Hands-On: The Doxa SUB 750T – A Big Watch That Wears Just Right

Last year, Doxa released a new SUB 750T “Clive Cussler” model and, shortly thereafter, additional variations in all the brand’s signature colors. With new specs, many fans of the brand were impressed; others may have overlooked it because of its very similar look to the iconic SUB 300, SUB 300T, and even the SUB 1500T. At 45mm with 47mm lug-to-lug, the new stainless steel cases are noticeably larger than the 42.5mm by 45mm SUB 300, which has a cult following, but the SUB 750T takes a 23-year-old idea and makes it thinner and a lot more comfortable on the wrist. 

For those of you who read my stories (and don’t just look at the pictures), you’ll know that I’ve slowly been coming to terms with the fact that, as a 6’7″ tall guy (2 meters, for everyone else), I should take advantage of the fact that I can wear a lot of the oversized watches other people wish they could. Big Pilots, Radiomirs. I’m coming around to the idea of them all. But there’s a difference between big for the sake of it and wearable. 

The SUB 750T does everything I like so much about the SUB 300, with a bit more impact, and left me wondering if it’s not the better choice for me. While I had access to a few of the eight colors released by the brand, I gravitated toward the orange “Professional” and blue “Caribbean” for the shoot. 

The full color suite can be seen online, but the two colors shown here (plus the silver “Searambler” or black “Sharkhunter”) will likely be the most frequently chosen options. The dials, with their sector-style design, raised, black- or white-printed indices, bold hands, and steel dive bezels with a “no-deco” outer bezel edge, look like everything most people think of when they think of Doxa.

But the real treat here is the thickness, or lack thereof. When the watch was launched in its original form in 2002, it measured around 14mm thick. For context, below is a comparison of the new SUB 750T (at the bottom) with Doxa’s most overbuilt version of this design language, the SUB 1500T. While both watches have the same diameter and lug-to-lug, the new model measures only 11.95mm thick, while the 1500T is a whopping 16.25mm. By shaving off the excess 2mm from the original, Doxa found the sweet spot between visual maximalism and a thinner profile.

For just shy of $2800 on a bracelet, I’d argue it’s a pretty solid price, though maybe a bit over the mark—that said, everything feels like that these days. And I do think you should always buy a dive watch on a bracelet, even if you might not wear it that way most of the time. 

While I like the idea of putting the watch on a mesh bracelet like James was smart to do, Doxa’s own bracelet with a deployant buckle and ratcheting wetsuit extension is plenty comfortable. For another $440, you can pick up a rubber strap with its own deployant. The only downside here is that the lug-width is 21mm, which for some people means buying a whole new set of NATO straps.

On my 7.25″ wrist, it’s hard to deny that the SUB 750T could be a better fit for me than a SUB 300. The extra 2.5mm wide and 2mm lug-to-lug over the SUB 300 (which, for years, I’ve been meaning to buy) fills my wrist quite well, and the thickness, only 0.05mm thicker than the Tudor Black Bay 58 that I spent years wearing, means that it looks big without actually being as monstrous as a lot of over-built watches. 

While Doxa does a great job of sharing measurement specs, they could do a better job of conveying their movements, at least on their website. The specs are largely there, but the name isn’t, so let’s clarify that. The watch is powered by a Sellita SW300 automatic movement, decorated by the brand (according to the website), but you won’t see that due to the closed caseback (which is engraved). The 56-hour power reserve is decent, and the 4Hz beat rate is fair as well. However, the movement is not certified with any specific accuracy, which is a shame. For $2,230, you can get the same movement in a Formex Reef diver with COSC certification.

There’s no doubt that no one needs 750m of water resistance. While you always want a watch with a bit more water resistance than you actually need, 332.35m is the deepest a human has ever gone in a SCUBA dive. Just like 3900m-rated Rolex Deepsea or the 11,000m-rated Deepsea Challenge, it’s more about the visual than anything truly practical. But unlike the Rolexes (which are, frankly, incredibly impressive technical achievements in depth-to-thickness, especially the Deepsea), the Doxa might be even more impressive as a sub-12mm-thick dive watch, fit for a larger wrist. And at $100 cheaper than the SUB 300, it might be the choice some buyers have been waiting for.

For more on the Doxa SUB 750T, visit the brand’s website.