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Certina watches are an extremely old and historical watch brand having been founded in 1888. At the inception, Certina was not really a watch company and only provided movements to various other watchmakers who needed supply. This is not too dissimilar in the way that ETA operates in modern day.
Due to the explosion in popularity of Swiss watches during the early 1900s. This saw Certina go from strength to strength as a brand. Whilst it was never the most popular or iconic brand, it did have over 750 employees and produce over 500k watches per year at its peak in the early 1970s.
However, the quartz crisis was not kind to Certina or a whole host of other Swiss watch brands. If you were not a luxury watchmaker during this period, you were simply put out of business due to the cost reduced influx of Japanese quartz models.
Despite being on the cutting edge of technology and making various unique watches, Certina is almost forgotten in the 21st century. It was acquired by the Swatch group in 1983 but has not been advertised nor pushed forward as a powerful brand, now languishing in relative obscurity.
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Certina Achievements and Breakthroughs
- The first “digital” watch (1936). Whilst this was not a digital watch in the modern sense, nor anything like the Pulsar model made for James Bond during the 1970s. It did display the time by rotating discs rather than using a normal dial layout.
- Double Security. Mentioned in more detail below. The brand was the first to make a watch that was both shockproof and water resistant.
- The first watch to display biorhythms (1971).
- The world’s first scratchproof watch. It should be noted that this watch is now sold by the brand Rado under the model range called Diastar.
What Does DS Stand For With Certina?
You may have already seen this if you own a Certina watch. The DS turtle shell logo is actually more recognizable and well known than the Certina logo itself.
In short, DS stands for double security. This means that the brand makes watches that are both waterproof and shock resistant.
Whats the big deal? A G-Shock can do more than this and is far cheaper.
This is a fair point, but this technology was fairly groundbreaking in 1959. Shock resistant watches with good water resistance were not really a thing. This is not the most monumental breakthrough in watchmaking, but the Certina brand should get some credit for making this breakthrough.
Over the years, this has led to classic designs such as the DS podium and Powermatic Himalaya being produced. The latter of which was allegedly taken to the peak of the Himalaya mountains and was easily able to withstand all of the conditions thrown at it.
Where Are Certina Watches Made?
As Certina is owned by the watch brand Swatch, all watches are made in Switzerland. Even prior to this ownership, all Certina watches have been Swiss-made.
Of course this also includes Swiss movements, which come from another Swatch owned company ETA. Generally considered to be an extremely solid movement, ETA is used for many higher end watch brands. Prior to this ownership, Certina made their own movements, but this stopped during the quartz crisis.
Is Certina A Luxury Watch Brand?
No. Certina makes great quality watches at a very affordable price, but they are certainly not a luxury brand. A direct comparison can be made with other Swatch owned brands such as Tissot and Omega. Firstly, these two brands are more expensive than Certina. Tissot is not considered a luxury brand, so Certina doesn’t really tick the first box of a luxury pricepoint.
Secondly, Certina uses ETA movements. Whilst these are incredibly reliable and accurate, alongside being far better than Japanese or Chinese movements – they are not luxury. In fact, you will see many of the same caliber movements in Tissot as you will in Certina. On the other hand brands such as Omega or Blancpain design and manufacturer their own movements. This is a very distinct difference between a luxury and a non-luxury brand.
Lastly is the brand image. In all honesty, Certina is not really a brand that is on the radar of anyone who isn’t a watch fanatic. Say that you’re wearing a Certina to any random person and they will likely not have heard this name before. Of course, if you say a name such as Rolex in contrast, people will instantly know this is a luxury brand.
How Much Do Certina Watches Cost?
Online you can find a Certina watch anywhere between $200-500. Considering that they are built to a very similar standard as Tissot, this is good value for money.
It should be noted that if you are buying a Certina watch from an in-person authorized dealer, you will likely pay a lot more due to the business overheads. It is a LOT cheaper to sell watches online than it is in person for a variety of reasons.
Summary – Are Certina Watches Good?
Certina watches are good since they are reasonably priced for their specification. Given that Certina watches use ETA movements, this is considerably better quality than the likes of Hugo Boss and Michael Kors.
Certina are not groundbreaking in their designs, marketing or uniqueness – which is why they are not as popular as other brands. However, in terms of quality and value for money, you cannot really go wrong with Certina.
The Best Certina Watches
Certina DS-2 Precidrive
You will see that many quartz-based Certina watches have the word Precidrive placed somewhere on the dial. This means that the watches movement is accurate to within +/- 10 seconds per year. Whilst this is nothing outrageous, it is still very impressive for a Swiss brand that is towards the entry level of pricing. This movement is around 5-10 times more accurate than other quartz movements. Although to be honest this is a level of accuracy not really needed with a quartz watch. With that being said, it’s still very solid value as with most Certina watches.
Certina DS Nautic
Quite obviously a nautical themed watch as it is named the Certina Nautic. This watch style was very popular in the early 2000s with a plain stainless steel case and bezel with a serrated edge.
The steel chronograph watch sticks to its nautical core by having a compass around the bezel, as well as offering 100 meters water resistance. Unless you are a fan of this design, many of the other Certina watches are better value for money (specifically automatic models).
Certina DS-2 Chrono
Certina offers a range of quartz watches, one of which is the precidrive DS-2 chronograph. This is clearly a motor sports based chronograph, a style which many other brands offer at varying price points. Most of which are vastly more expensive if they are Swiss made.
Once again, the closest comparisons to this watch are Tag Heuer F1 models, as well as Tissot V8’s. Both of these models have a very similar movement and both cost more money than the Certina chronograph.
Certina DS Podium
The Certina DS podium is a solid automatic watch made by the brand and one of the best selling models. In all honesty, this is just a very solid dress watch for a pretty good price. You might find something similar from other Swiss brands, but they will likely be a little more expensive, making this one of the best value for money Swiss automatic watches.
Granted this watch is nothing special or original to look at. But not everyone wants this. Overall it is a very ordinary watch and is excellent value for money.
Certina DS Action Diver Powermatic 80
If you are a fan of the Tissot brand then you will likely already know about the powermatic 80 movement which is pretty synonymous with the Swiss watchmaker. Certina is managed by the same company (Swatch) so also has access to this excellent ETA movement. For a watch that costs under $500, 80 hours of power reserve is really fantastic and isn’t even achieved by many of the luxury brands.
The action diver is also a legitimate dive watch, not just a watch made in the style for aesthetic purposes. It offers up to 300 meters of water resistance and has very strong lume. Of course, you could just wear this as an everyday watch, but just know it offers more than this if needed.
Certina DS Trust
Looking like it came straight out of 1985 is the Certina DS trust. Not only does this watch have a square dial, but the two-tone color scheme makes it truly a retro watch which seems to have forgotten what year this is.
In all honesty, you are unlikely to find a Swiss-made watch in this style for the same price. So if this watch suits your tastes it will be one of the best deals you can find. Otherwise, you will have to settle for a cheaply made Chinese watch.
