DOXA SUB Army 200T For Hodinkee: The Military Legend Goes Everyday Size

With the SUB Army 200T For Hodinkee Limited Edition, DOXA revisits one of the most private chapters of its history. But rather than reproducing an exact replica of a late-1960s military watch, the brand and Hodinkee chose to keep its spirit while bringing it into the compact 39 mm case of the SUB 200T. A particularly coherent approach for a watch that, above all, is meant to be worn as an instrument.

At Passion Horlogère, DOXA is an old acquaintance. The Swiss brand and its dive watches have accompanied our pages for many years, whether through the legendary SUB 300, DOXA’s arrival on the French market, the reappearance of the Army, or, more recently, the SUB 300 Ti5 dedicated to Clive Cussler. So many subjects that remind us that DOXA’s legitimacy rests not only on a design recognizable among a thousand others, but on a history intimately linked to professional and military diving.

The new DOXA SUB Army 200T For Hodinkee Limited Edition fits precisely into this history. Presented on 30 July 2026, it marks the first collaboration between DOXA and Hodinkee. Produced in only 250 pieces, it is offered at a retail price of 2,000 dollars and distributed exclusively within the Hodinkee ecosystem and at Watches of Switzerland.

Before the Army, there was the SUB

To understand this watch, we need to go back nearly sixty years. In the mid-1960s, DOXA was working on developing a professional dive watch that could also become accessible to amateur divers. Driven by Urs Eschle and with the involvement of specialists including Claude Wesly, a companion of Jacques-Yves Cousteau’s underwater adventures, the SUB 300 and SUB 300T were born.

The recipe is famous today: a cushion case, a large minute hand, a functional bezel, and above all this orange dial that became a signature. At the time, this was not simply an aesthetic choice: tests carried out in the dark waters of Swiss lakes demonstrated the value of a particularly visible color in poor lighting conditions. The SUB quickly became one of the emblematic instruments of modern diving.

The military history begins almost simultaneously. In the late 1960s, the Swiss Army formed its specialized divers’ unit and adopted the SUB 300T Professional. DOXA now states that around 146 pieces were delivered to Swiss divers, whose watch was tied to their personal equipment. Passion Horlogère had already devoted a major feature to this episode of the brand’s history back in 2022.

The Army, DOXA’s other military watch

The DOXA Army is, however, a different chapter. In 1969, the brand developed a model specifically inspired by military requirements. The famous orange dial disappeared in favor of a sand beige dial, framed by a graphic checkerboard minute track. The case, meanwhile, received a matte black treatment designed to reduce glare.

We are then very far from modern PVD and DLC treatments. DOXA used a steel oxidation process that gave the case its characteristic black appearance. Over time and under the strain of service, this layer tends to wear away, gradually letting the raw steel show through again. These patinated pieces have precisely become among the most sought-after vintage DOXA watches.

Hodinkee notes that this Army was produced in very small quantities and mainly worn by support personnel attached to the combat divers’ unit, while the divers themselves happily kept their orange-dial SUB 300T for its excellent legibility. An important historical nuance: the Army is therefore not simply a militarized SUB 300T repainted in beige and black. It has its own identity. And it has become rare. Very rare.

2022: a first spectacular resurrection

DOXA had already revived this reference in 2022 with Watches of Switzerland. Passion Horlogère had presented it in its pages at the time. This first modern reissue chose a particularly demonstrative interpretation with a 42.5 mm matte black ceramic case, 300 metre water resistance, and a COSC-certified Sellita SW200-1 caliber. Limited to 100 pieces, it sought to visually restore the stealthy appearance of the historical model by replacing the oxidized steel with a much more contemporary material.

DOXA would later develop a permanent-collection steel Army, still in 42.5 mm, offered notably with a steel bezel and black ceramic insert or with a bronze bezel and green insert. The watch presented today with Hodinkee takes a rather different path.

39 mm: the most important change may also be the simplest

The new Army drops the 42.5 mm case in favor of that of the SUB 200T, which appeared in 2024. Its diameter thus drops to 39 mm, for only 41.5 mm lug to lug and 10.7 mm thick. Dimensions we had already particularly appreciated when this new generation of SUB 200T appeared, and which match a very clear market shift toward more compact dive watches.

This choice profoundly transforms the Army’s personality. It is no longer simply about owning a spectacular reissue of a historical military instrument. This new version becomes a watch that can reasonably be considered for daily wear, including under a shirt cuff. Hodinkee estimates that the overall wrist presence has decreased by about 10% compared to the vintage model. And this is probably where this collaboration makes the most sense.

A tool watch is not meant to impress while sitting in a box. It is supposed to accompany the person wearing it.

