DOXA
1970s DOXA Sub 300T Searambler (Ref. 11899 4)
Doxa S.A. was founded in 1889 by Georges Ducommun as a maker of dress watches and other timepieces. In the late 1960s, Doxa decided to dedicate resources to produce a timepiece to be used exclusively for diving. Doxa consulted with various Navy dive teams and divers including Jacques Cousteau who was then chairman of "U.S. Divers." Doxa's innovative watches were quickly adopted by both commercial and military divers.
Jacques Cousteau, who at the time was the head of U.S. Divers, was so impressed by the Doxa Sub300T that he became a distributor of the reference in the United States and co-branded the dial of the Sub300T with the U.S. Divers logo.
The Doxa company was aimed to be the watch of choice for the emerging recreational diving community. With sturdy cases, high visibility dials, and smart bezel design, the Doxa Subs quickly became the watch of choice for recreational divers in both America and Europe. Doxa S.A. went through many acquisitions and changed ownership a few times over the years. Synchron bought Doxa in the late 1960s and added the brand to a group that also included Ernest Borel and Cyma, and was purchase again in 1978 by the Aubry Freres Company.
SPECS
Stock # | DXSEA300T | |
Brand | DOXA | |
Style | SUB 300T Searambler | |
Model | 11899 4 | |
Serial | 66XXXXX | |
Size | Men's | |
Material | Stainless Steel | |
Dial | Silver | |
Millimeters | 42 | |
Strap | Single-Pass Perlon Strap |
CASE & BRACELET
The strong case appears to have been very lightly polished and shows honest signs of use. The bezel shows some wear, the enamel appears to have been reapplied at some point to maintain its color. The crown is believed to be an early replacement. The case back retains all of its original factory engravings. The watch will come supplied on a single-pass perlon strap.
DIAL & HANDS
The silver is in beautiful vintage condition and displays a charming speckled patina throughout the dial. There are some very minimal hand drag mark on the right side of the middle portion of the dial however they are not visible to the naked eye. The tritium lume markers have taken on an attractive creamy patina and exhibit no degradation when inspected under U.V. light. The original hands match the dial, under UV light inspection the hour hand has been professionally restored with tritium to match the dial, the sweep-second's hand and minute hand retain the original lume and show no degradation.
ACCESSORIES
None. The watch is keeping time, previous service history is unknown.