Doxa
Doxa SUB 800 36 mm Mother-of-pearl Sapphire
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Doxa · SUB 800
Doxa SUB 800 36 mm Mother-of-pearl Sapphire
Reference 18133OR.68
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Doxa
- Collection
- SUB 800
- Model
- Doxa SUB 800 36 mm Mother-of-pearl Sapphire
- Reference number
- 18133OR.68
- Year / era
- 1953 · 1950s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Flyback chronograph
- Movement
- Automatic Powermatic 80
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Dial type
- Mother-of-pearl
- Strap / bracelet
- NATO textile strap
- Water resistance
- 100 m
- Limited-edition status
- Limited edition of 188 pieces
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 36 mm
- Case thickness
- 10.2 mm
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Bezel
- Bidirectional 24-hour Cerachrom
- Crystal
- Flat sapphire with Cyclops lens
- Dial
- Mother-of-pearl
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Diamond-set hour markers
- Bracelet / strap
- NATO textile strap
- Clasp / buckle
- Titanium deployant clasp
- Water resistance
- 100 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 59A — Automatic Powermatic 80
- Movement type
- High-frequency automatic
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 45 hours
- Number of jewels
- 40 jewels
- Complications
- Flyback chronograph
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, small seconds
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1953 – 1956
- Limited-edition quantity
- 188 pieces
- Current market information
- Thin secondary-market supply — pricing is set piece by piece at auction.
Designer
Emmanuel Gueit
Emmanuel Gueit came from a family of Geneva jewellers and was barely into his twenties when he drew the oversized Royal Oak Offshore in 1993 — a watch the house's traditionalists resisted and collectors turned into an icon.
Historical significance
Doxa SUB 800 36 mm Mother-of-pearl Sapphire sits within Doxa's SUB 800 line, introduced in 1953. It carries the house codes established since 1889 — sapphire crystal case case, mother-of-pearl dial and automatic powermatic 80 — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The case is finished by hand, alternating polished and satin-brushed surfaces in a single pass so the edges stay razor sharp.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
- The reference was originally planned as a one-year run and stayed in the catalogue for well over a decade.
The House
Doxa
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1889
- Founder
- Georges Ducommun
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Affordable & Tool Watches
- Major collections
- SUB 300, SUB 200, SUB 800, Army
- Signature technologies
- Anti-magnetic silicon escapement · Proprietary case-hardening and polishing · Certified chronometer regulation
- Famous movements
- Quartz · Automatic COSC chronometer · Automatic, 38-hour reserve · Automatic Powermatic 80
- Notable watches
- Doxa SUB 300 42 mm Blue Quartz (1987) · Doxa SUB 300 42 mm Meteorite 18k (1989) · Doxa SUB 300 42 mm Salmon Stainless (1986) · Doxa SUB 300 41 mm Green Sapphire (1966)
Brand history
Doxa has spent more than 137 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's SUB 300, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Georges Ducommun established Doxa in 1889, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Doxa calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1889
Georges Ducommun founds Doxa in Switzerland.
1899
Doxa earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Doxa to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Doxa enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Doxa continues to produce SUB 300, SUB 200, SUB 800 and other icons in limited numbers.