Certina DS-1 Powermatic 80 Chronometer Watch Review 

I own this watch and I love it. I don't habe the Chronometer version but it runs with + 2 s/d which is in the COSC range. For the price still available right now it really is one of the best watches you can buy. I can't definitely see your negative points, but for me they are not that big of an issue. I can read the time fine and I think the crown has a very good size for me and the feeling is just amazing. And yes, the lug width restricts the bracelet selection, but I really like the original steel bracelet plus I own a leather bracelet in 22 mm which fits it as well with a little effort.

Agree with you on the legibility issue with the thin hands. This can be fixed by replacing them with thicker white lumed hands, for those who are into modding. Great presentation btw.

I love this watch so much, I bought two units of the chronometer version 😊

Certina are exceptional watches

Would love if Certina would make some of these in a 45-47mm L2L. Still a great looking watch though.

I have just ordered a DS-1 with an ETA 2824 movement. The Powermatic 80 is an excellent movement, but the beat rate is low. I much prefer a smoother sweep, as rarely is a long power reserve of any good

Enjoyed the review. Beautiful photography! I hadn’t noticed the dial/hand confusion until you mentioned it. Now I cannot see it! Lol Still a beautiful watch.👍

absolutely love my DS Podium. Perfect all arounder

Yay! Back with the old intro song! I was missing it. Good review, too.

I had the non chronometer version with a plain matt dial and just white minute markers that had great readability. Also the steel bracelet was very well made and comfortable. Certina offers very reliable, robust watches, beautifully made.I have and had several watches from them, one of my favorite brands. I regret selling this one!

I think these are The Best Looking watches - better than Tissot even- for the price they have- less than 500 Euros !

Great video! I have the same watch with a gold case, grey dial and brown leather strap. Love it! Beautiful watch!

Man..nice review..I have waited fot the negatives and you mentioned 3 so funny things (of course with respect to your opinion) that I really like it even more and seriously think about buyng one. Thanks.

Certina builds some really solid pieces for crackin prices. I mean it’s tough to find a watch of this quality for that kind of money. Definitely overlooked even with DS divers from 38-43mm, comfortable and well finished bracelets. Thanks the solid work Peter, always respect your takes along with the amazing shots.

I do like Certina but I haven’t looked at their range for a while. Thanks for showcasing this piece. Love designs that have symmetrical features - date at 6 always gets my interest. However I do agree the hands getting lost in the dial, and reflections on their shiny surface with such thin lume strip are a sticking point for me. Best, Dean.

I have this watch, it’s my week day watch. I rotate my omega’s, glycine’s, oris’s etc around it. there is something about it that is perfect, to the point that am looking for another one to have on leather.

G'day Pete! It's such a beautiful classic looking watch. I do like watches with a cross hair effect. I noticed that on a lot of Certina watches the design is all about symmetry. And I didn't know that they make Chronometer versions of this Powermatic 80 movement. One of my first thought was that the hands were a bit dainty though. If they were just a little wider with stark white lume filled middle sections would make this watch more legible. Cheers

wow that case is lovely.

My first thought was precisely the crosshair on that dial making it confusing to tell the time. Got a Certina C3 Sports chrono with legibility issues too. Something Certina should give more care to.

very valid point on the legibility. even watching your video, I had trouble sorting out what was what on the dial a couple of times.

I have this watch on the bracelet. Its really is a nice looking watch and the bracelet is great. Mine runs on the slower end of the COSC spec or about 3 seconds slow on average but on a really hot day it can run out of spec. I don't have any issues with legibility but I do wish it had a screw down crown. I had the crown pop out couple of times and the watch stopped. I think it got caught on some loose threads in my jacket. But I do love the way it wears and looks.

A lot of watches are doing 21mm wide lugs. My captain cook is 21mm. You can squeeze a 22mm leather into a 21mm , but it is annoying that a lot of higher end watches are doing this. I purchased a rado leather strap for mine and it cost £120 . But then it is nice to have a strap designed perfectly for the watch. Never had a certina, quite liked the diver from a couples of years ago, but didn't like the date placement at 5 o clock or whatever it was, just looked strange on the face. It was a shame because it was a great looking piece apart from that. That central line would bug me to death, so confusing, so it's a no on this one. I think they make good watches for the price point though. Great vid Peter as always, nice to see your still kicking about !!!

