After much careful consideration I have narrowed my choices down to two watches.

I have good homage watches, or high quality copies of both of these watches and I adore them but now I want to step up to the real deal.

#1 The Doxa Sub 300T. This watch oozes 1960’s-1970’s vintage reissue coolness. It is the watch Clive Cussler’s character Dirk Pitt wears in all his books and even makes an appearance on Matthew McConaughey’s wrist in the movie Sahara. The Doxa is very similar in appearance to the Seiko SRP “Turtle” line of watches which is one of my all time favorites. The Doxa benefits from upgraded and improved components such as a high beat Swiss 2824-2 movement which is capable of superb accuracy and easy as well as affordable to maintain/service.



#2. The Tudor Black Bay 58 Blue. This is the scaled down, slightly thinner version of arguably THE most important watch in Tudor’s history. It has been one of their most successful watches and has brought the company a substantial amount of financial success as well as heaps critical acclaim. I have a Steinhart or two that are incredibly similar to this watch in that they have drawn inspiration from its case shape, size, hands and basic appearance but as wonderful as the Swiss made, German assembled Steinhart’s are (and they are truly superb watches) they just lack that special something that the Tudor Black Bay 58 has and abundance of.



I held a Black Bay 58 (blue dial) today and put it on my wrist and was shocked. I didn’t want to like the watch. It’s not cheap and I have watches that are quite similar to it. It is about 2x the cost of the Doxa but everything looked and felt right perfect. I should mention I have an homage that is nearly identical to the Doxa and it feels equally amazing.

I doubt I’ll get any movement on price with the Tudor from my AD as they are selling out there with quickness. This alone is making me lean towards the Doxa. I’ve considered buying online but for a purchase of this kind I am reluctant unless buying directly from the manufacturer as I would be doing with Doxa.

Question:
Money aside, which of these watches do you find most visually appealing?

Choices:
Doxa Sub 300T
Tudor Black Bay 58 blue

Question:
Let’s say orange isn’t your thing. The Doxa is also available with a black, blue, silver, yellow & aquamarine dial. If you could get the Doxa in a color other than it’s iconic and functional orange (it’s a dive watch and orange is VERY visible and easy to read underwater even without goggles when paired with black hands) would you change your choice?

Choices:
Yes
No, I’d still choose the Tudor Black Bay 58
No, I’d still choose the Orange Doxa

Question:
Which one would you get?

Choices:
The Doxa
The Tudor

 

Sounds to me like your heart wants the Tudor. It would be one thing is you just like the picture image, but you tried it on your wrist, and you describe it as perfect. I don't get a sense that you feel the same way about the Doxa.

Unless the utility of the Doxa is what you need, my take is that you go with your heart.

I realize orange is polarizing. (I’d get the orange but the aquamarine is also tempting me)

There are no Doxa authorized dealers to tempt me nearby so the Tudor does have a bit of an unfair advantage in this regard.




The reason I’d go with my gut and get orange. I’ve already got a damn good homage in aquamarine.

For me, I like the look of the Tudor but the strap on the Doxa. But of the two, I would get the Tudor based on cosmetics.

Doxa: too many numbers, lines, etc. And if the white on the hour hand indicates lume, then prefer the longer 'white' on the Tudor.

Tudor: Nice clean, traditional face and bezel. I'd prefer a darker blue but it's okay. And I actually prefer no date because I can't read it anyway (and I don't like adjusting it).

For me, Tudor hands down. But I'm not much of an aficionado.

ETA: I'm not averse to the orange (or yellow); I'd consider the Tudor in those colors.

Orange may be in style but dark blue will always be classic.

Just wish the Tudor was mo' thin.

The Tudor, I think. It's a classic look. I know the same could be argued for the Doxa, but the Tudor could be worn at any occasion, from daily wear to dress and everything in-between. I think the orange Doxa with a suit would look ridiculous. Then again, for me personally, it would be my one luxury watch and not even your first, and it's not like you don't already have options for every occasion.

As I understand it, Tudor, somehow, has a connection to Rolex.

Right now, finding a Rolex is hard as finding lips on a chicken.

I suspect that you will end up getting both.

Scratch the Tudor itch now while/when you can, and get the Doxa when you can/want to..

Best,

Jake

quote:

Originally posted by imadat:
I suspect that you will end up getting both.

