ReviewThe New Doxa Sub 300 Chronometer Dive Watch—Now In Carbon

Doxa, owing to its superb engineering and highly functional design, is a revered brand among enthusiasts of dive watches. Their most well-known diver’s has been the Sub 300, which was only made of steel, until last year, when Doxa expanded their offering of dive timers. In 2020, the Swiss watchmakers achieved a prodigious feat of engineering by rolling out the Sub 300 Carbon Aqua Lung US Divers limited edition. It was for the first time that Doxa incorporated forged carbon to construct the case and dial of a timepiece. Globally, fans of Doxa appreciated this featherweight rendition as opposed to models constructed from steel, even though this was just one limited, special edition.

This year the brand has extended even its main Sub 300 line, with cases made from high-functioning forged carbon. This new non-limited edition is more widely available and includes models in all of Doxa’s signature hues—black (Sharkhunter), silver (Searambler), navy (Caribbean), yellow (Divingstar), turquoise (Aquamarine), and the original orange (Professional).

This year Doxa has extended even its main Sub 300 line, with cases made from high-functioning forged carbon

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Aside from the edgy look of forged carbon’s dark exterior, the 42.5mm case features a matt, marble-like iridescent appearance, giving it a distinguished look

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The new Sub 300 Carbon COSC brings Doxa’s use of forged carbon into the mainstream, with its wider presence in a non-limited edition

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Though interpreted in carbon, all the original design hallmarks of this masterpiece remain intact

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These watches come with rubber straps in black, or matching the dial colour. Aside from the edgy look of forged carbon’s dark exterior, the 42.5mm case features a matt, marble-like iridescent appearance, giving it a distinguished look.

The Goodness Of Carbon

A closer look at more than one of these carbon timepieces will make it clear that each one is practically unique in appearance, owing to the marbling of the carbon. Layers of carbon fibre are randomly arranged, compressed and heated; giving the timepiece a durable, rigid form. This results in a high-tech composite material, with each case featuring a defining iridescent, marble-like pattern. The forged carbon makes the timepieces extremely light yet sturdy. 

A History Of Technical Innovations 

Launched by Georges Ducommun in 1889, Doxa can easily be defined by its ingenious dive timer concepts. The ability to master optimisation has been their strong suit since the inception of the brand. After seeing early success in the field of timepieces for automobile dashboards, the brand’s focus soon shifted towards what would become their biggest claim to fame. The person who helped shape Doxa’s legacy was Urs Eschle—the former head of product development, and the brain behind the brand’s famed Project Sub.

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His aim was to create a watch that stood for Doxa’s commitment to innovation, as opposed to upgrading a pre-existing model. The visual narrative and practical aspects surrounding the traditional dive watch had to be reimagined, in order to make it more user-friendly. And most importantly, it had to be more accessible. Eschle decided to work with a team comprising experienced watchmakers and celebrated aquanauts such as Claude Wesly and Jacques-Yves Cousteau. The latter, a pioneer in his own right, as a co-designer of the world’s first scuba equipment, can be credited with acquainting the world with the unfathomable depths of the oceans through his documentary films.

With a diameter of 42.5mm, the Sub 300 Carbon COSC features a pressure-resistant titanium chamber and screw-down crown to afford maximum protection for the movement

The dials of these watches stay protected under a domed sapphire crystal glass, treated with an anti-reflective coating.

Doxa SUB 300 Carbon

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The Doxa Sub 300 was launched at the 1967 Basel fair. With its patented rotating bezel, signature orange dial, prominent indices, and an oversized minute hand, it soon acquired cult status among dive timer enthusiasts. What followed was a series of innovative models that further reaffirmed Doxa’s image as a pioneer, including the 1969 Sub 300T Conquistador, which was the first dive watch back then, to come equipped with a helium release valve. And more recently, it was the Doxa Sub 300 Aqua Lung, in collaboration with their long-term partner, Aqua Lung—the scuba manufacturing firm. And just last year, we saw the release of the forged carbon model—the Sub 300 Carbon Aqua Lung Sharkhunter. With the unidirectional rotating bezel—executed in forged carbon—the watch was released in a limited edition of 300 pieces only. 

Solid Form And Functionality

The new Sub 300 Carbon COSC brings Doxa’s use of forged carbon into the mainstream, with its wider presence in a non-limited edition. Though interpreted in carbon, all the original design hallmarks of this masterpiece remain intact. A case in point is the brand’s signature barrel-shaped silhouette, which can be seen in this edition too, but in carbon. With a diameter of 42.5mm, the Sub 300 Carbon COSC features a pressure-resistant titanium chamber and screw-down crown to afford maximum protection for the movement. These features in addition to the screw-down caseback in titanium, ensure that the watch remains water-resistant, up to a depth of 300m.

Another remarkable feature of the Sub 300 watches has been their unidirectional-rotating bezel which can indicate both—time and depth, and which ensures the safe ascent of a diver by calculating the correct dive duration

This patented bezel is found on Doxa’s latest carbon editions too, with the outer depth ring and the inner minute ring

Doxa SUB 300 Carbon

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Another remarkable feature of the Sub 300 watches has been their unidirectional-rotating bezel which can indicate both—time and depth, and which ensures the safe ascent of a diver by calculating the correct dive duration. The bezel with two separate scales was introduced in the 60s, based on the US Navy no-decompression dive table—the standard to monitor underwater time for divers. This patented bezel is found on Doxa’s latest carbon editions too, with the outer depth ring and the inner minute ring. The outer ring shows the dive depth. The inner ring indicates the time in minutes corresponding to the outer ring’s depth rate. The descent marker (indicated by two dots) is used to mark the beginning of the dive time, by aligning it with the minute hand. This will allow the large minute hand to show how many minutes the diver can stay at the desired depth and can return to the surface without any hindrance. 

Doxa’s Signature Palette

Doxa’s Sub 300 has been known for its striking orange dial. Legend has it that Urs Eschle tested a spectrum of colours suitable for Sub 300 dial, in the murky waters of Lake Neuchâtel in Switzerland. He found that orange was the best in terms of visibility. It was quite a radical choice back in the day, when colours chosen for dial were the far more neutral black, grey or white. Since then, the distinctive orange dial has become an insignia of the Sub 300 timepieces. Eventually, Doxa did release the Sub 300 bearing silver (Searambler) and black (Sharkhunter) dials, and subsequently, navy (Caribbean), yellow (Divingstar) and turquoise (Aquamarine) dials too—found in this carbon edition as well. The dial-in of these carbon versions rests under a dome-shaped sapphire crystal glass, treated with an anti-reflective coating. 

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The Doxa Sub 300 Carbon comes with a choice of straps. The straps are either in black—combined with all dial colours—or in colours that complement the dials of the navy, turquoise, yellow and orange editions. The straps feature PVD-coated, folding clasps in steel, emblazoned with the brands signature fish logo. 

Precision With Performance

To top off the high-performing piece is the precision of its self-winding ETA 2824 calibre—a chronometer movement, certified by the COSC (Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres). Ticking at a frequency of 28,800vph, the calibre offers a 38-hour power reserve. The COSC certification guarantees chronometric precision and reliability, resistance to shocks, and ease of maintenance.

For all dive timer enthusiasts, Doxa’s latest offering allows them to indulge in their signature shades. However, for the brand, it is not just about expanding their portfolio of celebrated dive timers. The forged carbon in the main Sub 300 line goes to show that globally, brands are opening up the accessibility and availability of lighter, more consumer-friendly materials beyond steel. It’s quite likely that the usage of forged carbon is just a tipping point leading to bigger technical innovations in mainstream products, going forward.