Land Diver Society

There are many things in this world that you can love and hate at the same time. When it comes to watches, that is usually not the case for me. I either like a watch, love it, or hate it. Recently, I had the chance to spend time with a DOXA SUB 200 Sharkhunter with the polished stainless steel bezel. It ended up being a watch that left me with a lot of mixed emotions.

The short version is simple: I really love this watch. With a different bezel, I could absolutely see one staying in my collection for the long haul.

DOXA is a brand that I have grown to appreciate because of both its history and what it represents. The connection to Jacques Cousteau and the spirit of adventure, exploration, and seeking knowledge is enough to draw me in. Add in the brand’s military history, including use by members of the U.S. military, and there is a lot to like.

The SUB 200 measures 42mm in diameter, 46mm lug-to-lug, and 13.8mm thick. It offers 200 meters of water resistance, a unidirectional bezel, Super-LumiNova lume, and a sapphire crystal. On paper, it checks nearly every box I normally look for in a dive watch.

On the wrist, the watch wears much smaller than the specifications suggest. To me it feels more like a 40mm watch, helped by the compact 46mm lug-to-lug measurement. The case finishing is excellent, and the quality is consistent throughout. The black dial is clean, understated, and free of unnecessary text that clutters the design. It is easy to read, and everything lines up exactly as it should. The bezel is perfectly aligned, and there are no noticeable quality control issues.

The date window sits at 3 o’clock without a cyclops, which is my preferred setup. The white date wheel with black text works fine, although I think a black date wheel would have blended into the dial much better. Likewise, the slightly yellowed lume on the indices feels a little out of place against the otherwise crisp black-and-white aesthetic.

The black markers in some of the indicies improves legibility against the polished steel bezel, and overall the watch walks a fine line between being a capable dive watch and something you can comfortably wear almost anywhere. It doesn’t scream “dive watch” from across the room.

The beads-of-rice bracelet was probably my biggest surprise. I never expected to like it as much as I do. It is exceptionally comfortable, doesn’t pull arm hair, has no sharp edges, and the finishing is excellent. The polished center links contrast nicely with the brushed outer links. Screw links make sizing easy, and the clasp includes an excellent tool-free micro-adjustment system.

The screw-down crown and 200 meters of water resistance are more than enough for 99.9% of people. Sure, there are watches with 300, 500, or even 1,000 meters of water resistance, but the reality is that most people will never come close to fully using even a 100-meter watch.

Powering the SUB 200 is the Sellita SW200-1, a proven Swiss workhorse. My example averaged roughly -7 seconds per day with a 0.1 ms beat error after a week or two of regular wear. That is more than acceptable for me. Honestly, as long as a watch stays within about ±20 seconds per day, I’m happy. The SW200-1 is also a widely used movement, making future servicing straightforward and relatively easy.

So if I like the watch this much, why am I letting it go?

The truth is that I made a couple of bad decisions when I bought it.

The first mistake was choosing the polished stainless steel bezel. I hate it. The polished finish creates constant glare, makes photography frustrating, and simply isn’t my style. That’s entirely on me—I knew it was a gamble and wanted to try something different.

The second issue is the crystal. The domed sapphire crystal really needs better anti-reflective coating. I’m sure the dome works well underwater, but in everyday use it creates so much glare that reading the watch in bright sunlight becomes unnecessarily difficult. For a watch that I view as a tool, that is a real compromise.

My final complaint is the 19mm lug width. If you’re going to market a watch as a true tool watch, I believe it should use common lug widths like 18mm, 20mm, or 22mm. The growing trend of using 19mm or 21mm lugs makes strap changes more difficult for people who actually use their watches. You can squeeze a 20mm strap onto the SUB 200, but it is extremely tight and doesn’t look quite right. On its own, this wouldn’t stop me from owning the watch, but it certainly doesn’t help.

Ultimately, the polished bezel and the poor readability in bright sunlight are the reasons this watch is leaving my collection. The bezel is simply a matter of personal preference. Had I chosen a colored bezel or even a brushed steel bezel, I probably would have kept it. The glare from the crystal, however, feels like an actual usability issue rather than just a preference.

As I write this, the SUB 200 is boxed up and ready to head to its new home in exchange for a Seiko SPB477. Even with the negatives, part of me wishes I were keeping it because I genuinely enjoyed wearing it. I could easily see myself owning another SUB 200 someday—just in a different configuration.

Overall, I’d rate the DOXA SUB 200 a solid 7 out of 10. Improve the sunlight readability and it becomes a 9. Fix both the readability and the 19mm lug width, and for me it would be a 10 out of 10 and one of the best entry-level dive watches under $1,500.