Oh goodness, I shouldnt have watched this video.... I have this the non-chronometer version of this watch and love it dearly, but it is off for service and watching this makes me miss it even more!

I'd like to see this watch in 38mm. Thumbs up for the review!

I just got the new ds diver 38mm and I love it. It’s perfect

As usual, a great review, and a nice watch!

Great review. Agree with the pros and cons. Just because of aesthetic reasons 20mm would fit much better. Looks like a affordable option for a Baume&Mercier.

Fantastic video!!! I just bought this watch based on your fantastic review.

I think it's a looker Peter. Maybe if the hour hand was a touch longer and the cross hairs shorter it would be perfect but yeah, definite legibility issues. If it's $1200 or $450 it's still a pain to read so....... Btw I think your mate made a decent choice with the strap. Cheers mate, nice one.

It is a dressy watch.. The reading of dial is absolute gorgeos. Screw down crown.. It is like mixing tomatoes with milk on this type of watch.. Its targeting specific categories of owner..

I have the roman numeral version. The bracelet is amazing and the overall case finishing is what opened me up to certina. I now own 3 lol

Got to agree on the legibility. I have a tag,black on black same problem. So no new purchase for me.🤺

Lovely watch. I think a good way that Certina could improve the legibility would be by giving a different finishing on each side of the hands just as Mido does with their Baroncelli Heritage. I got that one and the legibility ok those hands are amazing. One side is polished, the other side is sandblasted looking which provides a very easy read. The 21mm lug width is always a turnoff. I still don't know why watch companies keep insisting on putting this off lug widths. I'd sell better just in 20mm

Great review as usual. The movement on mine was rock solid as well. Good daily watch. The thing that bothered me the most was the color of the seconds hand. It’s basically white, and I just didn’t like it. Didn’t care for the cross hairs either. Still a solid watch.

Another engaging review and you make some good points. I have never really felt any affinity for the brand or any of its models. For me there isn’t any spark. Cheers.

Beautiful watch. I agree with others that the crosshairs are not my cup of tea. It seems there are other models that do away with the crosshairs, but not sure if the finishing on those are the same.

it is a damn shame. remove the dial lines, make hands the same way as you did with the seconds hand, make seconds hand light gray and we have a winner!

As usual, great reviews and stop on on the so-so points: - these hands are not that easy to identify, personally I would have seen a mix in some form of dauphine hands and these battons hands shape and most importantly 1 side of it brushed and the other polished, they would have been easier to see on top of that grey dial which is gorgeous. - the screw down crown. - this exhibition case back could be replaced by a simple ss one, this watch would even be slimmer. - 20mm lug width would have been easier /better for versatility.

Underrated watchmaker

Why would anyone want a screw down crown in a watch like this? It is an annoying feature that is unnecessary for 99.9% of the people. Agree about the legibility issues though.

Very difficult to read the time..... Excellent job 👏 on the review

Are 3Hz/6 ticks really called "low beat"? I'd still call that standard beat, especially considering that 5.5; 5 and 4 tick/sec watches are still a thing even though they are rare (4 ticks is more common with meca-quartz than with mechanicals at this point).

36mm for a dress watch would have been nice. Not a fan of exhibition case backs personally.

I have two dogs named Oris and Omega...they are my watch dogs😄

When I see the year 1888 , I think Jack the Ripper.

I have a Certina (DS podium, older model with the 4 Hz movement) and I think they don't get enough credit - they tend to offer better value than Hamilton, to compare them to their swatch group brethren. But why the 19mm lug width?

Hi Peter Thanks for the review of a really nice looking watch, I take your points on the negativities , and 21mm lugs why do they do that? personally I think it would look really good with a ruby red face ,but that's just me, thanks stay safe.

Looks like the Baume & Mercier Baumatic (Clifton) but at a better price 👌🏽

Would love this one if it were 2mm smaller in diameter and lug-to-lug. For your 7-inch wrist it seems to wear well, but for my 6.5 its near 50mm lug-to-lug wouldn't. This is a common problem for smaller-size folk like me, but hopefully we'll see the trend to smaller vintage-sized watches continue, especially amongst dressier pieces like this. What are your thoughts? Would you like it as much if it were a 38 with 47mm lug-to-lug?

I have a similar problem on a watch and have thought of changing out the hands for new ones.

