This One's Different! We'll Make It A Dive Watch...In Orange!

Courtesy of DOXA

How many times can you recreate (essentially) the same watch? That is clearly a question that the brain trust in Biel/Bienne is asking as DOXA offers up (yet) another tribute to Clive Cussler / Dirk Pitt. 

Priced at $2,990.

Here are the pertinents, straight from the source -

Technical data

MOVEMENT

Swiss mechanical automatic, self-winding
Power reserve 56 hours
Frequency 28,800 vph (4.0 Hz)
Decorated by DOXA

CASE

Stainless steel case
Diameter 45.00 mm x 47.00 mm
Height 11.95 mm
Screw-down crown
Water resistance 75 ATM / 750 meters / 2,460 feet
Stainless steel, screw down case back

INDICATIONS

Hours, minutes, seconds
Date

FEATURES

Sapphire crystal
Unidirectional rotating bezel (in feet)
Limited to 94 timepieces

BRACELET / STRAP

Stainless steel bracelet "Beads of Rice", folding clasp with ratcheting wetsuit extension
Lug width 21.00 mm
Additional NATO strap included in the box

DIAL

National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) logo stamped on the dial

When You Go To The Well One Too Many Times

Now in fairness, I will be the first to admit that I am biased. I did work indirectly for DOXA (Via Synchron) for three years. I was an active participant in two (one very notable) efforts to diversify the DOXA collection in North America beyond the SUB. In fairness, the DECO was pretty popular. A flieger was mooted, but removed from the site after only a week. The less said about the ill-fated Ultra Speed the better, that was a vanity project that simply did not pan out. I would be fair to say that, at least 15 years ago, the DOXA buying public had spoken, and they only wanted the SUB.

Courtesy of DOXA

Now back then, there were some sorta' clumsy efforts at branching into dive watches styled and sized for women. One squib was the Coralline. If memory serves it utilized NOS cases and was more of a miss than a hit. But it is also important, gentle reader, to bear in mind that those of us trying to sell DOXAs direct (Synchron) between 2000 - 2018 did so without the benefit of the largesse of the owners providing marketing monies or assistance. The partnerships with Project AWARE (via PADI), the Cousteaus via Ocean Futures Society in Santa Barbara -

When I bumped into Mr. Cousteau in downtown Santa Barbara

We did that on our own.

We had this absolutely crazy idea that relationships with our partners did not necessarily have to be transactional.

But it seems I've veered off topic. Let's right the ship! Today's topic is the DOXA SUB 200T Diamonds. I mean, c'mon! People love the DOXA SUB, and everyone loves diamonds...

Courtesy of DOXA

Now in fairness to the brain trust in Biel/Bienne - they have managed to expand their retail network beyond Watches of Switzerland. Although I will say it was a bit odd to see the DOXA booth at the Wind-Up NYC show not being manned by actual DOXA (or even DOXA adjacent) employees, but rather, they farmed it out to a third party - Analog Shift...

But again, back to the matter at hand -

Courtesy of DOXA

Now as far as jewel set watches go, if this is in your wheelhouse, then by all means on you go!
But this is where the DOXA strategy, in truth, leaves me somewhat baffled. In the (I believe) 5 years since the owning family took back the rights to the SUB, that is ALL that they have put forward. And in fairness, if that is the strategy, and the strategy is working - then more power to them. But with that said, it is sort of tragically ironic that if this is the "new" strategy? It was always the strategy of Synchron. 

Courtesy of DOXA

The SUB 200T Diamonds is available in 7 different colors. It is priced at $9,400 USD.

