Anyone here own Doxa? Does brand rep make a difference?

[haakon59]

At the WUS and EOT watch forums another controversy is brewing about the company's censorship of the forums they run.

Despite the fact that many Doxa owners praise the watch and it's design and quality once they have one in hand, the company seems to attract negative feedback all the time because of the way they treat customers

Personally, I have hesitated several times now because of stuff like this. Omega, Breitling, and Rolex are the brands I trust and my feeling right now is that I am better off with any of these brands than I would be with Doxa. I feel this way even though I know that people who own Doxa divers really like them.

Ever have this happen to you?

Doxa just increased their prices 33% as well. Just about every time I get to feeling comfortable with their brand image, despite my knowing they do a good job making the watches themselves, something happens which sinks it. Maybe I am being too sensitive or picky. Still, if I compare them with Breitling, Omega, or Rolex, well, there doesn't seem to be a real comparison. Now I am thinking that The Superocean might be my next diver. I have to laugh at myself, maybe I just need to buy from a relatively "quiet" company right now.

[Bama]

I have wanted a DOXA for sometime now. I like the look and have read such good reviews but I have never heard that criticism of the company before. That's good information. I look forward to hearing from others who might know something about this. Thanks.

[Solo118]

Cool watches

[montecristo]

They reminds me of seiko monsters.

[KJacques]

This is one of the few watches that I actually would like to have. But then again that comes from being a long time Clive Cussler fan. There's almost no way I can resist a watch that Dirk Pitt (or Cussler for that matter) wears. It's been years since I've been SCUBA diving, but if I got back into I'd probably pick one up. It's a bit too focused a watch for me to want to just wear one around. But I sure do like it.

[haakon59]

Originally Posted by KJacques

This is one of the few watches that I actually would like to have. But then again that comes from being a long time Clive Cussler fan. There's almost no way I can resist a watch that Dirk Pitt (or Cussler for that matter) wears. It's been years since I've been SCUBA diving, but if I got back into I'd probably pick one up. It's a bit too focused a watch for me to want to just wear one around. But I sure do like it.

Me too, I agree with you. That's why I am so torn about it. Now I already have a lot of divers, so I don't actually "need" any more. Still, to me the Doxa is a quintessential dive watch and I want one and I have never owned the brand yet, but just about every time I get close they ruin it for me. Oh well.

[Bama]

Originally Posted by KJacques

This is one of the few watches that I actually would like to have. But then again that comes from being a long time Clive Cussler fan. There's almost no way I can resist a watch that Dirk Pitt (or Cussler for that matter) wears. It's been years since I've been SCUBA diving, but if I got back into I'd probably pick one up. It's a bit too focused a watch for me to want to just wear one around. But I sure do like it.

I agree I'm a big Clive Cussler/Dirk Pit fan and this is probably one of the main reasons I'd love to own a DOXA. Unfortunately I have never tried one on or seen one in person - only photos online. I own several divers including the LV Sub - just the kind of watches I like and a DOXA sure would be a unique addition.

[gmt 16750]

Yeah the Doxa is a cool dive watch but I've never heard any real big complaints against the company before????

[KJacques]

Originally Posted by gmt 16750

Yeah the Doxa is a cool dive watch but I've never heard any real big complaints against the company before????

Damn. I'm going to have to get one of these. And it is going to have a bright orange face. I just had a flashback to being a kid and seeing these watches in the U.S. Divers ads and catalogs from the 70's.

[Alcan]

Originally Posted by KJacques

It's been years since I've been SCUBA diving

Kevin, from your avatar it looks like you're into skydiving now. Remember, an out of air situation is MUCH more serious for a skydiver than for a SCUBA diver!

[nodnarb757]

That looks very similar to the Seiko 6139 on the right in this pic

[gmt 16750]

Originally Posted by Alcan

Remember, an out of air situation is MUCH more serious for a skydiver than for a SCUBA diver!

Aint that the truth!

