1966 Certina DS PH200M 5801 117 Bakelite & Tritium
Ref: 5801 117
Specification
Lugs : 19mm
Condition : Pre-Owned
Box & Papers : None
Case Material : Stainless Steel
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 paperwork. The watch comes paired on a period correct 19mm Tropic rubber strap with its original Certina buckle. The watch is from Circa. 1966 and is sold in worn vintage condition, but the overall very fair condition with its fantastic all-original crisp dial and Bakelite insert as you can see from the photographs. The watch comes with our 12-Months NON-Waterproof Warranty.
For more photos see here - https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1G882PXzqHSQm1pLtp8vMJw0639BGdBgb?usp=share_link
4K YouTube Video, skip to 11:39 - https://youtu.be/PSYNUupBTnQ
The Watch
Here we have a 1966 Certina DS PH200M 5801 117 Bakelite & Tritium with a 40mm stainless steel case that curves over your wrist with finely tapered drilled lugs. The case was made by the Huguenin brothers in Le Locle, Switzerland, as per the stamp on the inside of the case back, the Huguenin Freres company ran from 1868 until 1999 and also made cases for Universal Geneve, Omega and Zenith. A lug-to-lug length of 47.5mm and a case thickness of 13.5mm ensures a comfortable fit on your wrist. On the right side is a signed crown, and the rotating stainless steel bezel has its fantastic original Bakelite 60-minute scale insert with white numerals and an inverted Tritium-coated triangle at 12 o’clock. The domed crystal sits above a black dial with a red crosshair, an outer minute track has baton indexes coated in Tritium marking the hours, and at 3 o’clock a framed date window perfectly balances this striking dial. Large sword hands infilled with Tritium are complemented by an arrow pointed sweeping second hand. At 12 o’clock we have the Certina motif with “Certina Automatic” printed underneath and at 6 o’clock “DS PH200M” completes this stunning vintage dive tool watch. The DS stands for “Double Security” with reference to the innovative floating movement design and the robust nature of the watch, and the PH stands for “Pression Hydrostatique 200m”. On the reverse, a screw-down case back with a wave pattern and the Certina DS Turtle embossed in the centre, inside an automatic Certina Cal. 25-651, beating at 19,800 beats per hour. The watch comes paired on a period correct 19mm Tropic rubber strap with its original Certina buckle.
Personal Note
I would argue that this is the best example of this model to come to market in a long time and likely ever will again, unless a "New Old Stock" example comes up, which I highly doubt. It is examples like this that we refer to as "Collectors Pieces", this is for the collector looking for the best of the best of certain watches, especially originality, which this has! If you are unsure, book an appointment and come loupe this gem for yourself.
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.