A patina imagined before it even exists

The other distinctive feature of this edition lies in its aesthetic treatment. Hodinkee did not try to exactly reproduce the very pronounced contrast between the beige and black of the original Army. The colors were deliberately softened. The dial takes on a textured sand tone, framed by the famous checkerboard outer minute track. The date disc is matched to a deliberately faded grey that Hodinkee simply calls “Hodinkee Grey”. DOXA’s characteristic large orange hands supply the necessary contrast and immediately recall the brand’s DNA. Same philosophy for the bezel. Against the current trend toward ceramic, DOXA and Hodinkee chose anodized aluminum. The choice is not only economical or nostalgic: aluminum can mark, scratch and evolve over time. In other words, it can age.

The minute markers were even preserved during anodizing so that the circular texture of the brushed aluminum shows through locally. The engraved numerals and the orientation triangle receive Super-LumiNova Old Radium, as do the dial indices. The idea is rather appealing: evoke, from day one, the appearance of a watch that has already been through several years of adventures, then let the owner add their own patina on top.

No decompression bezel

DOXA enthusiasts will immediately notice another difference. The famous “no-deco” scale, so closely associated with the brand’s SUB models, disappears here in favor of a conventional 60-minute graduation. This is not an aesthetic concession imposed by Hodinkee but a direct nod to the Army’s historical military specification. The SUB 200T case also means giving up the helium escape valve. It remains water-resistant to 200 metres, however, which keeps a genuine diving vocation for the whole watch while preserving that compact 10.7 mm thickness. Once again, coherence prevails over technical one-upmanship.

A Sellita with no showmanship

Beneath the engraved solid caseback works the well-known Sellita SW200-1a in Elaboré finish, decorated by DOXA. The automatic caliber runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour, features 26 jewels and delivers about 38 hours of power reserve. It handles hours, minutes, seconds and the date. No sapphire caseback. No movement put on display for the photographs. A decision perfectly suited to a watch that claims its origins as an instrument. Its movement is there to work, protected behind a closed caseback. This caliber is obviously nothing exotic, and some may find its 38-hour power reserve modest in 2026. But its wide availability, simplicity and ease of servicing ultimately fit rather well with the philosophy of a genuine tool watch.

Two straps for two personalities

The watch ships on a sand rubber strap, paired with a steel deployant clasp fitted with a rack extension for a dive suit. A second grey NATO strap is included. With an 18 mm lug width, the small Army can also easily accommodate strap changes, which should further reinforce its everyday-watch character.

A collaboration that avoids the simple color-swap trick

Watchmaking collaborations are countless today. Many amount to changing a dial color, adding a signature and artificially limiting production. This DOXA is more interesting. Hodinkee took a very particular historical model, then brought it closer to what an enthusiast might actually be looking for today: a reasonable diameter, a slim profile, an immediately identifiable aesthetic and enough personality to stand apart from the regular collection.

Above all, downsizing the case does not distort the Army. It may even give it back part of its reason for being. Because behind the military history, the sand color and the charm of the patina, there remains a very simple idea: that of a watch designed to be worn, scratched, wet and used. At 2,000 dollars, the DOXA SUB Army 200T For Hodinkee Limited Edition sits above a classic SUB 200T, but stays within the price range of the current collection’s steel Army models. Its run of 250 pieces and exclusive distribution should obviously appeal to collectors of the brand.

For Passion Horlogère, which has followed DOXA for a long time and had already told the story of the Army’s return in 2022, this new interpretation is above all a particularly logical evolution.

Less imposing, less demonstrative, perhaps even less “military” at first glance, it could paradoxically be one of the modern Army watches most faithful to the tool watch’s original idea: an instrument one eventually never takes off.

Specifications

Model: DOXA SUB Army 200T For Hodinkee Limited Edition
Reference: 804.10.031.29-SE17
Edition: 250 pieces
Case: 316L stainless steel
Diameter: 39 mm
Lug-to-lug length: 41.5 mm
Thickness: 10.7 mm
Lug width: 18 mm
Crystal: flat sapphire with interior anti-reflective coating
Caseback: screwed steel, specific engraving
Dial: textured sand with grey outer minute track
Lume: Super-LumiNova Old Radium
Bezel: anodized grey aluminum, unidirectional rotation, 60-minute graduation
Movement: Sellita SW200-1a Elaboré, automatic, decorated by DOXA
Frequency: 28,800 vibrations/hour, 4 Hz
Jewels: 26
Power reserve: approximately 38 hours
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date
Water resistance: 200 metres, 20 ATM
Main strap: sand rubber
Additional strap: grey NATO
Clasp: steel deployant with dive suit extension
Announced price: 2,000 USD
Distribution: Hodinkee / Watches of Switzerland

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