Here are the pertinents -

MOVEMENT

Swiss mechanical automatic, self-winding
Power reserve 38 hours
Frequency 28,800 vph (4.0 Hz)
Decorated by DOXA

CASE

Stainless steel case
Diameter 39.00 mm x 41.50 mm
Height 10.70 mm
Screw-down crown
Water resistance 20 ATM / 200 meters / 656 feet
Stainless steel, screw down case back

INDICATIONS

Hours, minutes, seconds
Date

FEATURES

Sapphire crystal
Unidirectional rotating bezel

DIAMONDS SETTING BEZEL

107 white diamonds – round / VS 1.30mm-1.50mm / F color
13 black diamonds – round / VS 1.30mm-1.50mm / F color

BRACELET / STRAP

Stainless steel bracelet "Beads of Rice", folding clasp with ratcheting wetsuit extension
Lug width 18.00 mm

DIAL

Mother of pearl dial

When I Think About Dirk Pitt, I Think About...

Cufflinks?

Courtesy of DOXA

Now, in fairness, maybe there are some folks out there who want these. But please allow me to provide you with some needed context -

When I first launched the Blog Formerly Known as Tempus Fugit, I went to BaselWorld and JCK and multiple brand dinners in Los Angeles. Invariably, there would be swag. More often than not, the swag would be divided by "his" and "hers". If it was Patek Philippe it meant the guys got a tie - which were always very, very nice. If it was Hermes, the guys often got a pocket square. And inevitably, there were the cufflinks. 

Now, beyond that, as someone who used to sell DOXA SUBs on behalf of Synchron in North America, I feel empowered to make the following statement -

The "typical" DOXA SUB customer back in the day (2005 - 2012) was a bit of a stereotype. Having done several events, as well as handling customer service, and writing a lot of the ad copy, I feel confident in this assessment. Almost exclusively men, who (if the Watch U Seek forum was anything to go by) were "manly men" who had they been born at the right time would surely have enlisted after Pearl Harbor, and punched a Nazi out on Normandy Beach. 

Courtesy of DOXA

So thank goodness that DOXA still knows and understands its customer base! 

Now, in fairness, I haven't worked even adjacent to the Jenny's (DOXA company owners) for going on 15 years. And it also seems that they have finally grown their retail network beyond Watches of Switzerland. They have enough SKUs to sink a boat, and if they ever decide to do something beyond a dive watch, who knows?

With that being said, $1,280 for a complete set of DOXA SUB cufflinks ($330 per pair if bought individually) seems a bit hopeful. With that said, I do know that there are guys out there who probably had Dirk Pitt tattooed somewhere on their person, and maybe even the Jenny fish logo, so perhaps there is a market...

A funny side story, I had worked HARD to get a one page feature in what was at the time the equivalent of The Rake, Men's Vogue. I was actually really proud of this because it was not an easy thing to get done. And my boss almost scuppered the whole thing as he tried to get the writer to add 1000 words to a 300 word piece. So I posted an image of the story on the DOXA forum and the "He Men" came out in droves! Comments like:

"Men's Vogue? Better check your man card! Haw-haw!"

A lot of years have passed, and with only a pistachio dialed SUB waiting to be released, the Jennys have certainly taken it farther than we were ever allowed to go. But this latest salvo, to be honest, I just don't know. But for those die-hard DOXA guys out there who need something to help dress up their "formal" t-shirt, it's nice to know that they'll have options...

The Hot Hand Fallacy

Realizing that many readers may not be familiar with the the language of basketball, let me inform you that the "hot hand" is when an individual player on a team has a streak of successful shot making. Meaning that individual player has the "hot hand" and the ball should keep being passed to her / him as they have had recent success and it should continue.

And now allow me to introduce you to the hard truth about the "hot hand", that being the hot hand fallacy, courtesy of The Decision Lab:

Summary

What it is

The hot-hand fallacy describes our tendency to believe that a successful streak is likely to lead to further success. For example, if a basketball player has made three consecutive shots, we may believe he has a greater chance of making the fourth than is actually likely. 

Why it happens

The hot-hand fallacy occurs because we believe that small samples of data are representative of larger samples of data, when in reality, this is not the case. We often look for patterns in sequences and find it hard to properly understand randomness and chance, causing us to make predictions based on reasoning that is illogical. 

Okay, so what's that got to do with watches? Well, I'm glad you asked!

