Post by JasonC on Oct 23, 2016 16:54:52 GMT -6
Here’s the official review for my recently acquired Certina DS Action
Certina as a company isn’t particularly well know around these parts in part due to the fact that until very recently they weren’t available in North America and still aren’t for all intents and purposes. There are currently only two ADs, one in Las Vegas and one in New York.
Because of their relative rarity I’m gonna start from the beginning with touch a of the brand’s history...
The company was originally started by two brothers from Grenchen Switzerland in 1888 as a movement manufacturer. As time went on the company grew and by 1938 had adopted Certina as a brand name and began making wrist watches.
In 1959 the company released their first watch with something they called the “DS Concept” (Double Security) which was a watch designed with a very high level of shock and water resistance. This marked Certina’s debut as a sport oriented watchmaker. In the following years the DS Concept became part of all Certina watches. It was around this time Certina also adopted a turtle logo to draw attention to their commitment to making tough, waterproof watches. This logo is still used on every Certina made.
In 1983 Certina was acquired by the Swatch Group where its product line sits as mid-tier level brand along side other Swatch offerings such as Hamilton and Tissot.
Now on to the watch...
The first things that struck me when seeing the watch in person was the physical weight (it’s a very heavy, solid feeling watch) and the contrast of the hands and markers against the dial. The dial is surprisingly black. Very black. Black black. This causes the applied indices and hands to really “pop” and makes for a very legible and clean looking watch face. It also allows every piece of dust, every finger print and every smudge to be very noticable. I consider it gorgeous, but there is a down side to the rich black. The indices and hands are chromed and deeply filled with BGW9 Superluminova which glows very strongly with a blue hue. I haven’t tested the duration of the lumes’ visibility, but I have confidence it will be more than acceptable. The signed screw down crown is quite large at 5mm and well protected by crown guards on the case. The DS is driven by the ubiquitus ETA 2824-2 and this one has been running spectacularly at +/- 1.5 seconds a day since I received it according to Hairspring and Tickoprint.
The bezel has a unique polished gear/sprocket design and is also lumed to the 20 min mark. From what I’ve read the dial is an insert that is then filled with an acrylic epoxy. Time will tell if this epoxy is durable or not, but for now it looks quite good. The bezel is a 60 step unidirectional which snaps smoothly and precisely into each marker position with very firm, crisp clicks. There is zero play once set. Strangely, the sprocketed shape of the bezel is actually a bit difficult to get a grip of. The polished steel is not well designed for a confident grasp even though visually you’d think it would be excellent.
The DS Action is a ISO 6425 certified diver watch which in a nut shell means the watch as has passed a rigorous set of tests to ensure it is rugged and water proof beyond the depth specification of the watch. A nice explaination of the standard is here
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Resistant_mark
Some of tests include
- Shock resistance
- Water resistance 25% beyond advertised depth rating
- Magnetic resistance
- Corrosion resistance
- Strength testing of attachment devices
(they actually apply a measured torque to the springbars to ensure they don’t fail under stress)
An interesting part of the specification is that every watch is tested. This ensures that the watch on your wrist has passed and is guaranteed to be waterproof.
The ISO 6425 goes well beyond ISO 2188 water resistance standard which gives me a lot of confidence in the level of performance I can expect from the watch. As do the DS Concept features that include a triple gasketed stem and crown and reinforced case back.
The stainless steel bracelet that comes with the watch is quite nice and very substantial. It has half links as well micro adjustments, so just about everyone should be able to get a good fit. True to its intended use the bracelet also has a diver extention that folds and snaps firmly into the clasp.
So far I’m very happy with the watch. I had some reservations originally with the 43mm size, but the case and lug design wears quite a bit smaller and once I tried it on it was no longer an issue. I really haven’t found anything about the watch I don’t like. As mentioned the bezel design might be a problem for some, but it is such a small issue it almost doesn’t bear mentioning.
Certina as a company isn’t particularly well know around these parts in part due to the fact that until very recently they weren’t available in North America and still aren’t for all intents and purposes. There are currently only two ADs, one in Las Vegas and one in New York.
Because of their relative rarity I’m gonna start from the beginning with touch a of the brand’s history...
The company was originally started by two brothers from Grenchen Switzerland in 1888 as a movement manufacturer. As time went on the company grew and by 1938 had adopted Certina as a brand name and began making wrist watches.
In 1959 the company released their first watch with something they called the “DS Concept” (Double Security) which was a watch designed with a very high level of shock and water resistance. This marked Certina’s debut as a sport oriented watchmaker. In the following years the DS Concept became part of all Certina watches. It was around this time Certina also adopted a turtle logo to draw attention to their commitment to making tough, waterproof watches. This logo is still used on every Certina made.
In 1983 Certina was acquired by the Swatch Group where its product line sits as mid-tier level brand along side other Swatch offerings such as Hamilton and Tissot.
Now on to the watch...
The first things that struck me when seeing the watch in person was the physical weight (it’s a very heavy, solid feeling watch) and the contrast of the hands and markers against the dial. The dial is surprisingly black. Very black. Black black. This causes the applied indices and hands to really “pop” and makes for a very legible and clean looking watch face. It also allows every piece of dust, every finger print and every smudge to be very noticable. I consider it gorgeous, but there is a down side to the rich black. The indices and hands are chromed and deeply filled with BGW9 Superluminova which glows very strongly with a blue hue. I haven’t tested the duration of the lumes’ visibility, but I have confidence it will be more than acceptable. The signed screw down crown is quite large at 5mm and well protected by crown guards on the case. The DS is driven by the ubiquitus ETA 2824-2 and this one has been running spectacularly at +/- 1.5 seconds a day since I received it according to Hairspring and Tickoprint.
The bezel has a unique polished gear/sprocket design and is also lumed to the 20 min mark. From what I’ve read the dial is an insert that is then filled with an acrylic epoxy. Time will tell if this epoxy is durable or not, but for now it looks quite good. The bezel is a 60 step unidirectional which snaps smoothly and precisely into each marker position with very firm, crisp clicks. There is zero play once set. Strangely, the sprocketed shape of the bezel is actually a bit difficult to get a grip of. The polished steel is not well designed for a confident grasp even though visually you’d think it would be excellent.
The DS Action is a ISO 6425 certified diver watch which in a nut shell means the watch as has passed a rigorous set of tests to ensure it is rugged and water proof beyond the depth specification of the watch. A nice explaination of the standard is here
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_Resistant_mark
Some of tests include
- Shock resistance
- Water resistance 25% beyond advertised depth rating
- Magnetic resistance
- Corrosion resistance
- Strength testing of attachment devices
(they actually apply a measured torque to the springbars to ensure they don’t fail under stress)
An interesting part of the specification is that every watch is tested. This ensures that the watch on your wrist has passed and is guaranteed to be waterproof.
The ISO 6425 goes well beyond ISO 2188 water resistance standard which gives me a lot of confidence in the level of performance I can expect from the watch. As do the DS Concept features that include a triple gasketed stem and crown and reinforced case back.
The stainless steel bracelet that comes with the watch is quite nice and very substantial. It has half links as well micro adjustments, so just about everyone should be able to get a good fit. True to its intended use the bracelet also has a diver extention that folds and snaps firmly into the clasp.
So far I’m very happy with the watch. I had some reservations originally with the 43mm size, but the case and lug design wears quite a bit smaller and once I tried it on it was no longer an issue. I really haven’t found anything about the watch I don’t like. As mentioned the bezel design might be a problem for some, but it is such a small issue it almost doesn’t bear mentioning.
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