The Doxa SUB 200 Grande Roma Edition

Dive watch specialist Doxa has been busy with collaborations lately. Retailer editions, small runs, watches tied to a place or a partner. We have seen it with the SUB 200 Azure and SUB 200 Dune created for Caribbean retailer Art of Time. Same watch, same idea, just a different flavour each time. Now the brand heads to Italy. The partner this time is Gioielleria Grande, an Italian luxury retailer. Together they present the SUB 200 Grande Roma, a limited edition that keeps the familiar SUB 200 design but adds a dark gradient dial and a caseback engraved with the Colosseum.

The SUB 200 itself plays an important role in Doxa’s modern lineup, and is one of the easiest ways into the brand’s family of dive watches. Its design goes back to the late 1960s, when Doxa made its name with serious diving watches used by professionals. The SUB 200 keeps that look today, but in a watch that is easier to wear and easier to get into. Now, talking of the SUB 200 Grande Roma, it goes for a darker and more restrained look.

The gradient dial moves from warm brown tones in the centre to almost black towards the edge, toning things down compared to Doxa’s usual bright colours while still keeping the strong legibility the brand is known for. Large applied markers and bold hands filled with Super-LumiNova make things easy to read in low light, while the date window sits at 3 o’clock.

Made from stainless steel and measuring 42mm across, the case follows the familiar SUB 200 profile. It is water-resistant to 200 metres and topped with a ‘glass box’ sapphire crystal that leans nicely into the watch’s vintage character. Just like other models in the collection, the steel bezel of the SUB 200 Grande Roma rotates in one direction and uses luminous markings for underwater timing. Flip the watch over, and you will find the detail that connects the SUB 200 Grande Roma to Rome. The screw-down caseback shows an engraving of Rome’s Colosseum, along with the ‘GRANDE’ text and individual numbering of each piece.

Housed inside the SUB 200 Grande Roma is the tried-and-tested Sellita SW200 automatic movement, offering around 38 hours of power reserve. The watch comes on Doxa’s stainless steel ‘beads-of-rice’ bracelet with a folding clasp and diving extension, and also includes a brown NATO strap in the box.

Limited to 50 pieces and priced at EUR 1,590, the Doxa SUB 200 Grande Roma is available exclusively in Italy through Gioielleria Grande boutiques and online at www.gioielleriagrande.it. For more details, please visit doxawatches.com.

Editor’s note: This article was written by Mohak Gupta, freelance journalist and writer from India.