DOXA SUB 300 Ti5: the icon gets lighter without losing its depth

There are watches you recognize before you have even read the name on the dial. The DOXA SUB 300 unquestionably belongs to that category. Its cushion case, its highly distinctive bezel, that imposing minute hand and, of course, its famous orange dial have formed an instantly recognizable signature for nearly sixty years.

At Passion Horlogère, we know this diver well. We notably wore it for a month back in 2021, from the pool to the beach, from hiking to everyday use, and found that beyond its status as a diving icon, the SUB 300 could also become a wonderful everyday companion.

Five years later, DOXA returns to its emblematic model with an evolution that, at first glance, might almost seem understated. Its name: SUB 300 Ti5. The design remains familiar, and so do the functions. But this time steel gives way to Grade 5 titanium. And this simple change of material could ultimately change a great deal once the watch is on the wrist.

A story that began in 1967

To understand this new SUB 300 Ti5, you inevitably have to go back to 1967. That year, DOXA unveiled a diving watch meant to make accessible to the greatest number solutions that until then had been essentially reserved for professionals. The SUB 300 would quickly establish certain codes that are now inseparable from the brand. The first is obviously the color. At a time when black dials reigned almost unchallenged over diving instruments, DOXA chose a vivid orange whose underwater legibility was then one of its main arguments. This functional choice would gradually become an aesthetic identity.

The other distinctive feature lies around the dial. DOXA’s famous unidirectional rotating bezel, patented by the brand, combines two pieces of information: dive time and depth. It thus allows the diver to relate these figures to the no-decompression limits established by the US Navy. Almost six decades later, this architecture remains at the heart of the new Ti5. And that is probably one of the main points of interest of this watch: DOXA is not seeking to reinvent its SUB 300. The brand is simply seeking to let it evolve.

Grade 5 titanium changes the game

The major change therefore lies in the three characters added to the watch’s name: Ti5. The case is now made of Grade 5 titanium, as are its screw-down case back and its crown. This material has several characteristics that are particularly relevant when it comes to designing a diving watch. It is roughly 40 % lighter than stainless steel, while offering high mechanical strength and excellent corrosion resistance. Seawater, humidity and temperature variations are precisely the kinds of environments in which this material shows its full value.

Grade 5 titanium is also used in fields as demanding as aeronautics, motorsport and certain cutting-edge engineering applications. But for the watch enthusiast, its most immediately noticeable advantage lies elsewhere. You only have to slip a titanium watch onto your wrist after its steel equivalent to realize it: the feel is different. And in the case of a SUB 300, that takes on particular importance.

The same dimensions, a different feel

Because DOXA has barely touched the historic proportions of its diver. The case thus keeps its 42,50 mm width and 45 mm length, while the thickness remains contained at 13,40 mm. On paper, these are dimensions already familiar to Passion Horlogère readers. During our test of the steel SUB 300 in 2021, we specifically highlighted the paradox of this watch. Despite the figures and a silhouette with real visual presence, it proved surprisingly compact once worn. Its cushion case and the way it hugs the wrist contributed greatly to that sensation.

Now imagine the same architecture stripped of a significant part of its weight. That is probably where the real evolution of this Ti5 lies. It is not so much trying to look different. Above all, it has to feel different. For a watch meant to accompany its owner through an entire day, a swim, a dive or a trip, the gain in comfort seems far from anecdotal.

Still a true SUB 300

For the rest, the fundamentals remain. Water resistance is still guaranteed to 300 meters, with screw-down crown and case back. The watch keeps its domed sapphire crystal of the “glass box” type, with an anti-reflective treatment, whose shape recalls the crystals used on vintage diving watches. The DOXA unidirectional bezel is of course still present with its dual depth/dive-time display. The relatively contained opening of the dial and the large minute hand also contribute to this instantly recognizable identity. The latter is not oversized for aesthetic reasons: underwater, it is indeed the precise reading of the elapsed minutes that matters to the diver. All the displays needed for diving also benefit from Super-LumiNova®, in order to preserve legibility when light begins to fade.

So we are still dealing with a genuine instrument. Simply lighter.

Professional, Sharkhunter, Caribbean, Redcoral…

A DOXA without color would perhaps no longer really be a DOXA. The Swiss house thus offers its new Ti5 in several of its most characteristic shades. The Professional naturally remains the most emblematic. With its orange dial, it probably embodies on its own the image that many enthusiasts immediately associate with the brand. The Sharkhunter, in black, takes on a markedly more discreet and perhaps also more versatile everyday personality. The Caribbean draws on a deep blue that is particularly consistent with the collection’s marine world. More original still, the Redcoral is dressed in an assertive cherry red that once again shows that the tool watch is not condemned to austerity.

