Lyre lugs, box sapphire, lume that quits in 30 seconds: the cheapest Doxa, bought for half price
Doxa is complete, bros
I never really wanted this watch. But I needed to complete the Doxa collection, so I had to have one. And now Doxa is complete: the 200, the 600T, the 300T and the 1500T. We don't need a 300 if we have the T, and I'm not interested in chronographs. This is the Sub 200, the cheapest of the bunch, and I really like it a lot.
List is £1,090 on the beads of rice, £1,050 on the rubber. Want the bracelet later? £290. The FKM strap? £250. What is going on with that? I put in a ridiculous offer and got this mint example, less than two years old, for £536. Less than half price. Let it be a lesson: look around for a while and you'll find one for a very reasonable price.
A facsimile of the Sharkhunter
Released in 2019, it's a golden-era pastiche of the largely unknown reference 11804, the Sharkhunter: 43 mm, 300 metres, Doxa's first dive watch, out in 1963 I think, four years before the famous Sub 300. Today's model has lost a millimetre and, strangely, 100 metres, but it keeps the beauty of the original. Gone is the domed plexi; here's a fantastic box-dome sapphire. 42 mm, they say 13.8 thick, it's actually 14, but don't be scared, most of that is the insanely domed crystal. 46 lug-to-lug, Sellita SW200, 40 hours. And out of my whole collection, this one keeps the best time: plus one to plus two a day.
Look at that bevel
Case design is paramount, and this one's wonderful. Brushed flanks swooping into twisted lyre lugs, like the old Seamasters. A high-polished bevel, that undercut, a brushed ring beneath the bezel. Superb. I love this case. And the bezel, sapphire inlay, tactile and clicky, is the nicest of all my Doxas, even though it's the cheapest.
The dial is matte black and sparse, two lines of text, Doxa and Sub 200. Just fantastic. I love that vintage font. In the review I called the baton hands absolutely proper. Looking again in the collection video? The handset is the only thing that lets it down. Not keen on that hour hand with the weird little thing. Perhaps a bit blingy, too. And I'd prefer a no-date, but we can't have no-dates any more.
Here to slag it off as well
I'm not here to sing its praises just because I love it. The bracelet is 19 mm, rather unfortunate, then flares up to 20 and refuses to taper. Stamped fold-over clasp, rubbish diver's extension, just awful. But the bracelet itself is extremely well made and comfortable, screw links, excellently done. Honestly, this is the one Doxa I think looks better on a tropic.
The lume, on this example from before Doxa improved it: awfully bad. The bezel lume wears off in about 30 seconds and the dial's a beige faux lume. Charged up it actually looks all right, and later on I'd say it's not that bad. Everyone just likes to hate on Doxa lume.
Verdict
Sharkhunter, Caribbean, Professional and Searambler: the only four Doxa dials I'd buy. White Pearl? Get rid of it. I do really love this Sub 200. Isn't he lovely? A Swiss diver for £600 or less, if you look. Stay freaky, bros. Never give up.
