Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Doxa Sub 300T Searambler 'Aqua-Lung', c. late 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- DOXA (maker)
- Date
- c. late 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 42 mm
- Stock no.
- 40991304
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Analog/Shift (40991304)
- Catalogue title (original)
- DOXA Sub 300T Searambler 'Aqua-Lung' (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Analog/Shift (dealer), New York (stock number 40991304), this is a wristwatch by DOXA, made in Switzerland, dated c. late 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 42 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Analog/Shift
We aren't shy about our love of DOXA here at Analog:Shift. In fact, the original inspiration behind Analog:Shift was squarely centered on DOXA! In any flavor, any color, from the classic orange-dialed Professional to the stunning silver-dialed Searambler, we love 'em all. While perhaps not as well-known as the Blancpain Fifty-Fathoms or the Rolex Submariner, the DOXA Sub series played an integral role in the development of the modern diver's watch. The first generation of the model, introduced in 1967, brought innovations we now take for granted - a uni-direcitonal bezel with the US Navy's no-decompression dive timing marks engraved, an expanding bracelet, brightly colored hi-legibility dial and an oversized luminous minute hand to name but a few. The DOXA 'Professionals', which features bright and stand-out orange dials, is perhaps the most ubiquitous and sought after configuration of the line age. This particular example, a 300T, dates to circa the late 1970s, after DOXA was absorbed into the Synchron group, as evident by the group's logo on the signed 'ratcheting' clasp. The 42mm cushion case and bezel assembly remain in excellent, honest condition, with a recently professionally touched-up bezel, and a crisp sunburst silver Tritium dial with the 'Aqua-Lung' logo in the lower left quadrant. Clean examples of vintage Sub 300s such as this one truly do not surface often, and we never miss picking them up if we can. Don't miss out on this fantastic example!
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Wristwatches
Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.
After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.
What to look for
- The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
- The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
- Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
- Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
- Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
- Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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