The latest offering from DOXA has clearly struck a nerve in the hearts of DOXA fans. Unfortunately, probably not in the way that the guys and gals in Biel / Bienne were hoping it would.

Courtesy of DOXA

This is the SUB 300 Beta Sharkhunter. Or as described by the wordsmiths at DOXA:

Destined to defy dress codes, ready for any mission. The SUB 300 β Sharkhunter features a black ceramic case, 18K 3N gold bezel and crown – a tool watch engineering meets sleek urban flair.

I honestly don't know what "a tool watch engineering" actually means, but there you go.

As someone who used to work for Synchron (the company that had the rights to the DOXA SUB up until 2019), I have to be honest and say that it is not easy to be objective, but I'm going to try. DOXA is currently a bit of a one-trick pony. They make dive watches. Yes, several collections of dive watches (SUB), but that is basically it.  Orange, Yellow, Black and a few other sundry colors. The entry level price being around US $950. How well or not the current DOXA collections are selling is something that can't really be known by anyone other than DOXA themselves.

But let's get back to this little anomaly...

In fairness, I am not the ultimate demographic - that would be DOXA's CEO, a target market of one. But this is where we come back to the hot hand fallacy. In truth, I do not know how "hot" DOXA truly is, because that can only truly be gleaned from sales, not from praise-bloated press releases from a contracted PR firm. But let's say that the internal perception might be that everything DOXA HQ is putting out is solid gold. And if that is indeed the situation then the internal belief might be that design decision making paradigms are "solid state", i.e. that the shot-caller has the "hot hand" and should be given the ball to keep shooting. Whether or not that is, indeed the reality is something that is being vigorously discussed in several forums, but for our purposes it lands more on the "no press is bad press" category.

Now back to the watch itself. If this one is in your wheelhouse, it can be yours for just south of $7,000 US.

Here are the pertinents, straight from DOXA -

MOVEMENT 

Swiss mechanical automatic, self-winding, COSC certified Chronometer

Power reserve 38 hours

Frequency 28,800 vph (4.0 Hz)

Decorated by DOXA

CASE 

Black matt ceramic, chamber in titanium

Diameter 42.5 mm x 44.50 mm

Height 11.95 mm

Screw-down crown 18K 3N gold

Water resistance 30 ATM / 300 meters / 984 feet

Screw down case back in titanium

INDICATIONS 

Hours, minutes, seconds

Date

FEATURES 

Sapphire crystal

Unidirectional rotating bezel in 18K 3N gold with a ceramic bezel inlay (in feet)

BRACELET / STRAP 

FKM rubber strap, folding clasp in black PVD-coated, with wetsuit extension

Lug width 20.00 mm

DIAL 

Matte grained dial with black-on-black markings

Omitted History

Courtesy of DOXA

With DOXA's recent launch of the SUB 300T Clive Cussler, I was once again reminded of the short memory of the watch buying public (no offense), and the reality that well placed (i.e. funded) press campaigns can go a long way to paint vivid and compelling stories that while not not false, often leave out some key details. 

Courtesy of Bernard Watches

While it is wonderful that the Jenny family is putting some money and effort into the DOXA SUB collection, I continue to be fascinated by the painting out of Rick Marei's efforts to relaunch and promote the DOXA SUB. Well, gentle reader, as I was there for a lot of this let me try to set the record straight, or at least shed some light on a topic that lived in the shade far too long.

It was Rick Marei who went to the Jenny family and secured the rights to design, produce, and sell the DOXA SUB through what would become the reimagined Synchron group. While it is convenient to paint out his contributions, it is an inconvenient truth that without Rick Marei, the SUB would have remained dead and burried.

