1970s Rare Certina Rado DiaMaster Day/Date Gold-Plated
Ref: 625.1213.32
Specification
Lugs : 18mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Tungsten Carbide Gold Plated
Warranty : 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty
Points of Mention
This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and therefore comes with no original Certina box or Certina papers. The watch comes paired with its full-size 18mm gold plated bracelet secured by a folding spring adjusted signed clasp plus an 18mm leather strap with a Certina buckle. The watch is from Circa. 1970s and is sold in fantastic condition and appears to have been worn very lightly and comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10KcWlv8fUwnbQJysQkhpz_Oi0DqhJ4y4?usp=drive_link
4K YouTube video, skip to 20:42 - https://youtu.be/PrW6AGaFoX0
The Watch
Here we have a 1970s Rare Certina x Rado DiaMaster Day/Date, launched in 1977, the distinctive 35mm Gold plated Tungsten Carbide tonneau-shaped case is made by RADO and was first used on their Diastar watches. The case goes through a process of pressing Tungsten and Cobalt powder under high temperatures up to 1000 degrees C and moulding the blanks into the case shape, then finally heating to 1400 Degrees C to create this incredibly hard scratch-resistant surface and then gold plated. In 1976 Muhammad Ali, the World Heavyweight Champion was picked to be Certina product Ambassador and given a DiaMaster. A lug-to-lug length of 42.5mm and a case thickness of 12.5mm give the watch an impressive wrist presence. On the right is a signed crown, the faceted crystal sits recessed above a vertically brushed grey dial. An outer minute track is precisely executed with applied gold-plated stepped chamfer-edged indexes and Tritium pips marking the hours, at 3 o’clock a day/date framed window, thick gold-plated baton hands filled with Tritium are complemented by a tapered sweeping second hand, at 12 o’clock we have the applied Certina motif and at 6 o’clock “DiaMaster RADO” complete this dynamic dual branded timepiece. Inside an automatic Certina Cal. 25-032, 25 jewels, beating at 28,800 beats per hour, based on the ETA 2789. The watch comes paired with its full-size 18mm gold plated bracelet secured by a folding spring adjusted signed clasp plus an 18mm leather strap with a Certina buckle.
Personal Note
This is without question one of the most intriguing designs I have had in a while and features both Certina & Rado proudly on the dial, a collaboration between the two at a time when the quartz crisis was rampaging through Switzerland, leaving brands like these little choices but to work together to survive! This DiaMaster features a bold gold-plated Tungsten Carbide case, faceted crystal, a Certina signed NSA stretch clasp bracelet and a gold-plated Certina buckle for good measure. I would not hesitate to add this rare gem to your collection.
The Brand
Certina was founded in 1888 by Adolf and Alfred Kurth in Grenchen Switzerland. Where they made movements and supplies for the watch industry, shortly afterwards they started making their own watches and grew their workforce from 3 to 250 in 1938 when they celebrated their 50th Anniversary. By 1955 they had 500 employees and were producing 1000 watches a day. This expansion continued in 1971 when they were producing 600,000 watches every year with a workforce of 900. In 1983 Certina became a member of the Swatch group which continues to this day.