If you’ve ever been to Dubai, you know that looking into the horizon at dusk during the middle of the summer is like staring into a well oxygenated ember. The Doxa Sub 250 that we have here today, emulates this feeling very well with its deep red dial that constantly shifts from rich burgundy red to a near cherry red or almost deep bright brown hue – just like the searing horizon of Dubai. This watch is among the smallest batch of limited editions I’ve seen Doxa release, capped at a mere 75 pieces to commemorate the Ahmed Seddiqi watch store’s 75th anniversary since its founding.
Dial asside for a moment, what’s interesting to me about this special release, is that this is really the only Sub 250 with a time and date only layout. Traditionally, the Sub 250T from Doxa has always been their GMT offering, of course with the same case, bracelet, and general design DNA we’ve come to know and love from Doxa. Interestingly, this watch leans more towards the smaller Sub 200T, than it does with their current lineup of Sub 250T’s.
Minor Shift With Big Results
While this watch might feel like a rather minor shift away from the regular issue Doxa catalogue, the small adjustments seem to make a huge impact to the overall dynamics of the watch. The now time and date only layout with a larger dial than the Sub 200T give the watch a very fresh makeover, allowing it to fit really flat on the wrist and command a touch more presence. The indices now have some room to breath on the dial, and the gorgeous and uniquely hued red dial really benefits from the added airy feeling.
The watch keeps the iconic Doxa Sub markers, which thankfully remain applied and untouched from their regular production offerings – except that now they’re in a polished gold, along with the minute, hour, and seconds hand. The new deep gold color contrasts really well with the rich red dial.
Doxa manufacturers some of the best rotating bezels in the game for their price point. The unidirectional bezel on this particular model is just as robust as I remember from the rest of their dive watch repertoire, except that this one now has a “no-decompression” scale in black Eastern Arabic numerals. Another standout design feature that differentiates this watch is the caseback, which is embossed with “where legacy meets luxury”, with the number 75 in the middle, in a circular format and a black background.
The case size measures in at 42mm with a very attractive 11.95mm thickness, allowing the watch to wear exceptionally well on my 6.5 inch wrist. Actually, the sizing of this watch has me questioning if this is the better fit for me over the smaller Sub 200T. The case also manages to fit a slightly more upgraded movement than the usual, which is the automatic Sellita SW300 with 56 hours of power reserve.
Final Thoughts
The Sub 250 Ahmed Seddiqi limited edition is a very special Doxa without the frills of a total watch redesign. Doxa has managed to keep drastic changes to a minimum and still come out on top with a drastically different and in my opinion improved feeling watch on the wrist. With only 75 pieces ever produced of this watch it could prove to be difficult to acquire, as I see it’s currently not readily available for purchase on the Doxa website. Official release information states that it was only available to purchase through Seddiqi boutiques – retail price was set at 2800 Euros.
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