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The Swiss watchmaker, Certina, mostly took the leader’s position in mid-range sports watches because of its DS concept. It all started in the middle of the fifties, when a team, under the guidance of an engineer, Philipp Kurth, wanted to design as rugged wristwatch as possible. Through innumerable experiments, in 1959, they finally developed the construction principle of the DS concept, based on quality through engineering and technical designs. The new page in the brand’s history has begun.
That was achieved by a floated mounting of the entire movement with an elastic shock absorber ring in addition to the conventional shock absorber. Besides, there was an air gap, set between the dial and the case, which allows the movement to move in all directions. The first watches with the DS concept were made of sapphire glass with double thickness, a reinforced case, as well as with the system of collision protection mechanism, with special seals in the crown, the winding head and the case back. Those robust timepieces were water-resistant up to 200 meters (660 feet), and they were also resistant to strikes and falls from the height of up to 6 meters. The previous watches provided only 2.2 meters height falling guarantee. With these features, the new watch became the most appreciated by real sport enthusiasts and extreme sport followers.
The acronym DS stands for “Double Security” or “Double Safety”. It is a famous Certina’s system for the protection of the watch movement against all negative external influences, such as pressure, temperature, moisture, shock and dust.
All DS watches are characterized by strong technological advantages to insure flawless operation and precision. Their movements are protected by thick sapphire crystals, while their stems and crowns are equipped with O-ring seals that guarantee absolute water-resistance. Also, they all carry specially-reinforced cases and back structures.
1 Sapphire crystal (ultra resistant to scratches)
2 O-ring gasket on stem
3 Two o-ring gaskets in crown
4 Specific gasket on case back
5 Reinforced case back
Robustness proven on the Himalayas and in the Caribbean Sea
In 1960, Certina DS watches were taken to a mission up to the Himalayas. A Swiss team successfully reached the summit of the Dhaulagiri (8,222 m) and the watches withstood all changes in pressure and altitude. Ten years later, another expedition to Mount Everest was equipped with five DS-2 Chronolympic watches. They once again proved perfect resistance to all changes in temperature and recorded the key moments of the expedition.
The same year, the divers who took part in geological and biological experiments in the Caribbean Sea, were equipped with Certina DS Super ph 1000 meters timepieces, crafted especially for the deep diving. These masterpieces were again on the highest quality level, demonstrating the superb features and characteristics.
Today, the Swiss manufacturer went even further. In 2000, Certina developed the DS + Concept which offers much more protection, even under extremely demanding conditions, thanks to a screw-in crown and case back.
