In Doxa collecting, it simply does not get better. This is a Sub 200 T. Graph ‘Sharkhunter’, thought to be one of fewer than 30 Sub 200 T. Graphs known to the market. Moreover, this ‘Sharkhunter’ (Doxa’s name for black) dial is the rarest of the lot. In the words of Dr. Peter Millar, who literally wrote the book on Doxa, it’s ‘the rarest of an already rare breed.’ A handful are known. Well, now, a handful plus one. And this plus one is untouched, new to market, from its original owner who happens to be a famous blues musician.

The 200 T. Graph hails from the era when Doxa were at their height, just after the 1967 Sub 300 had seen widespread commercial success, being worn by US Sealab Expedition divers, the French Navy’s Marine Nationale, and even Jacques Cousteau on several expeditions. In 1968 Doxa joined forces with a few other names, Eberhard, Borel, Cyma, and a few others to form the Synchron group, created effectively to share bits and make everyone more competitive. Doxa took advantage of this partnership by nicking Eberhard’s calibre 310-82 from the Contograf, one of the last manually wound chronograph movements with a date (at 6, and column wheel no less). Remarkably, the beastly case sported 200m water resistance despite no screw-down crown or pushers. It’s a mammoth chunk of steel at 42.5mm, quite the theatrical occasion on wrist. Every detail of the quirky dial optimized for legibility from the huge tritium plots to the unique subdial hands and yellow track. In many ways, the 200 T. Graph was created to be the Doxa halo-product. Today, they’re impossible to find.

Famously, a 200 T. Graph was the personal watch of NASA astronaut Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon. That really tells you everything you need to know about the sort of person who wore Doxa in period. Not just divers, but adventurers: people who had a job to do. The bright, bold design and clear legibility led this example to a different path: owned its whole life by the influential American blues musician Otis Taylor, who could read it easily on stage. Yes, this actual watch was his. It’s one of the most special time capsule divers we’ve ever handled, for both the reference’s history and this example’s provenance.

This example is in excellent original, unrestored condition. The case sports a moderate level of surface wear but with no significant bashes visible, just an even light patina all over. Caseback numbers are not polished off and still easily legible. The bezel still holds both tritium and its original orange enamel no-decompression scale. The dial is beautifully preserved, with no visible damage or water entrance (this one was not dived with) and all printed scripts visible. The tritium is entirely original, on dial it is perfect. The minute hand has two thin lines where the tritium has cracked through entirely, which should be noted. The same can be said of the arrow-shaped chronograph hand, which has a pinprick spot. Most 200 T. Graphs have been relumed or had tritium fall through entirely, it's really quite rare to find one this original with respect to the tritium. If concerned, many service centers can perform a 'stabilization' on tritium like this to preserve the look and stop any further degradation, or indeed relume the hands though we wouldn't personally recommend it. The movement has not been serviced recently, however is running well and within spec, and therefore we've chosen to leave it as is. The chronograph runs and resets well. It comes on the pictured simple stitch grey suede strap, otherwise this Doxa is sold as watch only.

This watch is modeled on a relatively large 7.7 inch wrist.

• Brand: Doxa
• Model: Sub 200 T. Graph
• Reference: N/A
• Size: 42.5
• Year: c. 1968
• Case Material: Steel
• Movement: Manual Calibre 287, Eberhard 310-82 Ébauche
• Scope: Watch Only