Even as the watch industry at large is going through an explosion of brightly colored dial designs, few if any brands have as deep or as vibrant a connection to colorful dials as Doxa. Since introducing its first orange-dialed diver in 1967, the marque has consistently offered its Sub diver line in an array of bright hues from the classic traffic-cone orange Professional to bold Divingstar yellow, Aquamarine teal, Searambler silver, Sharkhunter black, and Caribbean navy. This sextet of dial colors and their evocative names are a fixture of Doxa’s unique place in the dive watch pantheon, and with this in mind, the brand’s decision to add a seventh color to its repertoire carries a significant impact. Doxa has chosen to introduce this new color on its popular entry-level Sub 200 line, along with a suitably expressive new moniker – the Whitepearl. The pure white look of the new Doxa Sub 200 Whitepearl adds a sense of starkly modern style to the vintage-inspired diver line, with a markedly different expression to existing models.

Shared with other models in the Sub 200 line, the 42mm stainless steel case of the Doxa Sub 200 Whitepearl should wear smaller than the numbers suggest thanks to short lugs and broad-shouldered case sides that extend well past the gear-toothed dive bezel. The overall form should be familiar twisted lyre lugs and a wide polished chamfer that extends from lug to lug along the case sides. The screw-down crown features no guards but is partially recessed into the case side for added protection and a vintage Seamaster-esque look. Interestingly, the Whitepearl uses a black fish emblem on its crown, rather than the orange version used across the rest of the Sub 200 line. This handily avoids the clashing look many non-orange Doxa models carry in images and diligently continues the Whitepearl’s stark monochromatic look. To emulate the visual depth and glossiness of a vintage Bakelite bezel insert, the Sub 200 Whitepearl uses a two-part insert with a white painted stainless steel base topped by a clear sapphire ring. The resulting combination should be solidly scratch resistant while adding depth to the late ‘60s look of the Sub 200 line. Like the rest of the series, the Doxa Sub 300 Whitepearl sports a dive-ready 200 meters of water resistance.

Although the six other dial colorways in the series add vibrant base colors or warming measures of fauxtina lume, the Doxa Sub 200 Whitepearl takes a truly monochrome approach. The main dial surface is a true, snowy matte optic white, without any of the softer eggshell tones often used for white dials. Likewise, the glossy black used for the ladder handset and heavy printed minutes scale is deep and stark, leading to bold and dramatic contrast in initial images. The polished edges of the applied touch of flash to this minimal, modernist combination, without overpowering the rest of the design. Taken as a whole, the dial of the Sub 200 Whitepearl gives a far more contemporary feel in initial images than its vintage-inflected brethren, slotting in nicely with the current crop of polar white dial diver designs.

Doxa equips the Sub 200 Whitepearl with the long-serving ETA 2824-2 automatic movement. The 2824-2 has been a fixture in watches across the industry for decades, and while this powerplant is still reliable and easily serviced its performance is beginning to show its age somewhat. Power reserve is a below-average 38 hours at a 28,800 bph beat rate. Doxa finishes the Sub 200 Whitepearl with a pair of strap options. The first is Doxa’s signature stainless steel beads of rice bracelet, with five polished center links accented by brushed outer links. For a more contemporary sporting look, Doxa also offers the Sub 200 Whitepearl on an optic white textured rubber strap with a Milanese mesh pattern.

With a stark new dial colorway and far and away the most modern look in the series, the new Doxa Sub 200 Whitepearl is a strikingly unique entry in the brand’s lineup and a potential harbinger of things to come across the brand’s other diver lines. The Doxa Sub 300 Whitepearl is available now through authorized dealers at a starting MSRP of 950 CHF. For more details, please visit the brand’s website.