Knowing stickman a little, I laughed pretty hard at that statement.

Tudor is owned by Rolex. They are using in-house movements in some of their models. There is no question, go for the Tudor. It will hold its value, and may also appreciate over time.

Plus it’s an awesome watch!

Everybody looks like this in a Doxa.

The Doxa has the coolness factor, even with the common ETA beating away in it. Makes it cheap to service.

The Tudor will actually appreciate in value as Rolex is the parent company.

The Tudor has a modern movement if it uses the 5602. It's made in Rolex's Kenessi factory and they are also supplied to Breitling, Chanel and Norqain.

I LOVE the groovy retro vibes of the Doxa, where the Tudor is screaming look, I'm ALMOST a Rolex.

Well Marzy...they all are really. If they aren’t just expensive watches with ETA movements (or clones of ETA) then they are REALLY expensive watches with in house movements that are more expensive to purchase and more expensive maintain.

They are amazing though. If Tudor would make the controversial move to put a display caseback on it like they did to their Ceramic cased Black Bay it wouldn’t even be a debate for me.

Personally I'd go with the Doxa. I've liked them for years and if not for the Omega PO I have, I'd have bought one.

Tudor, right or wrong, just feels too much like it's going to carry the stigma of wanting to be a Rolex. I've historically avoided Rolex because I don't want the attention/image they bring from some, and the Tudor just layers on the above issue IMHO. I've enjoyed having pieces that are in some cases more expensive/limited than a Rolex but nobody but a watch person even notices.

Not that the Doxa will go unnoticed, but it is its own self!

Thing is it doesn’t scream “I’m almost a Rolex” to me. Not at all. Right now Rolex makes nothing like the Tudor Black Bay 58. They (Rolex) are going in a different direction unfortunately with larger cases. If Rolex currently makes a 39mm case diver that isn’t too thin or too thick I am unaware of it. To me the BB 58 takes some design elements from their past and improves upon the flaws of the original Black Bay, which is IMO that it is too big and too thick.

The Doxa on the other hand completely flies under the radar of all but the most dedicated watch enthusiasts.

Money aside, I have no idea on MSRP of either.

Doxa in blue or silver, then Tudor, then Doxa in the other colors.

OK - I had no idea Doxa was an option in a decent variety of dial colors now. Very nice. Oh - and THANKS for making me look at all.

Ultimately you should get what you feel is something you'd most enjoy long term. Neither of these is likely to appreciate/hold value so try to envision still enjoying it for 5-15 years, not a few months.

For example, the yellow dial is unique and cool, and I could afford it. But I know I'd grow tired of it after a year or three and lose money on the backend, more than it's worth to me for the fun factor in the interim.

In full disclosure, there is one watch model that I have bought and sold twice. Not brand, the exact same model. Loved it, meh, missed it, loved it, not wearing if for a year, oh shit I've lost my mind. That is NOT wise financial planning. Not a high-dollar item, but still I tried to learn from that w/r/t long term vision.

Good luck, let us know where you land.

Snowflake handset on Tudor bothers me. I’d prefer a Mercedes handset like my Rolex. That being said if you can only get one, the Tudor is likely to not lose you money long term. But get both of course is the correct answer.

The Tudor is a classic design. Almost to the point it looks like every other watch out there. It’s a very safe watch.

The bezel on the Doxa is pretty cool. It is a decompression table for divers the inner ring is time and the outer ring is depth. While both watches are divers the Doxa is IMO more of the real deal and from everything I’ve read they are built like tanks.

I like to correspond to companies I intend to do business with to see what their C/S is like and how hard they are to contact. I sent Doxa an email yesterday with a few questions and they surprised me by the excellent communication and willingness to quickly and accurately answer all my questions.

Ever since reading my first Clive Cussler novel in the early 80s, I've wanted an orange Doxa. The Tudors just don't do it for me - they look like "I couldn't afford a Rolex so I got this one instead," but I do realize that is an ignorant attitude.

I joined the Clive Cussler facebook group, and there is a lot of Doxa pron there. They have the aquamarine face with a NUMA logo - it's a limited edition thing. I never knew Doxa had so many face colors.

Still, I would want the Doxa with the orange face like Dirk Pitt wears. I have NEVER seen an actual Doxa in real life (that I could recognize).