[oldman2005]

I own a Doxa 600T which do like, it looks pretty good and different from other watches, I got it for a pretty good deal and can sell it for a small profit but won't do so. All the reissued Subs holds its value pretty well and some even increase in value. There's a lots of questions regarding Doxa handling of Limit Editions, price increases, services, spare parts,...But this what I see: Doxa Sub is a good diver watch even after the %30 increased, and people are still buying them religously, so I would go for the Doxa, here's a pic of my Doxa:

[mickiratt]

It does seem that DOXA has been going through some growing pains recently. They are about to break into retail distribution with their reissues, hence the price increase. I've always liked the brand and I believe I will own one someday, for sure. I can see where some have reservations currently because of the steep price increase. For the first time in recent history, their dive watches are approaching the same price level as Omega and Breitling, which are both chronometer grade. Nevertheless, I am still intrigued with the watch and it's history.

[Henry T]

I have bought and traded the 600T to a friend, but still keeping the Caribbean 750T. I have no issues with the watches or Doxa's service thus far.

As to their reaction to some forum members' posts (deemed negative to some), I can only say that it takes two hands to clap. Some issues could have been easily solved via emails.

Unless one lives next door to Doxa Switzerland one have to accept that it is very different dealing with them than say, with a mortar & bricks AD face to face.

Personal interaction with spoken words coupled with facial expressions and body language can help resolve most disputes. But be careful, it can also lead to fisticuffs. With Doxa the consolation is that you can't punch them in the face long distance, even if you wanted to. Defending a law suit can be expensive.

[astcell]

All the Doxas seem to be remakes from 1967. So are today's watches just copies and worthless compared to the originals?

[haakon59]

Originally Posted by astcell

All the Doxas seem to be remakes from 1967. So are today's watches just copies and worthless compared to the originals?

That's a good question. I imagine the highest collector value is going to be on the originals. But the remakes have a fairly low supply as well with most models having production runs of 5,000 units. Personally, I don't look as much at collector value but focus more on how much I like the watch and how well made it is. The only brands I know of who do consistently well on the used market are Patek Philippe and Rolex. Yet the reality is that there are many excellent brands out there: why isn't Vacheron Constantin rated higher for example, when they make watches just as good as PP? Since I don't follow the used market consistently, I can't tell you how well the recent Doxas are doing but I think the resale is OK, comparable to other brands. If resale and collector's value is important to you, I would guess you would be much "safer" targeting the original models. If you are more interested in a functional cool diver that you plan to actually use in the water, I would buy the recent models.

[Henry T]

Originally Posted by astcell

All the Doxas seem to be remakes from 1967. So are today's watches just copies and worthless compared to the originals?

They are re-issues in theme with some common features like the bezel, hands and case shape.

If I decide to sell mine at 5 bucks there'll be a queue of buyers one mile long. So, it is not worthless.

[gasman]

I've owned a Doxa Sharkhunter for 18 months now. Its general bulid quality appears to be as good as a Seamaster.
However, after 6 months the winding crown snapped off as I was winding it up. Doxa tried to blame me saying I wasn't careful enough with it.
I eventually sent it back and they repaired it under warranty, apologising for its malfunction but they weren't keen to pay the £90 postage charge and it was 6 months before they finally settled with Fed-Ex.
I can't find a watchmaker in the North of England prepared to service it though, even though its just an ETA movement.

[haakon59]

Originally Posted by gasman

I've owned a Doxa Sharkhunter for 18 months now. Its general bulid quality appears to be as good as a Seamaster.
However, after 6 months the winding crown snapped off as I was winding it up. Doxa tried to blame me saying I wasn't careful enough with it.
I eventually sent it back and they repaired it under warranty, apologising for its malfunction but they weren't keen to pay the £90 postage charge and it was 6 months before they finally settled with Fed-Ex.
I can't find a watchmaker in the North of England prepared to service it though, even though its just an ETA movement.

I have heard these types of stories many times before, which is why I hesitate even though it's likely the vast majority of their watches will never have a problem. Mainly, I think they need to tweak the way they present themselves to customers when a problem comes up.

