Clive Cussler was an American adventure writer and a deep-sea diver. He was most well-known for his novels such as Raise the Titanic, Sahara, Inca Gold, and Pacific Vortex!. He was also known for his real-life ocean adventures. While in the U.S. Air Force, Cussler was a flight engineer stationed in Hawaii, where he found his love for scuba diving and shipwreck exploring. His past adventures helped inspire his novels and his most famous character, Dirk Pitt.
Cussler worked in a dive shop for a few years in his younger years which allowed for more writing time. When he finished writing his first novel he decided to quit his job at the shop. Before he left, his manager gave him a Doxa SUB 300T as a gift. This watch was the first submersible watch with an orange dial and a no-decompression limit (NDL) dive table. This table is an important resource for divers as they make their ascent. A diver who stays submerged for longer than the NDL cannot ascend too quickly as it can make them sick. The orange face makes it easy for divers to read as they move farther from the light as they dive deeper. It was soon after he received this watch that he made the decision to have his character, Dirk Pitt, wear the watch in his novels.
Dirk Pitt is an adventure hero who leads the National Underwater and Marine Agency. His stories are full of shipwreck discoveries and preventing evil plans for world domination. He has a powerful presence, a quick wit, and a substantial collection of classic cars. Dirk’s most famous traits are his love for blue agave Tequila and his orange-faced Doxa dive watch.
Cussler wrote 25 books in the Dirk Pitt series. His books included many instances of how the Doxa SUB 300T helped Dirk save the world again and again. In one of his novels, he even predicted finding the Titanic before Bob Ballard did in 1985. These books helped Doxa by spreading the word about their watches.
Like many other watch companies, Doxa had struggled during the quartz revolution. By 1980 they had to cease operations leaving the watch to only exist in the Dirk Pitt novels. However, a man named Rick Marei, a diver, watch enthusiast, and collector, had the desire to help Doxa reintroduce watches to the diving industry. The unique design and style of the 70ś that the Doxa SUB embodied had captured his attention. The first model they launched was the SUB 300T reissue, a Seahunter version (named for one of Cussler’s novels). Cussler was given the first SUB 300T reissue out of a limited run of one thousand.
In October of 2004, Cussler sent his watch back to Rick because he lost the pin while trying to adjust the band. He called Rick four weeks later to talk about product placement in his new upcoming movie, Sahara, which was based on his novel. During his call, he found out that Rick had never received his watch. Rick and the his staff tore the company apart, but they couldn’t find the original Cussler Doxa. By the end of the year, Rick called Cussler to tell him his watch was missing. After 6 months Cussler received a beaten-up package in the mail with a return-to-sender sticker. Inside was the infamous Cussler Doxa watch. Clive Cussler passed away on February 24, 2020, at the age of 88. His passion for adventure and his love for the iconic orange Doxa dive watch will live on through his novels and fans.
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