Certina is not sold in the US currently although considering the attractive design and price of their products — it seems the watchmaker will find a reason to establish distribution here.

Seeing Certina on Swiss trips over the years always made me wonder why they were not sold in the United States. The presumable reason has always been because Certina price points overlap with established brands such as Tissot, Hamilton, and Mido — which are all owned by the Swatch Group. However, with competitiveness at an all-time high within the watch industry, and within the watch groups, we think it’s inevitable that Certina will arrive on American shores sooner or later.

We showed you two awesome Certina DS Phantom Dive watches in May, which significantly drove reader interest. And now, Certina has released yet another banger in the DS Chronograph Automatic.

Presented in a 42 mm x 13.9 mm retro-style stepped stainless steel case, a curved silver dial that comes off more like cream or white, with a polished fixed bezel, brushed flanks, polished flat pill-shaped chronograph pushpieces, silver faceted dagger-shaped applied indices that are omitted at 3 and 9 and replaced with Arabic numerals at 12 and 6, surrounded by telemeter and tachymeter scales that are printed in black on the peripheral of the dial, and contrasted by curved blued baton-shaped hands.

This timepiece is a faithful reissue of a model from the 1940s and Certina has done a stellar job of recreating it 80-years later with a modern case, dial, and movement, all at a price that is incredibly attractive for what you get.

A solid steel screw-in caseback protects the rear and a highly domed vintage-style sapphire crystal covers the dial side. Water-resistance is 100 meters. The movement is an advanced version of the Valjoux 7753 that Certina refers to as ETA caliber A05.H31. The movement is a 4Hz automatic with stop seconds. The date has been removed and it features a silicon balance spring, cam and lever chronograph actuation, and a 60-hour power reserve. Finishing is all done by machine and other than “Certina” being printed on the rotor there’s no embellishment, but as mentioned above, it’s hidden behind a solid caseback anyways, and within this price range you typically do not get a highly elaborated Swiss-made movement.

The Certina DS Chronograph Automatic is paired with a black leather strap with quick release spring bars and a steel butterfly clasp. (Ref. C038.462.16.037.00) Retail is approximately $1,950.

Learn more at Certina.