Certina DS-2 Blue

About this model

Certina patented the Double Security case in 1958 and put it on sale in 1959. Instead of bolting the movement to the case, DS floats it: an elastic ring takes the shock from the sides and a pocket of air sits under the dial, so a knock travels around the mechanism rather than into it. The crystal is deliberately thick and the caseback reinforced. Certina sold the idea with a stunt, strapping watches to a 27 kg weight and dropping it six metres onto concrete, and the first DS went up Dhaulagiri with the Swiss team that made the first ascent in 1960. The DS-2 is the second generation of the same construction.

What you're looking at

A hand-wound DS-2, calibre 25-661, 17 jewels, and no Automatic on the dial. Genuine DS case with the turtle on the back, unpolished and still holding its shape.

What I know is wrong with it

It runs, though it has not been on a timegrapher yet. Light marks and scratches on the case from wear. A few small spots on the dial that I would leave as they are. The acrylic crystal is scratched but not cracked and should polish out.

No watch here has been pressure-tested. A period WATERPROOF or WATER RESISTANT stamp says nothing about the seals today, so treat every watch on this site as not water resistant.