The Doxa SUB 300T Sharkhunter Clive Cussler, the Second Chapter of the Story

Nothing does more for a brand’s image than having a famous name spontaneously endorse your product. Although Doxa was not the first Swiss brand to produce a professional dive watch, it was the first to introduce a dive watch with a unidirectional rotating bezel to ensure safe no-decompression ascents in 1967. Doxa’s SUB 300, with its massive tonneau-shaped case, rotating unidirectional bezel and bright orange dial, won the patronage of diving legend Jacques Cousteau and his team of Calypso divers. Another fan of the SUB 300 was American novelist Clive Cussler, whose character Dirk Pitt wore an orange dial SUB 300 on his adventures. Cussler, a passionate shipwreck hunter, would have celebrated his 93^rd birthday today, and Doxa celebrates with a new special edition, the SUB 300T Sharkhunter Clive Cussler. 

Clive Cussler’s (1931-2020) most famous character is Dirk Pitt, a marine engineer, government agent and intrepid adventurer involved in many maritime thrillers. As part of his kit, Dirk Pitt wore a robust Doxa SUB and, like James Bond and his famous Rolex and Omega divers, probably did more for the dive watch than any advertising campaign could have achieved.

Last year, Doxa paid tribute to Clive Cussler with a special edition of the SUB 300T. Surprisingly, the watch didn’t have an orange dial; instead, it featured a deliberately aged case, dial and bracelet. With its appealing worn and torn look, the watch looks like something Cussler might have salvaged on one of his many underwater adventures. Repeating the formula, Doxa releases another SUB 300T with a distressed stainless steel case and a black dial with a compass rose (because a Sharkhunter Doxa has to have a black dial).

With its 42.5mm diameter and thickness of 14mm, this resilient dive watch is the real deal. Fitted with a screw-down crown, a sealed caseback, a unidirectional rotating bezel to monitor dive times and a helium release valve, the SUB 300T Sharkhunter can fathom depths of 300 meters. Catching the late 1960s and early 1970s helmet-style case groove, the aged stainless steel case is surmounted by an industrial-looking bezel with a red no-deco scale followed by a black 60-minute scale and a pronounced saw-tooth profile for improved grip.

Clive Cussler’s fascination with underwater exploration led him to found the non-profit National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA), responsible for discovering countless shipwrecks. In honour of NUMA, the caseback is engraved with the names of shipwrecks and other artefacts discovered in the abyss.

For Cussler, the compass rose was more than a navigational tool and represented the spirit of exploration and new adventures on the horizon. In his honour, the black dial is decorated with a faded compass rose in the centre. In keeping with its dive watch credentials, the thick rectangular indices with white outlines and stocky hour and minute hands are treated with beige Super-LumiNova, as is the box tip of the second’s hand. The brand name and SB 300T inscription are white, while Clive Cussler’s name is red, matching the numbers on the bezel. Another detail that Cussler fans will enjoy can be found in the date window with red numerals for 7, 15 and 31 corresponding to the author’s birthday. The dial is protected by a flat sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating.

The worn and torn look extends to the stainless steel bead-of-rice bracelet with its aged folding clasp and ratcheting wetsuit extension. The presentation box emulates a book by Clive Cussler with a letter from his son Dirk Cussler and also includes a sportier black FKM strap with the same folding clasp. Powered by a no-frills but robust Sellita SW200-1 automatic operating at a frequency of 28,000vph, the power reserve is 38 hours.

Availability & Price

The Doxa SUB 300T Sharkhunter Clive Cussler is a special edition of 93 watches with a serial number engraved inside the lugs. It retails for CHF 2,050, EUR 3,350 or USD 3,250 – a portion of the proceeds will be donated to NUMA.

For more details and orders, please consult Doxa’s website.