DOXA diver dials ... is it a virus or just an obsession ?

[chrgod]

Impressive work on these dials. I am interested in a custom dial for my Seestern!

I have had a liking for the classic vintage Doxa Subs ever since I started collecting twenty years ago. At the time, I found them too expensive for the «simple» ETA movement inside… alas, they have become even more expensive over the years.

I bought a Seestern 300T V1, a very positive experience.

Now, the V2 is out. It has a lower bezel, lume pip and a black dial version. Couldn’t resist buying a black version.

 

[manodeoro]

Didn't posted here for some time ... I've been working on others projects


I regularly receive questions about the different Doxa dials I can make, the making process and how they can be used in the Seestern SUB 300 T hommage.
So here I spend a few minutes to summarize the various answers.

Compatibility of my Doxa dials with the Seestern case and the NH35 movement:
I work based on the exact dimensions of the Seestern case, dial size and rehaut opening.
I have not encountered any compatibility problem so fat, at least with the V1 version ... the dials fit perfectly and the date window is well centered with the date wheel.
It seems that the V2 version of the Seestern has a thinner case but "à priori" the size of the dial and the rehaut opening stayed unchanged, so everything should be fine.

Different possible designs:
So far I have designed 9 different models, 5 from Doxa era and 4 from Synchron era ... you can see them on the pic below and they are all vintage models.
Nevertheless ... I have recently started to work on some newer models, from Jenny era ... including the 2019 SUB 300 T Aquamarine which I hope to show you in a few weeks.

Process:
Every dial I make is individuallly hand printed and only on demand.
The delay can vary from 2 weeks to 2 months (I know ... it's a long time) depending on my own availability (I have a real life and a real job) and moreover on the availability of the dial plates ... currently I am in shortage of dials plates and I am waiting for a batch for more than a month (thanks to Covid19).
I prefer not to use the original Seestern dial to print, as the date window on the V1 is slightly off ... but it looks like on the V2 is better positionned.
According to the model I print I use 3 different dials plates
- chamfered date window for the Blacklung
- chamfered date window and silver sunburst for the Searambler (Doxa or Synchron)
- date window without chamfers for all others models
My goal is to get the final result as close as possible to the original dials.
The lume is off-white (but it can be colored) and the glow is low green to be consistent with the period.
The Seestern hands are originally lumed with a blue glow but I can relume them while I lume the dial for more consistency ... if you send them to me.

Doxa dials / ETA movements / Seestern case:
Basically 80% of the Doxa dials I make were for gen vintage Doxas, which were equipped with ETA movements, calibers 2472 then 2824 and only 20% were for NH35 movements.
This distribution has changed to 50/50 since the release of the Seestern but I still make dials for gen Doxa collectors (the last Blacklung I made was for Dr Peter "Doxa" Millar).
So YES ... I can make dials for ETA movements !!! except for the Searambler because I still haven't found a good base dial plate (silver sunburst with chamfered date window for ETA).
The NH35 has a diameter of 27.5mm and the ETA 2472 and 2824 measure 25.6mm, so you can use an ETA in a Seestern case but you will have to find or make a custom movement ring.
The hands of the Seestern can be used without modification with an ETA 2472 because the dimensions are the same (H: 1.50 / M: 0.9 / S: 0.21).
With an ETA 2824 it will be necessary to broach slightly the tube of the seconds hand, because the pinion of the seconds of the ETA 2824 is 0.25mm.
Of course I need to know which ETA caliber will be used, as 2742 and 2824 have different dial feet positions.

I hope this hleps with all the questions you might have but feel free to ask if needed.

 

[manodeoro]

Hi guys ... something new, and pretty rare, could be posted here in the next few weeks

Let's start where it begun ...
Mid 2018 Michael Stockton wrote a paper about the SUB300 Silver Lung reissue on fratellowathches.
The so-called "Silver Lung" was, virtually, a silver Serambler with a Blacklung logo aded on the 3rd quarter ...

