Doxa Watches - The History of this Unique Brand

The Doxa Diving watch is a modern day brand classic. Well known within the diving world as well as that of watch collectors, it is appreciated for its technical innovations and that unmistakable orange dial. With such striking contemporary looks you could be forgiven for thinking that this was a watch created by young blood in the watchmaking industry reminiscent of the Corum brand perhaps, yet the history of the Doxa brand goes back one hundred and twenty years.

The Doxa company was founded in 1889 by Georges Ducommun. The ambitious twenty-one year old craftsman created high quality timepieces, initially pocket watches often with exquisite hand-decoration, progressing to award-winning wristwatches as the company earned respect and success.

Under its founder the Doxa watch brand became an innovator within the industry when in 1908 he patented an 8-day watch movement. This pioneering mechanical movement was placed in a larger case making it the perfect timepiece for the latest new leisure pursuits of that time - aviation and motor cars. One of the most famous names in motoring history, Bugatti used the Doxa 8-day movement instrument in the iconic Type 35 Bugatti.

The Doxa watch company came under the ownership of Jacques Nardin when its founder died in 1936. Nardin, the son-in-law of Georges Ducommun was the grandson of another famous watchmaker, Ulysse Nardin. Having had a history of timekeeping within aviation and motor racing, Nardin sought to take the Doxa brand into a new niche - that of the divers watch.

During the 1960’s diving, once considered to be a military activity was becoming a popular recreational pastime. Developed after consultation with the U.S. Diving Association, some of who had worked with Jacques Cousteau, the first Doxa diving watch, the Doxa Sub300t was unveiled in 1967. This diving watch surpassed any that had gone before it in terms of technical achievement and looks. With many new features including a unidirectional bezel, resulting in a no-decompression limit indicator, perhaps the most unique element of this watch was cosmetic - the Sub300t had a unique orange dial, perfect for legibility in mid-range diving depths.

The success of these essential diving watches although vital to the commerciality of the Doxa brand were not enough to carry the business through the quartz revolution and in 1978 the company was sold. The new owners Aubrey & Freres S.A. confined distribution of the range to Europe and output reduced dramatically.

Saviours of the company in the form of the Jenny family came when they acquired the business in 1997. Already familiar to the watch trade as they were the manufacturers of the Doxa watchcases, they set about reclaiming the heritage of the brand concentrating on the Sub models.

Since then many re-issues of this important functional timepiece have followed including more recently the Doxa Ultraspeed Limited Edition. Today the company is thriving under the new ownership, yet true to the proud heritage of the brand, Doxa are still innovators providing diving watches with the ultimate in modern safety features with more than just a hint of 1960’s style and kudos of the original Sub300t.

For further reading on this groundbreaking watchmaker, why not visit Watch Focus .