I also find it fascinating to see this new partnership with the Cussler estate. As the person responsible for promoting and marketing the SUB from 2007 - 2010, it would have been greatly helpful not to have to try and do it for $0 marketing funds ; )

But we were lucky, because Clive Cussler was always amenable to help us (Synchron). He was a subtle, but genuine ambassador for the SUB. Beyond the invaluable publicity received by DOXA via Clive Cussler's novels, it was Rick Marei (and those of us who worked with him at Synchron) who endeavored to form and maintain a friendly (but definitely grass-roots and under funded) partnership with Clive Cussler. There was a Clive Cussler edition of the 750 SUB back in the earlier part of this century. This had no noticeable branding beyond a not-so-prominent bit of extra engraving on the case back, and if memory serves it was a basic flourish added to an existing production piece to help goose along some sales. I do not know whether or not Mr. Cussler received anything beyond a watch (i.e. royalties). 

There was, of course, a Dirk Pitt model based on the 600T. There was the NUMA -

Courtesy of Worn and Wound

Which came in a few flavors. Blue (above) and a turquoise dialed version (below) -

Courtesy of Worn and Wound

And I vividly remember a rather undignified bullocking I received at BaselWorld 2009 from Rick Marei over his refusal to use turquoise for any other DOXA SUB as turquoise was spoken for (although he refused to say for whom it was reserved). If nothing else, while not demonstrating any real managerial brio, it did underscore his commitment to all things Clive Cussler. 

I continue to find it fascinating how nearly 20 years of history can magically vanish. It is true that the "winners" write the history, and that's fair enough. But at the same time, I believe in giving credit where it is due, even if it reveals a sin of omission.

Heroes And Villains 2021 - Villains Who Rewrite History

BBC - Credit Fourandsix.com

Regular readers will note, I worked (albeit indirectly) for DOXA from 2007 - 2010.

At that time, Synchron was, essentially, a licensee who had successfully negotiated the rights to design, order, market and sell a revived DOXA SUB collection from the Jenny family who owned the brand. It is worth noting that this essentially meant that Synchron footed the bill. The watches were manufactured by Walca, a white label company owned and operated by... the Jenny family! Marketing, promotion, after sales service? That was all handled by Synchron, who if we're being honest about things, paid for that privilege.

So with next to no money, we had to find any way we could to make sales and get coverage. 

Spoiler Alert -

We did! 

This was helped greatly by partnerships like the one with Project AWARE -

Which led to later partnerships with Jean-Michel Cousteau's Ocean Futures -

After 3 years, it became clear to me that despite the amount of effort I put in, the number of watches sold, and the partnerships I created Synchron wasn't really that bothered whether I stayed or went. 

So I went. 

History was revised, others painted their own images into the three year picture, and in truth? It was disappointing, but as that other great commentator on the watch business, Napoleon Bonaparte once opined -

Men are moved by two levers only: fear and self interest.

But then, what had "gone around came around". A new CEO was brought into DOXA/Walca, and he believed (and I think rightly) that there was much more money to be made on the DOXA SUB if the company did not license the name to a third party, and did it themselves. While not nearly the scale of value, it is not unlike when Gucci bought Gucci Watches back from Severin Wundermann. 

Photo credit Fourandsix.com

And that would have been fair play all around, but then DOXA served it up cold, with a recreation myth that would have made Thierry Nataf blush. Now don't get me wrong, I can honestly say that the Jenny family were well within their rights to make the change and take back control of the DOXA SUB. But to offer up a narrative that they (the current management team) are solely responsible for reintroducing the SUB, and DOXA to the general public and retail outlets is patently false. 

Am I a fan of Synchron? 

No, not really. But credit should be given where credit is due. Without Synchron, the DOXA SUB would never have surfaced. All of the people at Synchron (not just one despite what he may say or think) made it possible for there to be something for the Jenny's to hand off to a new CEO. 

So just what changed between Synchron and the new owner-backed management? 

Simple.  Money. If you plenty of money to spend on prototyping, production, media buys and the engagement of press agencies? Let's just say that money makes a lot of things possible. 

I am glad that the Jenny family finally decided to put some money into the brand, and hopefully DOXA is not solely existing on memo at Watches of Switzerland here in the US. And I sincerely hope that this latest iteration of the DOXA SUB continues to be supported by the brand's owners. 

