DOXA SUB 300 'No-T' Thin-Case

Why We Love It We think its safe to say that we're well known for our love of DOXA. Our founder's love of vintage wristwatches began with the Sub 300 series, which he first discovered mentioned on the pages of Clive Cussler novels while still in grade school. The mere mention of "the orange-faced DOXA diver's watch" today will send a shiver of delightful recognition through tool-watch enthusiasts the world-over.  While not nearly as well-known as the Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms or the Rolex Submariner, the DOXA Sub series played an integral role in the development of the modern diver's watch. The first generation of the model, introduced in 1967, brought innovations we now take for granted; the uni-direcitonal bezel with the US Navy's no-decompression dive timing marks engraved, the expanding bracelet, and oversized luminous minute hands to name a few. After its introduction, DOXA rapidly became a household name for professional and amateur divers in the late 1960s and 1970s, and the Sub 300 evolved into an even more capable and reliable instrument. But the first generation - known affectionately amongst enthusiasts as the "Sub 300 No-T" or "thin-case" models were only produced for a single year, and in our estimate there are less than one hundred remaining examples in the world. DOXA recently paid tribute to this model with their 50th Anniversary model, but the example we have here is the real deal - one of the first ever purpose-built orange-dial DOXA Sub 300s from 1967. This rare watch features an incredibly crisp and vivid orange Professional dial, an impeccable bezel, correct signed screw-down crown, sailing ship caseback, and even the correct elasticizedbeads of rice bracelet with first year "DOXA Sub 300" markings and lever for ratcheting micro-adjustments. This is an exceedingly rare example of a truly iconic diver's watch - and one we've never offered before. If you're looking to add something special to your collection of tool watches, look no further. Be sure to contact James for more information on this special piece - He'll happily talk your ear off!  The Story DOXA began research and development for the Sub 300 in 1964, under a team helmed by Urs Eschle, the brand's head of operations, who consulted professional divers including none other than the father of SCUBA himself, Jacques-Yves Cousteau. Since wearability was crucial, Eschle designed a large case with wide rounded lugs. For the dial, the team tested many colors (orange, yellow, turquoise, and red) in the waters of Neuchatel Lake. An unprecedented amount of tritium was also used on the hands and hour indices.  The team implemented a unidirectional bezel with an innovative insert: the U.S. Navy No Decompression chart, with the outer depth scale in orange and the minute scale in black, to allow divers to gauge how much air was in left in their tanks. Rounding out the Sub 300's innovative design was a beads-of-rice bracelet that was the first to implement an ratcheting expandable clasp capable of fitting over a diver's wetsuit without having to remove links.