Doxa SUB 300 Carbon COSC
The Doxa SUB 300 Carbon COSC combines an ultra-light forged carbon case with vibrant hues and a COSC-certified movement. This Swiss brand has cleverly adapted a once utilitarian object originally intended for professional use and made it highly appealing to ‘desk divers’ yearning a touch of style.
The Land Rover, a vehicle that was originally intended for hard-core use within the military sector was soon adopted by farmers and has since evolved, becoming a popular choice in the premium car segment.
My point here is that a once utilitarian object, originally designed for professional use can sometimes be adapted so that it appeals to the general public, thereby surpassing its once esoteric relevance.
Doxa has a rich history dating back to 1889, however, in 1967 it released its groundbreaking divers’ tool, the SUB 300 watch. The model was intended for professional divers. Its impressive water resistance of 30 ATM, unidirectional bezel, super-legible dial and hewn from granite case construction, made the Doxa SUB 300 watch the ideal timepiece for those partaking in subaquatic exploration.
Over the years, Doxa has become known for making divers’ watches. However, most purchasers of divers’ watches seldom purchase these models for professional or even amateur use, they are the so-called ‘desk divers’. This latter group appreciate the über-masculine styling, readability, robustness and water-resistance, typical with this genre of watch. Indeed, divers’ watches make a practical ownership proposition.
The Swiss firm has recognised this niche. While it continues to offer orange dial variants, said to aid legibility in deep water, it has been offering its watches in an array of vibrant hues, some on rubber straps and others on sturdy metal bracelets thereby making, a once utilitarian object a stylish accessory.
An inherent characteristic of most divers’ watches is that they have a tendency to be heavy, however, Doxa set aside this notion when it released the Doxa SUB 300 Carbon Aqua Lung US Divers last year (2020). This watch featured an ultra-light forged carbon case and dial ensemble. Having spent a few days ‘hands-on’ with this model, I found its low mass and ergonomic case delivered peerless levels of wearer comfort.
Now, the watch brand has returned with the Doxa SUB 300 Carbon COSC, sharing a close resemblance to the steel Doxa SUB 300 COSC that I also wore last year. This new model is housed in forged carbon and is a COSC-certified chronometer. The Maison has indulged would-be wearers with a choice of 10 versions, including 6 different colours. Finally, Doxa offers this impressive watch for £3750.00 (RRP as at 29.3.2021)
The brand’s press release
In 1967, DOXA launched the revolutionary SUB concept with the SUB 300, the first truly purpose-designed diver’s tool-watch that was also accessible to the general public. The radical innovations it introduced quickly made it the benchmark for professionals, too. Rated to 30 ATM, i.e. water resistant to a depth of 300 meters or about 980 feet, it was the first to feature a unidirectional bezel with a dual indication of dive time and depth. Linking the two enabled divers to calculate and monitor dive duration to ensure a safe ascent without decompression stops.
At the time, the US Navy no-decompression dive table was the most authoritative system, allowing divers to monitor their underwater time as a function of depth to ensure a safe return to the surface. DOXA engineers took the US Navy’s findings and incorporated two separate scales into the bezel, one orange on the outer ‘depth’ ring and the other black on the inner ‘minutes’ ring – it became a DOXA patent.
The SUB 300 also became instantly recognizable – and legendary – for another reason: it was the first diver’s watch ever to sport a bright orange dial, contrasting with the traditional black or white dials so common on other diving watches of the time.
It’s the start of ‘Orangemania!’
Starting in 1968, the SUB 300 came to be seen on the wrists of divers jumping from the deck of the Calypso to take millions of viewers on the captivating missions of ‘The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau’ every week on TV. Commander Jacques-Yves Cousteau, co-inventor of the scuba and the spiritual father of modern scuba diving, and already then a legend in his own time, was so fond of the SUB 300 that he actually negotiated exclusive distribution rights for the U.S.
In 2015, the SUB 300 came out in three dial colours: orange, black and silver.
Spring 2021: Into a new age with flying colours!
Following through on the great success of the SUB 300 Aqua Lung US Divers launched in 2020, a limited series of only 300 numbered pieces, DOXA Watches is bringing out the SUB 300 carbon COSC in a non-limited version, in 6 colours and 10 versions, vibrant, bright, summery and ready for adventure:
- Orange Professional
- Silver Searambler
- Black Sharkhunter
- Navy Caribbean
- Yellow Divingstar
- Turquoise Aquamarine
In sync with the times around the wrist, too.
The DOXA SUB 300 carbon also comes with a choice of rubber straps: tone-on-tone to match the colour of the dial and, of course, black. The very soft rubber used for this series, with DOXA markings on both sides, makes the watch particularly comfortable to wear.
Besides a black PVD-coated folding clasp highlighted with the exclusive ‘DOXA fish’ symbol, the strap features an adjustable diver’s wetsuit extension.
Forged carbon provides DOXA with a high-tech, high appeal material to build on the heritage of the SUB 300.
More than 50 years after its launch, rich with a unique history, the legendary SUB 300 is available in 2021 for the first time in carbon as a non-limited version.
Uncannily lightweight compared to steel, forged carbon gives off an urban camouflage vibe that alternates shades of charcoal gray and black, an iridescent effect that fluctuates with the intensity of the light, turning the watch into a more radical, more contemporary statement.
Far from the usual black watch cases, the texture, the look and feel of forged carbon are simply one of a kind. Matte, raw, high tech, the material seems at once compact and irregular. The very particular non-homogeneous marbling – achieved with randomly worked fibres – expresses a subtle balance between being respectful of its heritage and yet provocative in the same way the original SUB 300 was back then.
The SUB 300 carbon echoes all the codes of its origins, while cultivating a racier, sportier, more technical, but also more urban look. The result is a touch of edginess that does not in the least betray the legend and instead, using a high-performance material at the service of its functionality, projects it into the future.
DOXA has always striven to continuously improve its diver’s watches, particularly the most emblematic of all: the SUB 300, which remains one of the very few diver’s watches to have made a mark on Swiss watchmaking history. And the legend lives on.
A prestigious official certification: COSC
Precision, robustness, reliability: each self-winding mechanical movement to equip a SUB 300 carbon COSC is rigorously certified by the prestigious COSC (for ‘Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres’). COSC certification guarantees chronometric performance and scrupulous compliance with the highest standards in terms of precision, reliability, shock resistance, automatic winding and ease of maintenance.
The SUB 300 carbon COSC retains all the technical hallmarks that defined the legend.
With a diameter of 42.5 mm, the SUB 300 carbon COSC features a pressure-resistant titanium chamber and screw-down crown to afford maximum protection for the movement. The watch is waterproof to a depth of 300 meters or 30 ATM, about 980 feet, for absolute freedom of undersea exploration.
Its scratch-resistant sapphire crystal with anti-reflective treatment has the distinctive dome shape of the curved Plexiglas used for the original series way back when. The COSC-certified automatic movement provides a power reserve of approximately 38 hours.
All dive-related displays stand out in low-light conditions thanks to Super-LumiNova® luminescence, thus ensuring excellent readability during dives where visibility is reduced. The hour indices are clearly visible, as is the dual indication of dive time in minutes and depth in meters on the patented unidirectional rotating bezel designed for calculating and monitoring no-decompression dive times.
For the dive time scale, the inserts are white, punctuated with a dot at 12 o’clock. The inserts of the bezel graduated in meters for depths are coloured – either in orange, yellow or turquoise – for visual differentiation, with a light dot at 12H.
Further reading