Page Dimensions

Approx. 8 1/8" x 11" (20cm x 28cm)

Story and Details

A DOXA isn’t your typical dive watch. Yet it may be the best… Arguably the best of its time. The original DOXA SUB 300T was introduced at Baselword in 1967 after undergoing intense development for several years. It turned out so good that it became standard equipment for the most famous diver and underwater adventurer, Jacques Cousteau, who ended up being the sole distributor of DOXA dive watches in North America through his company, U.S. Divers.

I've only dredged up three full-page advertisements featuring vintage DOXA dive watches. Two of these are in color and have the yellow U.S. Divers Company logo printed on them, the perfect co-branding that speaks to how DOXA watches were marketed and likely ultimately sold back in their heyday. And if the ringing endorsement of Cousteau’s company wasn’t enough, a recreational or master diver might get swept up in the waves of great copy. Lines like, “tested to the depths of 990 ft. and temperatures to 76 degrees below zero!” Beyond its seaworthiness, the ad seems to promise men that wearing a DOXA will "tell the whole world what kind of man you are.”

The boldness of this ad doesn't stop at that extra-large image, showing a new adaptation of their dive watch, the DOXA SUB 200 T. GRAPH, which came out the previous year. Equally as bold as that signature fluorescent orange dial is the hyper-masculine tagline at the bottom, "It's a man's world." Certainly a statement that would rock the boat today.

It’s important to note that this specific ad is printed on a back cover, so it always has some scuffs, dents, and marks... the kind of character you might expect to find on a 50 year-old, fully-exposed page. Just like you’d expect to find a few scratches on an original DOXA.