I am surprised you can't find someone locally to service an ETA movement watch though, just about any watchmaker should be able to handle it. But I have to admit I have never been to England, so I have no idea. Glad that in the end things worked out for you. I also hope you enjoy trouble free ownership from here on.

[mickiratt]

Originally Posted by gasman

I've owned a Doxa Sharkhunter for 18 months now. Its general bulid quality appears to be as good as a Seamaster.
However, after 6 months the winding crown snapped off as I was winding it up. Doxa tried to blame me saying I wasn't careful enough with it.
I eventually sent it back and they repaired it under warranty, apologising for its malfunction but they weren't keen to pay the £90 postage charge and it was 6 months before they finally settled with Fed-Ex.
I can't find a watchmaker in the North of England prepared to service it though, even though its just an ETA movement.

Maybe your local watchmakers do not have the equipment to properly pressure test the watch back to specs, not sure though. I find your service situation to be unfortunate. I have read of many who were very impressed with their after the sale service and rated it top notch. Oh well, it seems every brand has good and bad service stories. Great watch nonetheless!

[lhanddds]

Originally Posted by haakon59

Me too, I agree with you. That's why I am so torn about it. Now I already have a lot of divers, so I don't actually "need" any more. Still, to me the Doxa is a quintessential dive watch and I want one and I have never owned the brand yet, but just about every time I get close they ruin it for me. Oh well.

Brand new to this forum, have had Rolexes for years (one for about 27) and I want to tell you that you would love a Doxa. As you, I have been casually looking at them for 2 to 3 years. Finally I found an orange (it's got to be) 600 T Pro and I think it's just great. It has a real different look than my other watches. I also love the bracelet. I actually was referred to this forum via the Doxa forum at WUS. They show up fairly frequently on the bay. Give 'em a try.

[haakon59]

Originally Posted by lhanddds

Brand new to this forum, have had Rolexes for years (one for about 27) and I want to tell you that you would love a Doxa. As you, I have been casually looking at them for 2 to 3 years. Finally I found an orange (it's got to be) 600 T Pro and I think it's just great. It has a real different look than my other watches. I also love the bracelet. I actually was referred to this forum via the Doxa forum at WUS. They show up fairly frequently on the bay. Give 'em a try.

Thanks for your suggestion.

[DancingBear]

They are just tops in my book, ande I've owned Rolex for about 17 years. Have not had any problems with the movements or getting them serviced locally. My experience is that they run with great accuracy, and if you are around the water, and underwater, nothing beats a Doxa.

[T Bone]

Hello Gentlemen. I recognize several of the usernames here from other forums. Perhaps some of you recognize mine as well.

You've probably figured by some responses here that this thread was linked over on the WUS Doxa Forum. So, I thought I might register so I could share some of my own observations.

I own five Doxa's, four modern and one vintage (no, the modern "reissues" are anything but worthless copies of the old models!).

As to the price increase, this was simply a necessary step to bring the company to retail brick and mortar AD's (can't very well get dealers to invest in the brand when the factory is selling online at 30% off now can they? And that's what's happened, they've simply started to sell only at retail from Doxa to facilitate the move to retail shops, which is just beginning). This will be a long slow transition. Don't expect to see them at an AD near you anytime soon. Keep in mind, Doxa is a very small company, having produced under 20,000 of the various reissue watches in the last five years). But their goal is indeed to get to where you can go into a local AD and see, feel and judge for yourself the product, without having to order over the net sight unseen.

As to service, I've heard service nightmares from all of the following companies (and others): Omega, Panerai, Breitling, Doxa, and even Rolex. I've not had any of these personally, but they do happen. I've only dealt with Breitling and Doxa (my two main brands as of now) and have had good experience with both.

I did have the crown issue show up on my 750T Professional (the orange one). I was winding it (almost a year old) and was surprised when the crown came off in my hands. This tunred out to have been a known issue that has occurred with a certain group of ETA movements (unsure if batch numbers were able to facilitate a recall, but none was ever issued AFAIK). But Doxa was very good about repairing the watch under warranty and retuning it to me in about 2 weeks total time (including shipping), even though I was 2000 miles from home, in the Western US.