SUB 300 T Searambler "no logo" - early Doxa era




SUB 300 T Searambler "Aqualung" - Synchron era



SUB 300 Silver Lung - 2018 reissue


BUT ... all this is about "something else" ...
In this paper Michael Stockton shared a pic of 2 vintage Doxa dials, circa 1967, showing a Blacklung dial and Searambler with a Blaclung logo ... that picture had been first posted on instagram by a Doxa collector ...
What catches the eyes with that old Searambler dial, apart from the Blacklung design and logo with a "searambler" writing, is the specific sunburst ...
That dial doesn't look silver like the other Searamblers but sort of "yellowish" or "goldish" ...


The first time I saw that pic I knew that I would try ... somewhere along my Doxa journey ... to make such a dial

I had already prepared the print design for that one some months ago


And that was all about that ... I had postponed the project because of the goldish sunburst effect I needed ...
AND ...
Next week I've decided to take my chances and started to prepare a blank dial plate and I definitely LOVE the result :thumbsup:
That goldish sunburst looks so nice that now I'm afraid ruin everything while printing the dial
But I can't stop so close to the end so next weekend I'll put a really thin layer of semi-matte varnish over the sunburst and start the printing process ... firstly the off-white dot that will enhance the blacklung logo and then ... please wish me good lucks guys ...

 

[JohnBranon]

Hi!

I published here some times ago to find a Doxa style case for an ETA-2824. I never find one, and I really wanted to keep the 2824, to save feets of my Ollech & Wajs dial. I found my happiness at Ernst Westphal. Here's the result, the dial is still in the spirit of Doxa

 

[KJ2020]

Hi guys ...please wish me good luck ...

Wow, that's one beautiful dial bro. It's an amazing feat to bring an old dial back from the past looking that good. I absolutely love the NOS look. Best of luck, exciting project!

 

[manodeoro]

Hi!

I published here some times ago to find a Doxa style case for an ETA-2824. I never find one, and I really wanted to keep the 2824, to save feets of my Ollech & Wajs dial. I found my happiness at Ernst Westphal. Here's the result, the dial is still in the spirit of Doxa

Maybe I can help you if you're not in hurry ...
I'll have one of the V2 Seestern case in hand next week or the week after ... AND ... I have 2 Blacklung dials for DOXA 118 movements on my workbench
For those who don't know :
- Doxa 118 movement is an ETA 2472 with only specific marking and engravings.
- ETA 2472 has the same diameter than the 2824-2 ... it is just a little thicker (5.3mm vs 4.6mm) and has almost the same stem height (1.85mm vs 1.80mm)
So, if you want, I can try to fit the ETA 2472 with a Blacklung dial in the V2 Seestern case.
If it works than I can vouch you can use an ETA 2824-2 and fit it on a Seestern case.

 

[manodeoro]

Wow, that's one beautiful dial bro. It's an amazing feat to bring an old dial back from the past looking that good. I absolutely love the NOS look. Best of luck, exciting project!

Thanks buddy ...
At lunchtime break I paid a visit to my tag paint dealer and I think I've found the perfect candidate for the "off-white" dot under the blacklung logo ...
It's called "Blanco Malta" and sort of dirtied pinky white ... I'll make some spray tests next week ... thrilling

 

[JohnBranon]

Maybe I can help you if you're not in hurry ...
I'll have one of the V2 Seestern case in hand next week or the week after ... AND ... I have 2 Blacklung dials for DOXA 118 movements on my workbench
For those who don't know :
- Doxa 118 movement is an ETA 2472 with only specific marking and engravings.
- ETA 2472 has the same diameter than the 2824-2 ... it is just a little thicker (5.3mm vs 4.6mm) and has almost the same stem height (1.85mm vs 1.80mm)
So, if you want, I can try to fit the ETA 2472 with a Blacklung dial in the V2 Seestern case.
If it works than I can vouch you can use an ETA 2824-2 and fit it on a Seestern case.

That would be extremely nice. At worst, just the internal measures Thanks to you.

 

[Manray]

Seestern 300

 

[sebman]

I just found this thread and I must say, wow! You are doing superb work, manodeoro!

 

[manodeoro]

That would be extremely nice. At worst, just the internal measures Thanks to you.

You're welcome ...

