Doxa Machines Its Legendary SUB 300 Diver From Titanium, Right Down to the Dial

Rolex had Sean Connery. Omega has Daniel Craig. Doxa, meanwhile, built its cult following on the wrist of a man who never existed. Dirk Pitt, the shipwreck-hunting hero of Clive Cussler’s adventure novels, wore an orange-dialed Doxa Sub across dozens of books and some 100 million copies sold, doing more for the brand than any marketing budget ever could.

Now, on what would have been Cussler’s 95th birthday, Doxa is paying it back with the new SUB 300 Ti5 Clive Cussler.

Titanium From Crown to Caseback

This marks the fourth watch Doxa has released in Cussler’s name, but it’s the first built on the vintage-correct SUB 300, the 1967 original that established the brand’s unmistakable tonneau-cased silhouette. It’s also the first SUB 300 machined from Grade 5 titanium, with the case, screw-down crown, and caseback all getting the lightweight treatment.

The proportions stay true to the classic recipe. You’re looking at 42.5mm across, a wearable 45mm lug-to-lug, and a 13.4mm thickness that includes the box-style sapphire crystal, a nod to the domed acrylic of the ’60s original.

Yes, Even the Dial

Most brands would’ve stopped at the case, but thankfully, Doxa didn’t. The brand decided to also build the dial itself from two stacked plates of sandblasted Grade 5 titanium. The lower plate carries the Super-LumiNova hour markers, while the upper plate is laser-cut so the lume peeks through from below. This treatment gives the gray face a shadowed, three-dimensional quality without sacrificing legibility.

Our favorite detail hides in the date window. The numerals 15, 7, and 31 print in signature Doxa orange, spelling out Cussler’s birth date of July 15, 1931.

Still a Tool Watch Where It Counts

Underneath the commemorative touches sits a proper diver. The patented dual-scale bezel pairs a no-decompression depth scale in orange with a 60-minute timer in black, the oversized orange minute hand carries over untouched, and water resistance holds at 300 meters.

Inside beats a COSC-certified version of the Sellita SW200-1, good for a 38-hour power reserve. The caseback wears the emblem of NUMA, the shipwreck-hunting nonprofit Cussler founded in 1979, along with each watch’s individual number.

Spec Sheet

Pricing & Availability

Limited to 300 individually numbered pieces, the SUB 300 Ti5 Clive Cussler is available now for $3,390, and for the first time in the Cussler series, you can grab one through authorized retailers rather than Doxa’s website alone. A portion of proceeds goes to NUMA. Head over to Doxa’s website to learn more.