Certina Vintage Watches in Great Shape

Certina diving watches from the 1960s, the decade after the brand with roots going back to 1888 introduced the Double Security System, has a well-known appeal among collectors. They are also the most expensive Certinas on the vintage market, normally fetching around 2’000 to 4’000 CHF from vintage dealers like Joel Laplace with the insta handle @jojolamontre. Mr. Laplace however also has a soft spot for Certina’s three-hand models with evocative model names like New Art, Argonaut and Waterking.

“The 1960s and 1970s is definitely the best period in design. A lot of 3-hands, gold-plated or steel with great shapes, he said, pointing to a plateau carrying a seven round, oval, square, and cushion-shaped pieces from the 1970s."

All ranging between 390 and 500 CHF, a mix of quartz and hand-wound, these New Old Stock pieces will soon have new homes. “Some sell in five minutes, some in five weeks, some in five months,” Mr. Laplace said of the fickle art of selling vintage watches via Instagram. 

The 1960s and the 1970s were huge for Certina. The aforementioned DS system was introduced in 1959, and this quality seal with a turtle engraved on the casebacks made Certina hugely popular for serious underwater exploration. For instance, Certina DS watches were chosen by the US Navy and NASA when working on several research projects. The DS PH200M (reference 5801 117) from 1967 is one of the famous models that was also an inspiration when such watches were reintroduced in 2018.

Interestingly the opposite of diving also proved the reliability of the Certina timepieces made in Grenchen: In 1960 Certina watches were worn above 8’000 meters on a Swiss Himalaya expedition. Such scientific and adventurous undertakings were instrumental in growing the market of normal watch customers. This could be seen in the volumes reaching 500’000 watches in the mid 1960s. 
In the early 1970s the production grew to 600’000 per year, no doubt positively influenced by pioneering collaborations with sports ambassadors including Belgian motocross world champion Roger de Coster and boxing legend Cassius Clay, more known as Muhammad Ali. In 1976 Muhammad Ali sported an “unscratchable” DS Diamaster with a case made of tungsten carbide. Three years later, Certina crossed the magical threshold of 1 million watches per year.

According to Mr. Laplace, Certina’s simple three-hand designs from the 1970s are underrated. “They have fantastic designs and strong movements, both manual and quartz. You have fumé dials, steel cases, gold plated, a lot of variation in shapes both for men and women. And you can simply feel the quality – it is industrial, but great! Certina watches from this era is great value for money,” he said of the segment where dealers, flea markets and websites offer a lot of choice between approximately 300 and 1’500 CHF. Besides his Instagram sales, Mr. Laplace also organizes a vintage watch event in tandem with the Salon du Design de Genève at the Pavillon Sicli in November. Here you will for sure find more affordable watches than on the coinciding auctions. And even though it has become a career, he cannot hide his true passion for vintage watches. “It is a never-ending hunt,” he said with a big smile.