ca85a70cf9

ReviewMaking A Splash: Introducing The Doxa Sub 600T Collection

Doxa are one of the few brands that focus only on dive watches—a genre that has become their forte over the years. With the new Sub 600T line, they are now offering a greater water resistance of 600m, while retaining their vibrant colour palette and the patented unidirectional bezel that allows divers to easily calculate a safe ascent without decompression stops

Aishwarya Sati January 31, 2022

Listen

May We Recommend

Spotlight Let It Glow, Let It Glow, Let It Glow: The Glowing Case Of The BR X5 Green Lum By Bell & Ross Review Lasered Kaleidoscope: Presenting The Oris ProPilot X Calibre 400 Laser Review Set In Stone: Introducing The Jacob & Co Palatial Classic Collection’s Stone Dials Review Retro, Winning Charm: Raymond Weil's Millesime—A Tribute To Understated Elegance Spotlight From Paris to New York, Louis Moinet Around The World In Eight Days Adventure Unfolds

Established in 1889 by watchmaker Georges Ducommun, Doxa means ‘glory’ in Greek. Since then, they have been crafting pocketwatches and timekeepers with great precision, including the famed Doxa eight-day calibre—patented in 1908. While the brand continued to experiment and innovate, with the focus on travel and sports timepieces, one of their greatest milestones was achieved in 1967, when Doxa forayed into the dive watch arena and introduced the Sub 300—a revolutionary concept considered a ‘truly purpose-designed’ diver’s watch that was also commercially accessible to the public. This was also the first time that a dial in orange was introduced in this segment, which mostly saw watches with black, white or silver-hued dials, besides offering a water-resistance of up to 300m.

And Doxa have continued to build-up on this segment of dive watches with advancements in accuracy, increased waterproofness, material innovation in terms of introducing carbon fibre in their cases, and more. Last year during the digital edition of Geneva Watch Days, Doxa introduced the Sub 600T Pacific in titanium—a limited-edition of 200 pieces, and following that the Sub 600T in stainless steel as a non-limited edition. The highlight of the range is the great water-resistance of 600m, and the availability with a choice of two bezel versions—steel or ceramic insert. The brand’s six emblematic colours: orange (Professional), yellow (Divingstar), navy blue (Caribbean), turquoise (Aquamarine), silver (Searambler) and black (Sharkhunter), are present here as well in dial and strap options. Let’s take a closer look.

A Unique Construction: The Case

Back in the 1980s, when Doxa was owned by the Aubry Frères company, they first introduced the Sub 600T, which was more in sync with the design ethos of the luxury sports watches that had become a rage back then. When compared with its predecessor—the Sub 300 that had a curvier, tonneau-shaped case—the Sub 600T was bulkier with sharper and defined lines, more angular in construction, with an offset crown at four o’clock. This also complemented the sartorial landscape of the ’80s, marked by big leather jackets, high-rise jeans, huge plastic hoops and even voluminous hair. The new Doxa 600T iteration is also modelled on the original and comes in a 40mm stainless steel case—a measurement that also remains unchanged. On turning over the watch, one can see a solid steel caseback with the Doxa ‘Fish’ logo, which is present on the crown as well.

Doxa SUB 600T

In fact it would surprise many wearers that this is the smallest case size amongst all Doxa watches, despite looking relatively expansive on the wrist. This is topped by a sapphire crystal and the patented unidirectional, rotating bezel—to calculate a safe ascent without decompression stops. Replete with dual indication of the dive time (minutes) and depth (feet), the bezel can be ordered either with a sandblasted steel insert or with a ceramic insert. This has also been made more user-friendly as it’s bigger in size and therefore offers greater legibility and ease of handling, even while wearing gloves. This probably still remains the most important feature of the watch since it allows a diver to quickly and precisely calculate the maximum time to be spent at a specific depth without requiring decompression stops on the way back to the surface. Doxa’s dive bezel is used in conjunction with a table that indicates the no-decompression limit for each depth.

The Dial And Straps

While the cases are crafted in solid steel, the dials are available in Doxa’s six vibrant hues with either a stainless-steel bracelet or a matching rubber strap, which in all, allows for the possibility of 24 combinations. For example one can pair the orange dial with an orange strap or if one wants to keep it understated, then opt for a steel bracelet, which also lends the timepiece a more modern vintage appeal. This three-hand dive timer’s indexes and hour markers remain true to the aesthetics of the original and are fairly large. All these dive-related indications are coated with Super-LumiNova, including the distinctive ‘shark tooth’ markers at six, nine and 12 o’clock, for optimal readability in low light conditions. There’s also a date window at the three o’clock position, and right below that one can see the name of the watch. The rubber strap features a new clasp: it looks like a pin buckle, but it is actually a folding buckle for quick, convenient and comfortable adjustment to the owner’s wrist. And of course, the DOXA ‘Fish’ symbol is featured on the pin buckle as well. Powered by the Sellita SW200-1, a self-winding movement with a frequency of 28,800vph the watch offers a power reserve of 38 hours, once fully wound.

The dials are available in Doxa’s six vibrant hues with either a stainless steel bracelet or a matching rubber strap, which, in all, allows for the possibility of 24 combinations
This three-hand dive timer’s indexes and hour markers remain true to the aesthetics of the original and are fairly large
All dive-related indications are coated with Super-LumiNova, including the distinctive ‘shark tooth’ markers at six, nine and 12 o’clock, for optimal readability in low-light conditions
There’s also a date window at the three o’clock position, and right below that, one can see the name of the watch
The Doxa ‘fish’ symbol is featured on the crown at the four o'clock position

Doxa SUB 600T Explore the Collection

Not a brand to complicate their offerings by adding too many functions; Doxa have continued to strengthen a line that works best for them. And all this has been achieved by staying true to the basic design and engineering principles that form the cornerstone of all their watches. Their belief in the ‘form follows function’ ideology helps them to craft some of the most exceptional yet affordable diving watches as exemplified by the new Doxa SUB 600T.

With the new Sub 600T line, Doxa are now offering a greater water resistance of 600m, while retaining their vibrant colour palette and the patented unidirectional bezel that allows divers to easily calculate a safe ascent without decompression stops