Certina is one of the Swatch Group watch brands that’s highly visible in Europe but not in the United States. That’s because Certina is not represented in the United States yet.
With overlapping watch price points already available in the United States from Swatch Group brands such as Tissot, Hamilton, and Mido — Certina has likely been withheld from the United States market so as not to cannibalize on the other Swatch products. With that said, there are hints that Certina watches may end up in the US finally.
Even though Certina is not officially carried in the states, you can currently purchase the watches online — from within the United States — by going to Helen Kirchhofer.
Two highlight debuts from Certina for 2020 are based on the company’s historic 1960s “Phantom” dive watches.
One is the contemporary version of the Phantom called the DS PH200M — presented in a 42.8 mm diameter stainless steel case with a convex unidirectional rotating bezel in dark blue ceramic with a gold-colored dive-time scale.
The other is the DS Super PH500M — a modern vintage interpretation of the 1969 DS Super PH500M. This model comes in a 43 mm diameter stainless steel case with a steel bezel and traditional black aluminum insert. It has a retro look but it’s a professional-level wristwatch made for serious adventures. The Phantom PH500M was made in partnership with the Association of German Sport Divers (Verband Deutscher Sporttaucher, VDST) and has their acronym engraved on the caseback.
Both versions meet the ISO 6425 “diver’s watch” standards but the DS Super PH500M has a higher water-resistance rating of 500 meters and a unique DS “Double Security” pressure-based unidirectional rotating bezel that cannot be rotated anti-clockwise and nor can it be rotated clockwise except when downward pressure is also being applied.
Inside each of the Phantom diver’s watches is the exact same automatic ETA Powermatic caliber 80.611 with Nivachron balance spring and an 80-hour power reserve (based on the same ETA movement originally developed for Tissot and debuted in 2013, and subsequently Hamilton and Mido).
The PH500M comes with a bright orange crosshair dial while the PH200M comes with a dark blue dial. Both dials are protected by a domed sapphire crystal and display central hours, minutes, seconds, and the date at 3 o’clock with hand configurations that are virtually the same: a sword-shaped hour hand, long baton minute hand, and arrow-tipped center seconds hand.
The Phantom DS PH200M will be available beginning in July 2020 and will retail for a starting price of $975 (as shown with a blue Nato strap). This model is also available with a black bezel and Milanese strap, a black bezel and black PVD case, and a blue bezel with a brown calfskin strap.
The Phantom DS Super PH500M Special Edition (Ref. C037.407.17.280.10) will be available beginning in August 2020 and will retail for a starting price of $995 as shown with a black rubber diver’s strap with quick release and a separate diver extension and pin buckle closure. (VDST members receive additional two black NATO straps with Klett closure, regular and extra-long.)
Learn more at Certina.