I also had a problem with my 750T GMT Divingstar (the yellow one) when a case clamp came loose. This happened when I dropped the watch (it was one of the first of a new model released) about 1/2 meter. It is pretty obvious the clamp was not properly installed. Doxa USA again repaired this and returned it to me very quickly, even though shipping was very expensive, as I was in Baghdad Iraq at the time!

I've found these watches to be a great value when bought at the discount, which is why I bought four during the low priced period. Though I doubt I'd lose a dime selling any of them, I have no intention to do so. I also find them quite addictive . Then again, I've never sold any watch (guess I'm a hoarder, not a flipper).

Haakon59, the Breitling Superocean is a fine watch and a great choice (still can't figure out why I don't have one yet!). They've got an HRV (no, the vast majority of us have no use for it, but it is cool nonetheless). They are rated deeper than the Doxa's (current models of 750m and 1000m) at 1500m or 5000 ft. It's a really good choice, and one of Breitling's best values.

The Doxa has a uniqueness others lack though. The diving history of the brand is legendary, the current build quality, fit and finish is very satisfying. It has a retro look which does not appeal to everyone. But most of us find ownership of them very satisfying.

On the service front, I've seen many going out of their way to mention how good their experience has been. I think there have been problems, and hope (and think) efforts to clean up their act (and in some cases attitude) have been and are still being made.

In all, I for one decided I would not let the sour experiences of some other WIS (some of whom I know and respect) prevent me from owning a watch I found very desirable. I'm glad I made that decision.

Thanks for allowing me to come here and state my opinion. Just one humble Doxaholic's story of pride in ownership.

A few pics of my Doxa's to look over....

Partial group shot


SUB 750T Professional


SUB 750T GMT Divingstar


SUB 750T Sharkhunter


"Military" Sharkhunter


Vintage 300T (Restored)

[Lol-x]

Those Doxa watches look very cool thanks for sharing the photos guys

[JJ Irani]

Great collection of some very colourful dials there, pal.

Welcome to TRF and thanks for sharing those fantastic pics with us.

Cheers - JJ

[gmt 16750]

Originally Posted by T Bone

"Military" Sharkhunter

Hello T-Bone and welcome

Thats a fantastic looking Doxa

[karwath]

As you can tell from my signature I have 4 DOXAs.

I suppose every brand has its proponents and its distractors.

My experiences with DOXA have all been top rate. I would not have bought 4 watches if I had any problems. I have not had any service needs, so I can't say anything about that, but as far as personal attention and service, I was interested in getting a Divingstar (yellow) GMT and the web site said they were all gone. I sent an email to see if they were really out. I was told they were. However, a few weeks later they found out they had one left and contacted me and offered it to me. It was offered at the price (the discounted, non-retail price). I bought it and it is one of the most accurate of all of my watches.

I also ordered a hat and it did not arrive after a few weeks and so I sent an email and they said the first one might still arrive, but they sent a second one anyway, and then the next day the first one arrived so I have two hats.

BTW they ship your watch in a different manner and they send you a tracking number and it usually is just a few days between it leaving DOXA and it arriving to you. The hats are shipped via a less expensive courier with no tracking.

As far as how they run the DOXA forum over at WUS, I saw a few things going on over there that bordered on, or were clearly, ill-motivated defamatory posts made by trolls trying to cause trouble. I have no problem with any forum moderator deleting that sort of stuff and in fact I think it is the proper thing to do.

I think that the DOXA watches are unique looking, and they are built to take lots of hard use. I will no doubt buy another DOXA watch.

[Letsgodiving]

I was recently in the market to buy a high quality dive watch and looked at the Doxa line which I have always loved. I seem to remember reading on the Doxa website that they only keep spare parts for their watches for 10 years which turned me off.

I eventually went with the Sea Dweller. It is my understanding that Rolex maintains parts for their watches for 30 years after they discontinue them.