BTW ... I just thought about the fact that NH35 is not only larger than 2824-2 (12''' vs 11.5''') but it's thicker too (5.3mm vs 4.7mm) ...
So, apart the fact that the stem height could differ I don't see why you could not fit an ETA 2824-2 movement in a Seestern case ... and we know that some members have swap Asian 2824-2 for NH35 without problem, so the stem height shouldn't be an issue.
The real problem should be the movement ring ... having one custom made with 32.8mm outside diameter (to fit the Seestern case) and 25.6mm inside diameter (to "friction fit" the ETA 2824-2) should be a simple solution.

 

[manodeoro]

I just found this thread and I must say, wow! You are doing superb work, manodeoro!

Thank you ... I'm just trying to do my best and to improve my skills ...

 

[Magget]

That would be extremely nice. At worst, just the internal measures Thanks to you.

I have successfuly fit an ETA 2824 in a Seestern case and I used a plastic movement ring from a Miyota movement (like in the picture) I had in my parts bin and modified it a bit to fit over the ETA dial lock mechanism. There was a bit of play between the plastic spacer and the seestern movement holder so I used a thin o-ring and squeezed it in to the gap to make it more secure.

If you want to do it more seriously a custom movement holder would be a good choice or find a NH-ETA adapter. I found them on eBay but they seemed a bit overpriced.

 

[acidrain33]

Look what I found here. Seems like my man Shirryu listed another product.

I was looking forward to the day he finishes his version of DOXA sub.

Nearly everything model he made will sell all the parts in its individual afterwards, in his alternative Taobao shop specifically for parts.

In this way, I don't have to buy Seestern or Tactical frog or whatever it is, with their entire watch to do mods. And extra parts remained.

For 300￥ or 47$, with a nice top hat sapphire crystal. And a sterile caseback.

And well, maybe not so authentic based on the info given by manodeoro. But hey, it's pretty budget friendly I guess.

This is his Taobao store btw: https://shop432009555.taobao.com/se....99ae7422EyIHKr&search=y&orderType=newOn_desc

[DATA WARNING] Following images are exceptionally long, will consume a lot of data.

https://imgur.com/a/8RTwHMk

A sneak peek

 

[Manray]

It`s the same case as in here:

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005003584913867.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.57422e0e07hVFO

Only the outside bezel ring rotates.

 

[acidrain33]

It`s the same case as in here:

https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1005003584913867.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.57422e0e07hVFO

Only the outside bezel ring rotates.

Just talked to Shirryu, he originally just wanted to make a batch of DOXA sub of his own.

And the cases are from Heimdallr. Hence the funky bezel. Yes, TF is an alternative sub-brand under Heimdallr.

Showed him this thread, and talked about the possibilities making more authentic parts.

And of course, some necessary fixes on the case. He seems pretty keen on it. So, maybe good news?

 

[manodeoro]

acidrain33 interesting ...
case looks thin and the lugs are not drillthrough so it could be a good candidate for a late 60ies SUB 300 ... unfortunately the bezel is off ...

what I'd really like is to get contact with the factory that produce the Seestern cases and order some sterile cases ... with sterile caseback AND sterile bezel ...
if I could do that I could make the correct engravings, both on caseback and bezel, for every dial I print ...
I've sent emails to Seestern about that but no answer ... to bad ...

 

[acidrain33]

acidrain33 interesting ...
case looks thin and the lugs are not drillthrough so it could be a good candidate for a late 60ies SUB 300 ... unfortunately the bezel is off ...

what I'd really like is to get contact with the factory that produce the Seestern cases and order some sterile cases ... with sterile caseback AND sterile bezel ...
if I could do that I could make the correct engravings, both on caseback and bezel, for every dial I print ...
I've sent emails to Seestern about that but no answer ... to bad ...

I think it's not impossible. Let me pull some string.

Their primary domestic brand is Sugess, mostly making dress watches and random homage stuff.

Saw their boss flexing the 62mas homage back in September in chat group. And no news after that.

Probably decided two different routes for two different countries' market.

Come back to you guys with further updates.

 

[KJ2020]

I get email notifications from Craft + Tailored. This video was the topic for today. I thought there would be some interest here.

 

[manodeoro]

KJ2020 nice watch ...
nevertheless ... I love Doxas but if I'd go for a bulky orange quartz diver my choice would be a Heuer 908.007 professional ...