This Original 1960s Dive Watch Costs A Fraction Of A Rolex Submariner

• Doxa challenged the traditional horological norms in the 1960s.
• Endorsements from the world’s most celebrated explorers put this Swiss brand on the dive watch map.
• Among true dive watch aficionados, it holds a cult-like status.

When it comes to vintage dive watches, the conversation usually begins and ends with Rolex and OMEGA. For good reason: these revered Swiss brands have made a name for themselves with unique timepieces that marry form and function beneath the surface of the waves.

But in the 1960s, there was another name that broke from the traditional norm to challenge the mainstream horological icons… and unlike its more famous rivals, you don’t need to remortgage your house to own one.

Founded in 1889 by Georges Ducommun in Le Locle, Switzerland, Doxa spent its early decades producing high-end dress watches and complicated movements.

But the brand’s true legacy was forged underwater in the 1960s, when the Swiss brand released the SUB 300, a revolutionary dive watch designed not just for professional divers, but for the growing population of recreational divers emerging during the postwar boom.

At the time, serious dive watches were typically specialist equipment; they were rugged, pragmatic and useful. But often difficult to read at significant depths underwater.

Doxa decidedly flipped the script on what the consumer had come to expect from its instruments, working alongside diving legends like Jacques Cousteau, a French naval officer turned explorer who opened up the underwater world to the masses, to democratise this growing market.

Cousteau is remembered as one of the great adventurers of the 20th century; a man who made the ocean feel a little less like an alien world, and a little more like home. He prided himself on function-first dive gear, and his company U.S. Divers distributed Doxa watches in the States for years, helping this Swiss brand’s reputation amongst divers across the globe.

It appeared on Cousteau’s crew’s wrists in countless underwater expeditions, and even featured (under a different name) in Clive Cussler’s Dirk Pitt novels, where the hero famously wore an orange-dial Doxa as he saved the world.

Culturally, Doxa had become the diver’s diver watch. Not for luxury or status. Doxa’s SUB 300 was designed to save lives 50 metres below the surface when everything depended on your kit. The brand developed the SUB 300 with several game-changing innovations, such as a bright orange dial for maximum legibility underwater, a unidirectional bezel with no-decompression dive times marked clearly, and a cushion-shaped case that sat comfortably even on bare wrists. The piece’s iconic ‘beads of rice’ bracelet, with its flexible, comfort-first design, sealed Doxa’s reputation.

Today, Doxa still flies under the radar compared to the major players, but among true dive watch aficionados, it holds a cult-like status. Modern reissues like the SUB 600T and SUB 250T GMT, released this year at Watches & Wonders, stay true to the tool-watch DNA that made this Swiss brand so famous all those decades ago.

Its reputation may have wavered in recent years as the bigger brands cement their foothold in the dive watch market. But make no mistake, Doxa’s enduring legacy as diving pioneers will likely never veer off course. It’s a brand that harks back to a time when diving was raw, dangerous, and gloriously unpolished. When a functional dive watch could be the difference between coming back to the boat… or not, as the case may be.

And at a fraction of the cost of a Rolex Submariner (and without the torturous waiting time), Doxa presents the smart choice for any watch fan looking to add a piece of horological history to their burgeoning collection.