300T I probably I would choose the Sub 300T, but both are great options and the prices are tempting.
Now, a few words about the controversial new release and the Limited Edition of 2017, I’m not a big fan of Limited Editions for the obvious reasons, but as they exist, we have to respect that, so it’s hard to explain for someone who bought something that supposedly unique and that often represents a financial effort for the people who buy them, that shortly afterwards the brand decided to launch a watch with the same name, the same main characteristics and without Limited Edition, this is not a good played to retain customers, it is up to each one to draw their own conclusions.
General Specifications:
Brand: Doxa
Model: SUB 300
Dial: Orange, Black, Silver, Blue, Yellow or Turquoise
Indexes: Painted
Lume: Super-LumiNova
Case Material: Stainless Steel
Case Dimensions: 42.5mm Diameter, 45mm Lug to Lug, 13.4mm Thickness, 20mm Lug Width
Crystal: Sapphire Glass
Case Back: Solid Screw-in
Caliber: ETA 2824-2
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds, date
Winding: Automatic
Frequency: 28,800 vph
Power Reserve: 38 Hours
Chronometer Certified: COSC certified
Water Resistance: 300 Meters
Strap: Stainless steel ‘beads of rice’ bracelet or rubber strap in the colour of the dial
Price: €2,450 (rubber strap), €2,490 (bracelet)
Availability: August 2020