HANDS-ON: The DOXA SUB 200 C-GRAPH – the most colourful chronographs we’ve seen in years

Zach Blass

It is fair to argue that the two most popular watch categories that find their way onto the wrists of buyers around the world are dive watches and chronographs. Both have their merits and are classic staples of the watch industry, but what if there was a way to have both? The DOXA SUB 200 C-GRAPH not only presents a diver’s chronograph watch, but also brings forth the beloved spectrum of colour that DOXA has become known for.

The case

The DOXA SUB 200 C-GRAPH case is made of 316L stainless steel, has a diameter of 45mm and is 17.4mm thick (in part due to its boxed sapphire crystal). The rather short lugs of the watch make it wear much more compact than its 45mm diameter suggests.

It features a stainless steel unidirectional rotating bezel with a sapphire insert, providing a tremendous amount of scratch resistance in an attractive smooth and glossy form that really flatters the watch. The chronograph pushers, which traditionally have been a point of vulnerability in dive watches, are protected with gaskets and are quite short – which makes it harder for any accidental activation under the water.

The case has a lug width of 20mm, making it easy to pair new straps with the DOXA SUB 200 C-GRAPH (although the factory options are very hard to beat). The screw-down crown of the case ensures water resistance up to 200 metres (or 650 feet).

The dial

The DOXA SUB 200 C-GRAPH continues the brand’s legacy of injecting colour into professional watches: Orange Professional (the dial colour first introduced by DOXA Watches in 1967), Silver Searambler, Black Sharkhunter, Navy Caribbean, Yellow Divingstar, and Turquoise Aquamarine. With this amount of variation, there is sure to be a colour scheme to pique your interest.

The dial is composed of three chronograph registers, with a printed minutes track surrounding the dial. The register at 9 displays the running seconds, at 6 the elapsed hour, and at 3 the elapsed minutes. Each of the registers have a concentric radial pattern at its stepped centre. All of the hands and indices are coated with Super-LumiNova^®, providing a great deal of legibility to the wearer in darker settings.

The strap options

Each of the six colour variants of the SUB 200 C-GRAPH have two strap configurations to choose from. Option 1: You can tone down the colour with their iconic stainless steel ‘beads-of-rice’ bracelet, outfitted with a deployant clasp and diver’s extension – providing the wearer with the ability to make quick size adjustments to achieve a better fit or extend over a wet or drysuit.

Option 2: You can keep the colour party going with a dial-matching rubber strap that fits perfectly flush to the case. These new sporty, yet supple, rubber straps are highly resistant to the elements and are more than capable of taking on daily wear as well as the bracelet. The straps feature distinctive DOXA markings on both sides and is fastened with a tang buckle, engraved with the DOXA fish symbol. The rubber straps provides plenty of holes to situate the buckle, which gives the wearer a great amount of size adjustment.

The movement

The DOXA SUB 200 C-GRAPH is powered by the Swiss automatic chronograph movement SW150, which is a tricompax version of the SW500 and offers a power reserve of approximately 48 hours. This amounts to a robust and reliable level of timekeeping necessary for true professional watches.

Final thoughts

The DOXA SUB 200 C-GRAPH introduces a fun and compelling professional watch to add to your arsenal. The watch is a great candidate for your collection, especially if you’re looking for a bit of everything. Firstly, it has six colourways to choose from – all of which are attractive in their own right. You can opt for a conventional black, white or navy blue, or have a bit more fun with the yellow, turquoise or iconic professional orange.

Secondly, it tastefully blends two of the most in-demand styles of watches – providing both a diver and chronograph watch you can count on. It also doesn’t hurt that from the outset, you can choose from one of the best beads-of-rice bracelets in the business or one of the most well-built rubber straps that will perfectly blend into the dial.