Tap the image to enlarge
Doxa SUB 300 Carbon 42.5mm Mens Watch The Watches Of Switzerland Group Exclusive
Ref. 822.70.131.20-SE5
Sits in Doxa’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Doxa watches we list, which start at £1,150.
Price range £1,150 to £5,215 across 36 Doxa watches in stock.The original SUB 300 arrived in 1967 as one of the first dive watches to carry a no-decompression table on its bezel, making it a working tool before it was ever a collector's piece. This carbon-cased Seafoam exclusive for the Watches of Switzerland Group marks a return to that ethos: limited to 100 individually engraved examples, it pairs the archival silhouette with a dial colour that has no precedent in the standard range, produced solely for this release. Carbon keeps the case notably light on the wrist for a watch rated to 300 metres, and the matte black housing throws the soft green dial into sharper relief than steel ever would. That green reads differently depending on the light — closer to grey indoors, properly coastal in daylight — and the Super-LumiNova plots across the dial with enough mass to be genuinely useful at depth rather than decorative at dinner. The unidirectional bezel does the job it was designed to do in 1967, and the rubber strap keeps the whole thing flat and secure in the water.
- Reference
- 822.70.131.20-SE5
- Brand
- Doxa
- Case size
- 42.5mm
- Case material
- Two-tone
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Unidirectional rotating
- Movement
- Solar
- Calibre
- ETA 2824-2
- Functions
- Chronograph, GMT, Day-date, Small seconds, Moonphase, Power reserve indicator, Tachymeter, Skeleton dial
- Water resistance
- 300m
- Bracelet / strap
- Mesh bracelet
- Strap colour
- Bronze
- Clasp
- Butterfly clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Origin
- Swiss made
Learn more about Doxa
Doxa was founded by Georges Ducommun in Le Locle in 1889, and spent its early decades on pocket watches and, notably, dashboard clocks for the emerging car industry — supplying Bugatti among others.
Its lasting contribution came much later. In 1967 Doxa released the SUB 300, developed in consultation with professional divers, and it introduced several things now taken for granted. The dial was orange, chosen after testing which colour remained visible longest as depth filtered out light. The bezel carried a US Navy no-decompression scale rather than simple minute markers, letting a diver read safe bottom time directly. The beads-of-rice bracelet included an expansion section to fit over a wetsuit.
Jacques Cousteau's organisation distributed the watches, and US Divers sold them in America. The SUB became genuine professional equipment rather than a dive-styled dress watch, and it appears throughout Clive Cussler's novels on the wrist of Dirk Pitt.
Doxa struggled through the quartz era and was largely dormant before being revived by the Jenny family, who reissued the SUB faithfully from 2002 onward.
The modern range remains almost entirely dive watches, with the same cushion case, the same bezel scale, and dial colours named for their depth-rating heritage — Professional orange, Sharkhunter black, Searambler silver, Caribbean blue.
- 1889
- Georges Ducommun founds Doxa in Le Locle.
- 1908
- Supplies dashboard clocks to early car manufacturers.
- 1967
- The SUB 300 debuts with an orange dial and decompression bezel.
- 2002
- The SUB is reissued under new ownership.
Also in 6 collections
This watch appears in Chronograph Watches (1,354), Sports Watches (816), Dive Watches (578), Skeleton Watches (313), Mesh Bracelet Watches (246) and GMT Watches (242).
What the specifications mean
A watch built to be worn hard and got wet.
Strengths
- 300m water resistance, rated for actual diving
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- Second time zone for travelling
- One of Doxa's more premium watches
Doxa SUB 300 Carbon alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 822.70.131.20-SE5 | SSH177J1 | 010-02722-11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,110 | £2,700 | £2,599 |
| Case size | 42.5mm | 44.1mm | 46mm |
| Water resistance | 300m | 100m | 100m |
| Movement | Solar | Solar | Solar |
| Strap | Mesh bracelet | Titanium bracelet | Silicone strap |
| This watch |
|
|
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Yes. At 300m it is rated for swimming, snorkelling and recreational diving.
Will the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Does it need a battery?
No. It charges from light, and the cell behind that is designed to last a decade or more.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference new, at £3,110. There is nothing to compare it against today.
More Doxa watches like the SUB 300 Carbon
In stock, and close on style and price
