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

[SteveMcQueen1930]

I also received my Seestern today. It‘s definitely a very well made watch especially if one considers the low price.

Pros:
+Bezel layout as per gen Doxa
+Bezel action is very smooth and almost no free play and positioned accurately at 12 o’clock (my Tactical Frog bezel is very firm and it takes a lot of force to turn. Also on the TF it isn‘t aligned properly to the 12 o‘clock marker and has a lit of backlash).
+I like the flat sapphire. Also it has no annoying AR ( if it has AR, it it colorless).
+the hands seem to be in good quality (better than on the TF)
+ other straps than the BOR can be installed easily (on the TF V1 it is almost impossible to install a strap because the lug holes are to close to the case).
+the BOR has at least female endlinks (however, in total, the BOR quality / construction is as crapppy as on the tactical frog; maybe even from the same bracelet supplier).
+lume is quite strong
+an additional tropical style rubber strap is included

Cons:
-thicker case than the TF (but still like gen Doxa)
-caseback could be finished a little bit nicer

All in all a very nicely made watch and definitely very recommended to all Doxa fans.

 

[SteveMcQueen1930]

Some more pictures of the Seestern.
It comes on a nice metal movement holder, which makes removing the movement/ dial assembly very easy. It seems that the date printing on the luminous datewheel is slightly on a too small radius.

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Also some pictures with another homage dial installed:

 

[manodeoro]

Hehe my Seestern has arrived, overall quite pleased with it!
manodeoro This dial seems to have the date window a bit closer to the edge? Perhaps it can achieve the vintage gen Aqua Lung dial look without needing a compromise on hash marks there?

Both Tactical Frog and Seestern come with an NH35 movement so the date windows are probably at the exact same place ...
I guess the difference may be the rehaut interior diameter ... probably a tad smaller on the Seestern than on the Tactical Frog ...
WeiKoh semperfi55 ... could you kindly make some measurements ?

If my guess porves to be true then ...

Seestern would be the perfect candidate to receive a Blacklung dial that has no minutes marks close right of the date window







Tactical Frog (with the new "FEET" bezel) could be good to put any other vintage Doxa dial ... that all have minutes marks close right of the date window

 

[sharko92]

WeiKoh from where I'm sitting the case and gaskets look well done. Would you have confidence in the 200m water resistance from what you've seen ?

 

[SteveMcQueen1930]

manodeoro : Yes the inner rehaut diameter of the seestern is about 1,5-2mm smaller than on the Tactical Frog. I will need a caliper to measure it more exactly.

@sharko92: 200m seem to be possible if one considers the built quality of the seestern. However, only a water pressure test can verify that

 

[manodeoro]

manodeoro : Yes the inner rehaut diameter of the seestern is about 1,5-2mm smaller than on the Tactical Frog. I will need a caliper to measure it more exactly.

@sharko92: 200m seem to be possible if one considers the built quality of the seestern. However, only a water pressure test can verify that

As soon as I have the exact measurements of the inner rehaut diameters I'll work adapting the designs (with and without minutes marks right of the date window) for both Seestern and Tactical Frog.
It can also depend on the width of the date window ... the one on the Seestern looks quite wide so maybe using a DLW dial plate could help to make a "standard" (not blacklung) Doxa dial for the Seestern.

BTW ... I checked the depth indicators on the Seestern's bezel and they are perfectly placed to use it as a No-Decompression bezel.
I'm working on a reversed no-deco bezel project (so no-deco count-down) for my son's "Palawai" ... I'll post pics when it's done ...

 

[manodeoro]

Hi guys ... some news about how we could fit a Doxa dial on a Seestern case ...

1 - DIAL OPENING :
semperfi55 kindly took some time to measure the rehaut interior diameter and said it's about 26.1 26.2mm
So I have worked on the design... starting with 26mm for tdial opening


2 - DATE WINDOW :
WeiKoh wrote : "It seems that the date printing on the luminous datewheel is slightly on a too small radius"
Looking at the Seestern dial, and considering the fact that the dates seem to be slightly misaligned to the left, and looking at the other pics WeiKoh has posted where it seems that the date is perfectly aligned with the "pro diver" hommage dial, I guess that :
1 - the printing on the date wheel are perfectly aligned with a standard NH35 date window
2 - the makers of the Seestern made the date window a little larger to the right to mimic the Blacklung dial


3 - CONCLUSION :
I'm pretty certain that, if I use an NH35 dial plate with the standard date window in the standard position, it will be possible to make any Doxa dial for the Seestern.
A close friend of mine, who lives in the same town, is waiting for his Seestern ...
As soon as he receive it I will check all the dimensions (case and dial plate) to confirm (or not) my thoughts.
In the meantime I have started to adapt some Doxa dial designs to a DWL dial plate (standard NH35) for a 26mm dial opening.
Here are some pics of how it would look ...









