Doxa SUB 1000T Sharkhunter

I love a good dive watch and there are literally thousands out there. However, not many can lay claim to being the original commercial divers watch which is where the little known company called Doxa steps in. Being a watch geek and qualified diver, I just had to have one!

Doxa SUB 1000T black face

Introduction

The first decision I had to make was what colour to get. An orange face was the obvious choice but I already have the Seiko Monster filling that roll. So, when an all but new black faced 1000T showed up for sale on the TZ-UK forums back in May 2012, a deal was done and I was the proud new owner.

Doxa SUB 1000T wrist shot

My initial impressions were of disappointment; the watch looked much smaller than the dimensions suggested. However, I had been used to large faced Breitlings that look bigger than their dimensions suggest. The 1000T isn’t actually much smaller, it’s just thanks to that retro case design and thick bezel causing the face to be physically smaller which make the whole watch looks smaller. The more I wore the watch the more I have grown to love it and it suits my skinny wrists just right I reckon.

Construction

 

Doxa SUB 1000T caseback

The case is stainless steel and styled in only the way Doxa can, with a lovely 1970s look to it. The sides of the case are polished and the rest is brushed which gives a really nice contrasting finish. The case-back features the Doxa Jenny fish logo along with the limited edition number. It’s rated to 1000m and features a screw-down crown to help achieve this. There is no helium release valve on the 1000T. The face is encased by a slightly domed sapphire crystal which seems very tough and I’ve yet to mark it thankfully (unlike the bezel, read on!).

Bracelet

 

Doxa SUB 1000T clasp

I’m not usually a fan of wearing bracelets on my watches, so the fact I still wear this watch with one really says something. It’s simply lovely. It supports the watch perfectly and looks great with it’s brushed “beads of rice” links. The links are of the screw type and Doxa provide a screwdriver in the box to allow you to adjust the bracelet to suit.

The clasp is of the fold over design so won’t come undone accidentally and features a wetsuit extension should one be required. On a side note, I’d love to know what kind of wetsuit people are wearing to necessitate using the extension as it’s like adding nearly an inch of extra links; must be a very thick one! 

The Bezel 

 

Doxa SUB 1000T flacking paint and scratched bezel

The 1000T has by far the best unidirectional bezel I’ve ever had the pleasure of using on a watch. It locks into each increment (of which there are 120) solidly with absolutely no back slop at all. It also aligns perfectly with the internal markers on the face.

However, it seems to be made of a kind of stainless that marks horribly easily. I had read many reports online of this problem, so was expecting a few marks to appear but not to the extent they have. I soon discovered that wearing the watch in bed whilst sleeping would put lots of hairline scratches on it, so stopped doing that!

It doesn’t end there though. It seems exposure to salt water has, over the months, caused a parts of the orange and black paint used on the bezel markers and number to come off; not something one would expect from an expensive Swiss dive watch but again not that uncommon. I’ve always rinsed the watch after any exposure to salt, so find this a little disappointing.

Final word

Despite the problems with the bezel finish quality, I still love this watch. Now that it’s already suffering a few battle scars in the line of duty,  it’s become my go to watch for beaches or anywhere where water is involved. It’s already been on a diving holiday on the Great Barrier Reef where it was complemented on by the divemaster running the boat. I enjoy the history the Doxa brand has and will continue enjoying taking it to the depths where it’s makers intended it to go.

Doxa SUB 1000T scuba diving underwater