While I was browsing the Certina website, I came across the Certina DS Chronograph Automatic 1968 watch collection. There are currently only two models of this watch, which is a modern recreation of a Certina sports chronograph from the late 1960s. In short, these are classic style sports watches, rich in character, which combine functionality, style and value for money in a remarkable way.
The 1970s sports chronograph reinvented
When watch collectors think of sporty, large, colorful, and sturdy mechanical chronographs, they tend to think of the 1970s. Clearly, this design trend started a little earlier, with watchmakers designing these visual concepts as early as the late 1970s. 1960. The renaissance of the sports chronograph was marked by the introduction in 1969 of the automatic chronograph movement mechanism, introduced almost simultaneously by a few brands, including (famously) Seiko, TAG Heuer and Zenith.
The combination of bold designs, the availability of new movements, and the coming emergence of quartz chronographs made the late 1960s and 1970s a fascinating era for sports chronographs. Remember that although quartz movement technology arrived in the late 1960s, they were very expensive at first, and quartz chronograph movements didn't really appear until the late 1970s and early 1980s Thus, the 1970s were the last true triumph of the mechanical chronograph, and their influence on design continues today.
Robust housing and modern features
The Certina DS Chronograph Automatic 1968 watch has a large cushion-style steel case measuring 43.5mm wide, approximately 15mm thick and with a modern lug distance of 43.5mm. The case doesn't wear as thick as it looks, but that also depends on the strap. Certina designed the case with a rounded caseback and a box-style sapphire crystal. These two design elements help to reduce visual mass.
Certina offers reassuring durability in exchange for a larger body. The DS Chronograph Automatic 1968 is water resistant to 200 meters with a screw-down crown. It also has a transparent caseback to highlight the movement, which you won't find in any watch outside of those produced by the Swiss Swatch Group. This movement is the automatic ETA A05.H31 caliber. This robust movement operates at 4 Hz with 60 hours of power reserve. In this configuration, the movement only shows the time with a 30-minute chronograph.
A sporty and readable dial
One of the best features of the ETA A05.H31 automatic movement is that the regulation system is equipped with a silicon hairspring. This increases the performance and environmental resistance of the movement, and places it in a higher competitive category. As I said, Certina and similar Swatch Group brands today are very adept at offering a great feature set for the price.
Looking at the dials we see a real emulation of the style of 1970s sports watches, but not in an overly heavy-handed way. This includes applied rectangular hour markers (with a strip of lume running through them), as well as white, square-shaped, high-contrast hands. Readability on both dials is excellent, both for reading the time and for the chronograph subdials.
Bracelets to improve
Despite the size and weight of the steel case, I really like almost every aspect of what Certina has done with the DS Chronograph Automatic 1968 watch heads (cases without the bracelet). If you love these watches as much as I do, it might be a good idea to upgrade to a third-party strap.
The DS Chronograph Automatic 1968 reference C040.462.36.041.00 uses a black leather strap which is quite nice, but the deployment clasp is a little too sharp and didn't prove very comfortable. Such a bracelet is an ideal way to wear the watch, but the deployment clasp is simply not necessary, and I would choose a bracelet with a more traditional pin buckle.
Reference C040.462.18.051.00, on the other hand, uses a beautiful black and gray nylon NATO strap (โ007โ style) with a more traditional buckle. This is by far the more comfortable of the two straps, but it also presents its own problem. Watches on NATO straps are worn a little higher on the wrist since the strap material adds size under the case. This becomes a problem for heavy watches, which create a heavy feeling on the wrist when worn too loosely.
Excellent value for money
Specific in application, but fun and easy to enjoy in general, the Certina DS Chronograph Automatic 1968 watch collection is a compelling product in the watch market and even within the Certina brand. It blends competent looks and original style, providing a versatile sports watch experience for watch enthusiasts who love distinct and expressive products on their wrist.
Again, for the price, Certina offers a lot of watch, including welcome extras in sapphire crystal and a silicon hairspring in the movement. The prices of the Certina DS Chronograph Automatic 1968 references C040.462.18.051.00 and C040.462.36.041.00 are CHF 1,995 and CHF 2,060 respectively.
In summary :
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