With that said, in my own humble way, I would like to encourage the current regime at DOXA and their press agency representatives to stop painting all of the people who contributed to the DOXA SUB out of the picture. We were there, putting in the hours, and making something out of next to nothing for not a whole lot of money.  And no press release will change that fact.

"I want to say one word to you, Benjamin. Just one word."

The older members of the peanut gallery out there will recognize today's title from the 1967 film - The Graduate. Here's the quoted piece in context to today's topic:

Mr. Maguire: I want to say one word to you, Benjamin. Just one word.
Benjamin Braddock: Yes, sir.
Mr. Maguire: Are you listening?
Benjamin Braddock: Yes, I am.

Courtesy of DOXA

Mr. Maguire: Plastics.

Okay, in fairness, carbon fiber, but visit various DOXA and dive watch discussion forums, and you will find that the word plastic is being bandied about more than a little bit.

Well pals and gals, there's a fair bit to unpack here. In all honesty, this product release was, to be kind, not handled particularly well. As of 7:21in the AM (NYC) today, a visit to the DOXA online web store you would have seen that a lot of the product details had not been uploaded yet to the site. Apparently the SUB 300 carbon (apparently not a proper name designation, hence not capitalized) DIVINGSTAR has a movement, albeit one with ZERO description. But not to worry! There is an abundance of information on the strap -
FKM rubber strap, folding clasp, black PVD coating, with ratcheting dive suit extension, exclusive DOXA fish logo Lug width: 20 mm
And it's all yours for the low, low price of $3,890!

But wait!  According to A Blog To Watch, the price is -  3,790 CHF.  As I write this at 7:30 AM (NYC), that equates to $4,097.89 per XE Currency's conversion.

You may remember DOXA's run-away success with carbon fiber with their limited edition SUB 300 Sharkhunter -

Courtesy of DOXA

That SUB set sail a year ago, limited to 300 pieces. Let's say that this one sold more like the hotcake's sexier cousin, the waffle, as in not so hot. If the DOXA website is anything to go on, 300 pieces have not sold yet.

Courtesy of DOXA

Now once again, to be fair, DOXA is being managed with a vision of what they feel DOXA could be (a big time, popular in retail watch), and how they think they can get there. They have invested in advertising, and the more "malleable" members of the Fourth and Fifth Estate are more than happy to keep barking like seals so long as the fish keep getting tossed their way.

If the new SUBs turn your crank as a watch you want to own, you should not let ANYONE (yes, that includes me) dissuade you.

Shamelessly Borrowed

But I do want to hop in the WABAC Machine and take you back to the thrilling days of yesteryear when I worked for DOXA's North American license holder. The recipe for successful DOXA sales was actually a lot more simple than you might think -

• Launch either an Orange (Professional) or Black (Sharkhunter) first. 
• Remember that a HUGE number of your potential customers do not care one bit about watches, but have a visceral connection to Clive Cussler and Dirk Pitt.
• Conduct a "we want your opinion" poll on the forum that would artfully (albeit not so subtly) direct participants to choose the details that had  already finalized months before.
• Keep it relatively within the range of what people continually buy - which if I am being brutally honest in retrospect was the 1000, 1200 and 300.
• Build up anticipation - the majority of folks often flip their previous DOXA watches to pay for the new DOXA offering.
• Price it at something in the range of $2,300 BUT pull a Ron Popeil - 

Shamelessly borrowed from the world-wide info-web

• Use language like "special introductory price" and "pre-order" price.

I don't claim to know or really understand what motivated this latest offering from the folks in Biel/Bienne. And to be abundantly clear, I am neither on Team Jenny or Team Marei in the DOXA wars - I am a conscientious objector firmly on the side of Team Henki ; )

It is indeed possible that the other DOXA SUB watches are selling well. It may well be that retail in the UK is big, bold and beautiful! And in truth, it might be that DOXA is playing the long game, and willing (and able) to wait out the nay-sayers on the forums and win them over in the end.

We will wait, and we will see. But I don't think that this is the SUB that's gonna' move the needle.