No 268 - Certina DS-3 PH200M

Vintage watches. Not my thing really. But when it's quartz, have new gaskets and are proven to be waterproof then I can make an exception. I know that older Certina dive watches are quite wanted out there among collectors but I think this one was one of the more common models and not very special. I remember buying it cheap and selling it cheap. Hardly wore it. It looked cool and had an interesting case design (way too thick though!) but I never bothered to dig deeper into the history of Certina diver’s. Damn, I don’t know what else to write. Sorry guys!

#268 - The Certina DS-3 PH200M.

I suspect the glass had been changed sometime during the years.

Hardy visible but it's a ref. 750.1402.41

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 220 - Certina DS Multi-8 Carbon

Multifunction watches, you got to love them! I just couldn’t resist this PVD Multi-8 when I found it to a good deal back in March 2014. I knew right away it was going to feel too big with its 42mm and lack of bezel ring so this was strictly a test run and it was quickly sold after a few days. My biggest problem though wasn’t the size but the awful looking carbon style strap. I just can’t stand the look of that pattern. My favorite feature was the rather unusual display of week; a phenomenon not commonly used by many others except for a few European and Asian countries. This great feature was also used by Sjöö Sandström in their Skydiver watch (which I have had of course!) which is an awesome multifunction watch but more about that one later.

#220 - The Certina DS Multi-8 Carbon, ref. C020.419.16.052.00.

Nice blue lume and backlight. And the display of week was incredibly convenient for a Swede like myself.

The Certina Multi-8 is a great watch feature-wise but I find its aesthetical appeal to be quite boring. One detail I found extra disappointing was the PVD-coating they used for this model. The watch I got a hold of was quite new but already had some scratches in the surface of the coating so I highly doubt the material they use is holding up to any Sinn standards.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 205 - Certina DS Action Ti Diver

The product pictures of the Certina Action Diver all looked fantastic and promising when it was announced. But when everyone who bought it started to post pictures of the watch it looked quite disappointing to me. It was something about the finish. I came across the titanium version to a really good price and felt it was worth giving a try. And it was worth trying it just to confirm it wasn’t as nice as it was easy to believe it was going to be judging from the promotional pitcures. But I must say that the titanium version actually felt better than the steel version. More comfortable to wear and the gray sunburst dial is actually pretty nice and gives it a much toolier look compared to the black and blue dial available on the steel version. I only wore this watch on the bracelet but really think it is better worn a rubber which will help preventing the crown from digging down in the wrist.

#205 - The Certina DS Action Ti Diver, ref.C013.407.44.081.00.

I’m sorry but just can’t vouch for the Action Diver. It is boring. In this price range I think there are a bunch of other watches that are more fun and appealing.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 192 - Certina DS-3 1000m reissue

Just like many others obsessed by dive watches I’m a huge fan of Certina’s old DS-3 1000m diver. The reissue Certina made a couple of years ago was a big fail though. Who approved the indexes, the hand set, the mint green luminova, the design of the steel bracelet? The list goes on and on. There are just so many errors with this reissue. I mean, it still has its fantastic case and bezel so it really is impossible to discard it completely but those features are pretty much the only good things about it. No wonder half of the people who bought them went on to make some kind of modification.

Product image of the Certina DS-3 reissue (borrowed picture). Note that the green luminova have been edited to white. No wonder why...

In early October 2013 I was offered one, a full set, as a trade for my black Squale 50atm. I instinctively thought “hell no!” but then I started thinking. “What if…” A plan took form in my mind and I clicked home a new set of hands. That might not sound like a huge change but that was not the main modification. What I felt everyone had done as a mistake, when I browsed through all the modifications of the DS-3 that I could find, was that if they had kept the original dial they had completely forgot to match the luminova of the dial with the new hands they had installed. How can you overlook such an important  detail? I knew it was a hard task to accomplish considering they had such an odd shade of green and no aftermarket hands had the same color tone. No, what needed to be done was to modify the original dial and since I hadn't had any good luck with baking dials in the oven in the past, I figured it was time to bring out the old soy sauce.

Magnus in progress with applying soy sauce on the indexes of the dial.

#192 - The Certina DS-3 1000m reissue, ref. 633.7128.42.61.

Even after the soy sauce was applied it still had some luminous capacity left.

There was only one man fit for the job. Magnus of course! I explained to Magnus what I visualized and he did his best to try to recreate it. I wanted it to look old and rusty. The original hour and minute hand were to be replaced by sword hands while the original second hand got to stay. I had no regrets of ruining the original dial. I just felt I couldn’t look much worse than it already did. I must say I was very happy with the final result. It sure didn’t look like the original any longer. It looked how I wanted it - old and rusty!

Never wore it on the orignal bracelet or rubber. Mainly wore it on a classic black/gray nato.

I think I had it for about two months before I passed it on. It sold quite quickly. Last year I found it for sale when browsing through Watchrecon. It was impossible to miss. It was my old one. I wonder where it ended up. Hopefully someone is enjoying its new looks and appreciates it for what it is. 

Just before it was wrapped up and shipped off to its new owner.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 163 - Certina DS Podium Titanium Multifunction

I’m not going to torture you with this one. Honestly, what was going on here? Enough with the cheap Certina’s! But I bought it and now it has to be revealed. OK, it’s a superquartz and it’s made of titanium. So far so good. Good beater qualities. But don’t be mistaken, this is no Breitling Aerospace. I don’t know, it just gave of a crappy vibe. The bracelet rattled and the finish of the beat up titanium just looked terrible. Ugly hands as well. If you’re looking for a multifunction watch I’d pay up a little more and try to find a used Aerospace instead. Much cooler. I’ve tried Certina’s newer Multi-8 as well but they are just too big.

#163 - The Certina DS Podium Titanium Multifunction, ref. C193.7129.12.66.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.

No 158 - Certina DS Podium Titanium Chronograph

This is really not my kind of watch. Or at least it didn’t used to be. Found this one really cheap and just had to see what quality it represented. Titanium watches really doesn’t age well and neither had this one. But it was a totally fine quartz beater. Didn’t pay more than $100. Newer Certina’s is nothing that turns me on. They express nothing about its wearer. Still, the brand has got a lot of history and has a whole line of sought-after vintage dive watches. Even though Certina are mass-produced by the millions today they still uphold a high quality in their segment of watches. Hadn’t this one been made of titanium it’s most likely I wouldn’t have bothered giving it a try and even though titanium looks terrible it still is a cool material that suits a tool watch. 

#158 - The Certina DS Podium Titanium Chronograph. Not sure about the ref. but I think it's a C536.7129.12.66. Please let me know if this is wrong.

© All pictures by a Watch Flipper's Diary unless noted.