Across the past few years Doxa has launched a Clive Cussler special edition watch to coincide with the birth date of the late adventure story author. The first few collaborations centred on the SUB 300T but as of last year they began to be a little more experimental with watches like the SUB 750T. For 2026, on what would have been Cussler’s 95th birthday, they are launching the SUB 300 Ti5 Clive Cussler, which introduces a new style of dial construction and the first full titanium case to the SUB 300 range.
Starting with the case, it measures 42.50mm in width with a 45.00mm length and 13.5mm thickness and is produced in full Grade 5 titanium. Doxa are no strangers to titanium, but it has been several years since they produced a full Grade 5 titanium case, and this is also the first such case in the SUB 300 line. It’s a natural pairing: the good strength to density ratio of titanium ensures a rugged, robust construction while making the watch more lightweight on the wrist, improving wearability. All of which is great for a chunky dive watch with 300m water resistance.
The overall style and structure of the SUB 300 Ti5 Clive Cussler’s case is the same as the standard SUB 300, with a unidirectional rotating bezel featuring a depth scale around the outer edge and a dive timer scale along the inside. However, there is a key structural difference on display and that is the dial. Rather than a single disk with applied Super-LumiNova hour markers, the SUB 300 Ti5 Clive Cussler uses a layered composition.
It’s similar in concept to a sandwich dial where the dial comprises two disks where the lower disk is coated with lume and the upper disk features cut-outs to reveal the lume below. However, in this case, only the main hour marker positions on the lower disk are lumed, but there are cut-outs for the full hour and minute scale. It adds an interesting three-dimensionality to the display where the interplay of light and shadow across each of the slot markers is integral to the legibility of the watch. The same layering has been used to create a border around the date window at 3 o’clock.
For colour, Doxa have opted for grey with a sandblasted finish that creates a clean, matte appearance. That’s paired with bright orange accents for the minute hand and depth scale on the bezel – the numerals for 15, 7, 31 on the date disk are also orange, which is Cussler’s date of birth. The hour and seconds hands are instead black so that they still provide contrast to the grey dial below, ensuring that the display is readable in various lighting conditions.
Beneath the new dial is the Sellita SW200-1 automatic, COSC chronometer movement. Being a chronometer means it has undergone rigorous testing in multiple positions to ensure reliability, providing peace of mind for a professional dive watch. It is a slightly older Sellita reference which means it still has a power reserve of 38-hours instead of the newer, upgraded reserve models. That would normally draw some criticism but because it’s a chronometer that can be forgiven as the benefits outweigh the small inconvenience of a lower reserve.
The Doxa SUB 300 Ti5 Clive Cussler Edition is priced at £2,890 and is presented on a black rubber strap inspired by strap designs of the 1960s. It’s a limited edition of 300 pieces, which was actually increased from the original plans to produce 95 pieces celebrating the 95th birthday. This change was, and I quote, “in response to strong demand”, which I can only assume came from customers during private previews. Additionally, the points of sale of this watch have been expanded to include Doxa’s authorised retailers in addition to directly from Doxa, which is a first for the Clive Cussler series. It’s awesome that interest in the Clive Cussler models has steadily built up steam over the past few years, especially as a portion of proceeds from sales go towards the National Underwater and Marine Agency (NUMA) founded by Cussler.
Price and Specs:
More details at DOXA.
What’s the DOXA Clive Cussler in U.S. $.?