​​​​​​​

 

[manodeoro]

Hi guys ... good news here
semperfi55 kindly checked again the rehaut opening AND the dial overal diameter ... rimensions are 26mm and 29mm
So ... if my guess about the standard date window is right I could print any model of Doxa vintage dials on a standard NH35 dial plate
I have some 28.5mm NH35 dial plates in my parts box so I will print some test dials while waiting for my friend to receive his Seestern ...

 

[SteveMcQueen1930]

manodeoro : Unfortunately it took me some days to borrow a digital caliper. However, I can basically confirm the measurement from the other guys.
Looking forward to those dials

 

[manodeoro]

manodeoro : Unfortunately it took me some days to borrow a digital caliper. However, I can basically confirm the measurement from the other guys.
Looking forward to those dials

Thanks !!!
I'll make those first 3 models, test them on my fellow's Seestern and take some pics I'll post there.
When perfect dimensionnal adjustments will be done I will design other models ... vintage only at first but already 11 variations
- SUB 300 T professionnal 1 - orange dial - no logo
- SUB 300 T professionnal 2 - orange dial - Aqualung logo
- SUB 300 T professionnal synchron 1 - orange dial - Synchron logo over Doxa brand
- SUB 300 T professionnal synchron 2 - orange dial - Synchron logo over Doxa brand + Aqualung logo
- SUB 300 blacklung - orange/yellow dial - Blacklung logo on yellowish spot
- SUB 300 T divingstar 1 - yellow dial - Synchron logo over Doxa brand
- SUB 300 T divingstar 2 - yellow dial - Synchron logo over Doxa brand + Aqualung logo
- SUB 300 T sharkhunter 1 - black dial - white Aqualung logo
- SUB 300 T sharkhunter 2 - black dial - no logo
- SUB 300 T sharkhunter 3 - silver sunburst dial - Aqualung logo
- SUB 300 T searambler - silver sunburst dial - Aqualung logo

 

[manodeoro]

This evening I've started to prepare dial plates ...
- silver sunburst for "searambler"
- yellow for "divingstar"
- white for "sharkhunter"
- orange for "aqualung"
I've already applied 2 coats of satin varnish on thee sunburst so it will be printed as it is.
Same process for the white one that I will let with matte finish.
The yellow and orange will receive 2 coats of glossy varnish before printing.
If everything goes well I'll post pics of all those finished and lumed by the end of the next week.

Envoyé de mon moto g(9) power en utilisant Tapatalk

 

[manodeoro]

manodeoro : I received my Froggie yesterday and will pick up my Seestern tomorrow from the post office. If I find time, I will make a short review / comparison of the two watches.
The Froggie is definitely very wearable. But the Seestern should be in total more true to a Doxa Sub.
For the time being I put another hommage dial in the frog yesterday.

Hey buddy ...
I have all the infos I need for the Seestern but I still need the same infos for the Tactical Frog
I guess the dial size is the same on both watches (28.5mm) but the Tactical Frog seems to have a larger dial opening
Would you mind measuring those dimensions on yours ?
- rehaut interior diameter
- dial overall diameter
​​​​​​​Cheers

 

[SteveMcQueen1930]

manodeoro : Sorry, I sold my Tactical Frog immediately when I got my Seestern
(because the Seastar is much superior)

 

[Berndstein]

Hi manodeoro,

I've just ordered a Seestern and would love to buy a matching Doxa black lung dual from you.


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[manodeoro]

Hi buddies ... some goof news about the Seestern dials

The "sharkhunter" is still on my gench as I've decided to modifiy the design but the 3 others are OK :thumbsup:
For the time being the white rectangles on the markers are just made with solvant based paint ...
I didn't applied lume becausee the Seestern handsets, IMHO, need to be relumed with "vintage green glow" along with the dials (the existing lume has a blue glow).

DOXA FAMILY GROWING



AQUALUNG



DIVINGSTAR



SEARAMBLER

 

[roberespi]

Hi buddies ... some goof news about the Seestern dials

The "sharkhunter" is still on my gench as I've decided to modifiy the design but the 3 others are OK :thumbsup:
For the time being the white rectangles on the markers are just made with solvant based paint ...
I didn't applied lume becausee the Seestern handsets, IMHO, need to be relumed with "vintage green glow" along with the dials (the existing lume has a blue glow).

DOXA FAMILY GROWING



AQUALUNG



DIVINGSTAR



SEARAMBLER

Looks incredible!!


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[Manray]

Amazing work! How would you remove the lume from the seestern hands? I usually put the hands in an acetone bath but the seestern hands are painted, the black paint would dilute also, right?

 

[manodeoro]

Amazing work! How would you remove the lume from the seestern hands? I usually put the hands in an acetone bath but the seestern hands are painted, the black paint would dilute also, right?

Thanks for the king words

I remove the lume on painted hands with a fiber pen ... slowly working on the back side of the hands until all lume is removed ... not fast but perfectly safe

 

[manodeoro]

Looks incredible!!


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thanks buddy

 

[SteveMcQueen1930]

manodeoro : Those dials look amazing!
What will the logistic process look like for the hands? Will you get some hand sets from Seestern or will I need to send you my handset for the reluming process?