Nice one Pete, I tried buying some 21mn straps recently and it's pain I know too well!

Thanks for the very objective review.

Thanks Peter 👍.

You're blaming the watch for not meeting YOUR liking, that's not a problem of the watch. That's a YOU problem.

So, you need 2/3 of the lenght of the video to praise all the positives to come to the conclusion, that the perfect symmetry and two further design features disqualify this Certina 😂 Go and get the DS-2 Powermatic. Date on 3 o clock, 20mm lug width, 200m water resistance with screw down crown ✌️

I agree cathedral or breguet hands would have worked better imo.

Maybe they should just do away with the cross hair on the dial to improve legibility ?

Wish I had got one at the Jomashop price.

I've considered this watch in the past a few times, but it's just too big. This should be, at best, 38mm. It's a dress watch, and it doesnt have to wear like a damn wall clock. Dress watches should be 36 to 38mm.

What a video presentation 👌👌👌

Go for a vintage DS instead for they are so much nicer.

Not fer nuthin, but you can buy a Certina DS-1 on Amazon for 300 bones American. I can't buy into the "normally $1200" line.

21mm straps are a no go. Very hard to find leather or steal. 19mm is ok. I can find plenty. Strapsco has a good selection of 19mm and when they run their frequent sales the prices are reasonable

would you choose this or Tissot Gentleman?

What could have been a 5 or 6 minute review was dragged out to 10 minutes by being reminded time and time again that it had a beautiful finish, great detail, great movement, great styling, great make etc. to the final crescendo, that the hands get lost from time to time in certain lighting conditions. I think because it is such a beautiful watch, you struggled for things to say once the 99% of positives had been pointed out. Not the best review execution, sorry to say unfortunately!

Quick disclaimer Peter, Cosc spec regulated but not cosc certified, with enough extreme parameters, the specs can fluctuate and the only way to rectify that would be to replace the hairspring assembly. That’s my only problem with any watch with powermatic 80 movement

My tissot powermatic 80 chronometer was running at 0.1 plus per day u til the balance staff fell out and stopped it.

Yeah Peter, I know exactly what you mean. Another issue that might be playing a factor is how much if any anti reflective coating there is. I have this problem with a beautiful Hamilton Spirit of Liberty watch. (see my Instagram acc. seanswatch). Both of these companies are part of the Swatch Group, I dont know if that could have anything to do with it.

Hi there Peter. I really like your taste when pairing different straps with watches. I have an old titanium omega seamaster chrono. What colour / style of strap would you suggest? A perlon strap maybe? Am open for suggestions... Thanks a lot for your tasty content! Cheers!

It's a beauty, but yes those lines in same colour??

hate that logo old wersion looked beter

Great review. Do you know the exact model of the one you have?

Well, to begin with not a Diver.. good. ... it is a dressing up watch, elegant, dark, detail to go with a light-colored long sleeve shirt outlining transitions. I think it is the watch to select for a special occasion; it is not the watch to wear on a daily basis, it does not need to be luminous in the dark, it is a decorative piece with also a vintage touch. The powermatic 80 (Tissot?) movement.. I dont see the need for that in a watch with the features describe before, it could perfectly be manual and it would serve the same purpose. The movement in place triggers the price up.. Why not to have a lower level one, making the watch more affordable? .. just an idea... Aesthetically speaking, I would go for one with a white dial with contracting hands, with a leather band to make it more catchy.. a conversation starter...

I don't see what the issue is? Nit-picking? Never heard of that problem. Maybe try glasses?

looks like Tissot Powermatic 80

I will tell you what the problem is. No timing bezel to time pizza and l didn't see Vostok anywhere on the dial.

Does it need daily winding? If yes, for how long at a time ?

Would be nice to inform us what the ref# is. As it stands it's nowhere near to be found on Certina's website. Is it discontinued? US model only?

There is no watch that is good enough for everyone

can you tell me please what strap is that? thanks!

Those odd numbers that high end companies uses is a pain,and now some Chinese budget friedly companies start to do the same ,now we have to buy even more straps lol.As for this style of watch i am completely out,cheers.

How’s the watch serving you these days?

21...

Shame the dial is graduated for a 4hz movement ........

06:27 that's the point..i think i heard too much babbling 😑

Tissot Visodate

damn dats noice.

First world problems.

Certina is one of those brands I just dont look at...