Mens, DS ACTION Day-Date, Stainless Steel, Swiss Automatic Watch, C0324301604100

Certina is a watch brand with a long history, tradition and heritage, that has been around since the 19th century (1888 to be exact) and are very well known in Europe and Asia, particularly for their awesome diving watches. They were one of the first brands that pushed the industry forward through innovation, and came up with their DS or “double security” concept to make waterproof watchcases. As part of the swatch group (which owns Omega, Longines, Breguet, Tissot, Blancpain as well as ETA, the renowned movement manufacturer) it has access to the group’s advancements in movement and material technologies. Along with Mido, Tissot and Hamilton (other Swatch group companies), it is focused on the entry to mid level watch market, and their tool watches are well known for being resilient and dependable. So, all this to say this watch has a lot of heritage and a reputable watch making brand known for great quality behind them. The watch is good looking (it looks larger than it is in my 7” circumference, 2 3/8” width wrist), however keep in kind that watches look larger in close-up pictures than in real life (try it yourself if you don’t believe me). The picture with the bad resolution was taken from a distance and zoomed in, so it shows the size closer to how actually looks in real life. The blue dial is gorgeous and the sunburst effect looks amazing in the sun light. The watch doesn’t feel heavy, and is comfortable on the wrist, it sits low enough that it could be tucked under a not so tight shirt sleeve. Anyway, at 41mm it’s not a large case, but it’s not small either. Keep in mind that the thin bezel does make it look larger than a similarly sized diver, or a watch with a ticker bezel. It should work reasonably well for wrists 6 1/2 inches as long as it’s a flat wrist, for wrists 7” in circumference and larger. Although the watch is sporty, and clearly designed as a tool watch, it can be dressed up enough to be “business casual” as the watch has polished chamfers on the upper edge of the case sides (which are brushed) and a bezel brushed on top and polished on the sides. The applied hour indices are polished and look great in any light, and contrast beautifully with the radial sunburst deep blue dial. The hands are good looking, and the second hand gives the watch a splash of orange that contrasts beautifully against the deep blue of the dial and that puts this watch clearly in the “sporty watch” category. It has great legibility in both day and night conditions. The watch has a screw down crown, is waterproof to 200m, a sapphire flat glass on top and abundant super-luminova on the indices and the hands, you won’t have problems telling the hour in the dark. The movement is a Powermatic C07.611 based on ETA 2824, beating at 3Hz, with an 80 hour reserve and an anti-magnetic Nivachron escapement and Incabloc shock resistant technology, making it resilient to magnetic fields and impacts. The leather strap is the only weak aspect of this watch, I didn’t like how it looked and the clasp was uncomfortable and has sharp edges. I changed it to a different strap which I also bought from Amazon, and it’s the only reason why I didn’t give this watch 5 stars. I like the watch a lot, and it fits me great, but I think it’d be more widely loved (and commercially successful) in 38 or 39mm and with a decent strap. Some reviews mention the orange spear-shaped seconds hand as a divisive issue with this watch, but I like it, it’s a sporty watch and it goes well with it. All things considered, this watch is a great TADA watch (take anywhere, do anything), resilient, dependable, and good looking.