Doxa SUB600T Pacific
The Doxa SUB600T Pacific is a handsome divers’ watch produced in collaboration with Australian online magazine, Time + Tide. Angus Davies appraises the specification of this model and asks whether this could be the future of watch retailing.
Often when watching the evening news, we are reminded that the world of retailing has changed beyond recognition. Many of the monolithic department stores that once dominated the high street have now disappeared.
The watch world has not been impervious to the change when it comes to retailing its products. Some brands have chosen to open their own boutiques and/or online sales platforms. Interestingly, these seismic changes have taken place after a long period of resistance within the industry. Indeed, only a few years ago, many brands perceived that online wasn’t compatible with the notion of luxury, however, today, I suspect few brands would subscribe to this point of view. Moreover, Covid has also produced an incentive to embrace the notion of e-commerce.
‘Bricks and mortar retailing’ has not disappeared but it has adapted. Large specialist watch retailing groups, independent from the historical watch brands they sell, have introduced a degree of professionalism never seen before. They compete both on the high street as well as online. Moreover, there are now several online pre-owned specialists that come with impressive credentials.
The famous marketing guru, Philip Kotler, once remarked that ‘the customer is king’. Never has this remark felt so true. Whether you choose to purchase your next expression of Haute Horlogerie by physically visiting a boutique or by tapping the keys of your Apple Mac, the variety of purchasing options is better than ever.
In recent years, another distribution channel has emerged, the online magazine. Hodinkee, Fratellowatches and Monochrome have each commissioned exclusive, limited-edition models and sold them on their respective websites. Interestingly, it has become a race to see how quickly an online magazine can sell out its exclusive model. When Monochrome offered its Habring-sourced salmon-toned chronograph, all examples were snapped up within 17 minutes of going on sale.
Now, the divers’ watch specialist, Doxa, has collaborated with the Australian online magazine, Time + Tide. The Antipodean horophiles have clearly looked to the watch brand’s back catalogue looking for suitable inspiration.
The Doxa SUB600T burst onto the watch scene in the 80s and, consistent with other Doxa models, it is a bonafide divers’ watch that’s more than happy to get its hair wet. The offset crown, positioned at 4 o’clock, respects the original design. Likewise, the facetted case surfaces echo the profile of the 80s model. Three hands say everything you need to know whilst surveying the ocean bed.
Housed in titanium, the lightweight housing is not liable to corrosion and is hypoallergenic. The case measures 40 x 47.6mm and is 14.15mm in height. The Doxa SUB600T Pacific has a maximum water resistance of 600 metres which should fulfil the requirements of most subaquatic types.
However, I suspect many prospective wearers will select this model because of its looks. Its blue dial, inspired by the blue waters encircling Australia, contribute to this model’s drop-dead gorgeous appearance. Indeed, Doxa has produced a handsome beauty that surpasses the utilitarian appearance of most divers’ watches and, best of all, it is offered for the keen sum of CHF 1,890 (RRP as at 17.9.2021). The Doxa SUB600T Pacific is limited to just 200 pieces and, if the model shares the same success as those watches sold by Hodinkee, Fratellowatches and Monochrome, they will undoubtedly sell out very quickly.
Do online magazines represent the future of watch retailing? Probably not. After all, there are many competing distribution channels, all wishing to enjoy the same potential spoils. However, the online magazine does provide something different and interesting, namely exclusive alternatives to ‘regular models’. Furthermore, by engaging with their readers, online magazines often possess an insight into what horophiles like and, conversely, don’t like. And, put simply, I like the Doxa SUB600T Pacific.
The brand’s press release
First introduced in the ‘80s, the SUB 600T joined previous DOXA dive models as a legend in its own time. Now, 40 years later, it is reborn in a brushed titanium case with ceramic bezel inlay bezel and comes with a dial colour in a shade of blue matched to the Pacific Ocean. The SUB 600T ‘pacific’ will be limited to 200 pieces and is proudly released in collaboration withTime+Tide, DOXA’s partner in Australia.
DOXA was founded by Georges Ducommun in 1889. At the end of the 1960s, DOXA took to the sea, so to speak, and launched the revolutionary SUB concept: the first truly professional diving watch to be accessible to the general public. The innovations it contributed soon made the SUB the go-to tool watch for sports divers and military divers alike. None other than Captain Jacques-Yves Cousteau, co-inventor of the Aqua-Lung underwater breathing system and the spiritual father of modern scuba diving, swore by his DOXA. SUBs were a common sight on the wrists of divers jumping from the deck of the Calypso to take millions of TV viewers on the legendary missions into “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.”
It’s the 80s and DOXA presents the SUB 600T. The crown, offset to 4 o’clock and the angular lines give it a distinct character from the rounded case shapes of the collections that preceded it. Naturally, it too comes with DOXA’s patented unidirectional rotating bezel for calculating no-stop dive times. Introduced with the now legendary dial offering greater readability, the SUB 600T quickly gains quite a following among the public at large and the growing number of scuba diving enthusiasts around the world.
Today, more than 40 years later, DOXA pays tribute to this milestone model with a Limited Edition SUB 600T ‘pacific’ – for the first time in titanium. Only 200 numbered pieces will be made. On the outside, this 3-hand dive watch remains true to the aesthetics that made the SUB 600T famous. On the inside, it impresses with all the technical features that make it a high-performance, reliable, accessible and desirable dive watch for our times.
The SUB 600T’s brushed titanium 40mm case is topped by a sapphire crystal. Rated for depths up to 600 meters (60 bar, about 1970 feet), the watch’s water resistance provides ample margin even for the most ambitious of deep divers. The crown is positioned at 4 o’clock and the patented unidirectional ceramic rotating bezel, with dive time in minutes and depth in feet, prepares for safe ascents without decompression stops. The dial in ‘Pacific Ocean blue’ is a first for DOXA, and it evokes that ultramarine shimmer of the waters around Australia, the home of Time+Tide.
All dive-related indications have a Super-LumiNova® luminescent coating, including the distinctive ‘shark’s tooth’ hour markers at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’clock for optimal legibility in low-light conditions. The Limited Edition comes with a tone-on-tone rubber strap to match the Pacific Blue dial. This model also introduces a new type of clasp, a DOXA premiere: though it looks like a pin buckle, it is actually a folding buckle – here in brushed titanium – that allows for easy adjustment to the wearer’s wrist. The clasp sports the exclusive ‘DOXA Fish’ symbol.
Further reading