The official DOXA website currently presents seven configurations, with the Redcoral and Whitepearl in particular allowing you to play on different strap colors. But among all these offerings, one version draws particular attention.

Whitepearl: let there be light!

Its name is Whitepearl. In daylight, its white dial already offers a rather spectacular contrast with the metallic gray tones of the titanium. But you have to wait for the light to drop to truly grasp its distinctive feature. Because this time, DOXA did not simply coat the hands and markers with luminescent material: the entire dial is covered in white Super-LumiNova®.

When the light disappears, it literally comes to life. The whole surface glows, revealing the hands and indications by contrast. The effect is spectacular, to be sure, but it retains a genuine functional justification. A diving watch must remain legible when the light diminishes. And rather than treating Super-LumiNova® as a mere decorative element, DOXA here makes it the dial itself. That is clever. And unusual enough to give this Whitepearl a personality very different from the other members of the family.

A COSC-certified Sellita SW200-1

Beneath its titanium case, DOXA remains faithful to a proven mechanical architecture. The SUB 300 Ti5 is driven by the Sellita SW200-1, a Swiss automatic-winding mechanical movement beating at 28 800 vibrations per hour, or 4 Hz. It has 26 jewels and delivers about 38 hours of power reserve. This autonomy may seem relatively classic at a time when some movements go well beyond three days. But here DOXA puts the emphasis on something else: precision.

Each movement indeed benefits from a chronometer certification issued by the COSC, the Swiss Official Chronometer Testing Institute. The movements are tested independently in different positions and at several temperatures in order to assess their consistency. In a watch that still lays claim to its status as an instrument, this certification obviously carries more meaning than a mere selling point printed on a spec sheet.

The Dive Flex on the wrist

Another visible change: the strap. DOXA pairs this collection with a Dive Flex rubber strap featuring a woven-like texture, offered in different colors to match the dials. The choice seems particularly consistent with the titanium. A heavy metal bracelet would have partly reduced the benefit sought by the use of a light case. The rubber, on the contrary, extends this pursuit of comfort while remaining perfectly suited to aquatic use.

A Grade 5 titanium pin buckle completes the set, and the lug width remains fixed at 20 mm. This configuration also reinforces the more contemporary character of the Ti5 without touching the watch’s original design.

Letting an icon evolve rather than reinventing it

The temptation is great, when a model approaches sixty years of existence, to absolutely want to “modernize” it. New design, different proportions, reworked dial, upended silhouette… DOXA does exactly the opposite here. Save for a few details, the SUB 300 Ti5 still looks like the watch that enthusiasts have known for decades. And that is probably what needed to be done.

Because the appeal of titanium is not really found in photographs of the watch. It appears when you pick it up, when you wear it, when you gradually forget its weight on the wrist. During our month spent with a SUB 300 in 2021, we had already been won over by the surprising versatility of a watch originally designed as a diving instrument. It had endured the beach, the pool, hiking and everyday activities without ever seeming out of place. This Ti5 seems to naturally extend that philosophy. Lighter, corrosion-resistant, water-resistant to 300 meters and still COSC-certified, it retains that instantly recognizable character that makes the charm of the SUB.

The DOXA SUB 300 Ti5 therefore does not revolutionize an icon. It perhaps does something smarter: it allows the icon to keep living with its time. And almost sixty years after its birth, that is already not so bad.

DOXA SUB 300 Ti5, Technical specifications

Case: Grade 5 titanium
Dimensions: 42,50 × 45,00 mm
Thickness: 13,40 mm
Lug width: 20 mm
Crystal: domed “glass box” sapphire with anti-reflective treatment
Case back: screw-down Grade 5 titanium
Crown: screw-down
Water resistance: 300 meters / 30 ATM
Bezel: unidirectional rotating, patented by DOXA, dual depth / dive-time scale
Movement: Sellita SW200-1
Winding: automatic
Certification: COSC chronometer
Frequency: 28 800 vibrations/hour, 4 Hz
Jewels: 26
Power reserve: about 38 hours
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds, date at 3 o’clock
Luminescence: Super-LumiNova® ; fully luminescent dial on the Whitepearl
Strap: Dive Flex rubber with woven-like texture
Buckle: Grade 5 titanium pin buckle
Variations: Professional, Sharkhunter, Caribbean, Redcoral and Whitepearl, seven configurations offered
Price: from 2 990 € ; the Whitepearl models are currently listed at 3 090 € on DOXA’s European website.

References:
Professional Orange: 823.50.351.21
Sharkhunter Black: 823.50.101.20
Caribbean Blue: 823.50.201.32
Redcoral Red: 823.50.161.20
Whitepearl / black Dive Flex: 823.50.011.20
Whitepearl / white Dive Flex: 823.50.011.23

Discover the DOXA universe

Frequently asked questions