Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Certina Updates its DS Action Diver 43mm Powermatic 80 and it’s Packed with Features (Live Pics & Price)
An update to the brand’s very capable, well-priced 300m diver with multiple colour and material options.
Certina has a well-earned reputation for high-quality sports watches that won’t break the bank. With more than 130 years of history under its belt, the brand knows a thing or two about robust dive watches. It introduced the DS (double security) concept in 1959 with a watch that was both shock-resistant and water-resistant to 200 metres. The latest DS Action Diver 43mm brings some of the best modern features to a classic, no-nonsense design that professional divers or weekend warriors can enjoy. And even with a long list of highly attractive features, it is still reasonably accessible.
Certina offers the model in two sizes with the DS Action Diver 38mm and 43mm (with special editions like the DS Action Diver Powermatic 80 ‘Sea Turtle Conservancy’ Special Edition). The latest diver is 43mm in diameter and 13.1mm in height, which is nigh identical to prior models. It’s brushed with a polished back, which has the embossed turtle logo over a matte background. A more durable ceramic insert replaces aluminium for the unidirectional rotating bezel and has the same 60-minute set-up with a detailed 15-minute scale. A pearl with Super-LumiNova sits within the triangular marker.
The screw-down crown (with partial guard) and a solid screw-down caseback contribute to a water-resistance rating of 300 metres, and the case meets the ISO 6425 standard for dive watches. A sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating protects the dial. The 21mm three-link bracelet comes with a folding buckle and convenient integrated diver’s extension. A second set of pushers will quickly extend the bracelet (without tools) for wearing over a wetsuit. In short, the DS Action Diver 43mm Powermatic 80 is everything you’d expect from a professional, fully equipped dive watch.
The dial has very legible applied indices filled with Super-LumiNova. Large, triangular ones mark 12, 3, 6, and 9 o’clock, with circular counterparts marking the rest. A date window sits at 3 o’clock. The hour and minute hands and the lollipop seconds hand also have Super-LumiNova inserts. There are six colour options for the updated DS Action Diver 43mm Powermatic 80, including a black dial/bezel, dark blue dial/bezel and dark green dial/bezel; the first two have an option for yellow gold PVD on parts of the case and bracelet. There’s also a black dial/bezel with beige accents using a titanium case and bracelet (with a NATO strap option).
Powering the DS Action Diver 43mm update 2022 is the ETA Powermatic 80.611 with an anti-magnetic Nivachron balance spring. It has 23 jewels, beats at 21,600vph (3Hz) and delivers an 80-hour power reserve. Functions include central hours, minutes, hacking seconds, and date. The Powermatic 80 (based on the ETA 2824-2) is a popular, accessibly priced modern calibre used by many Swatch Group brands (including Certina).
The new 2022 Certina DS Action Diver 43mm Powermatic 80 is a competent dive watch with a no-nonsense attitude. The standard black and silver model is the most classic, but the variety of dial and bezel colours, along with yellow gold PVD and titanium options, offer a nice variety. Prices are accessible for what you’re getting, starting at CHF 880 for the all-stainless steel models with black, dark blue, or dark green dial/bezel, CHF 945 for models with yellow gold PVD on the case and bracelet, CHF 970 for the titanium case with NATO strap and CHF 1,055 for the titanium case and bracelet. All models will be available in February 2022.
For more information, please visit Certina’s website.
10 responses
bezel is off center looks crappy not the niveau of monochrome we are used to
I quite like the titanium version! Always buy the bracelet version if available. Buying the bracelet after the fact is usually not cost effective. Even if you don’t plan on wearing it that often, it is money well spent.
@James – The bezel is a rotating bezel… 🙂 so yes, it’s not centred.
@James As Brice said, the bezel is simply rotated a click in the pictures
Pretty impressive for the price.
I know that this is a rotating bezel I have some on my watches as well. But when wearing divers in more formal environments I would get nuts when the lume tip was not exactly on the 12. Did you ever see a Rolex sales brochure with the Submariner bezel being off center? If somebody was wearing the Certina for a dive and you took the picture of the watch on his/her wrist with the lume tip on the minute hand wherever that might be it would look like this person is about to enter the water. But this minimal off center position on a professionally taken picture disturbs me, sorry.
Nothing on Certina’s web site about these models
I’m curious if this 23 jewel Powermatic 80.611 movement is using a plastic escapement, just as the 23 jewel Powermatic in the Tissot watches. My guess is yes since Certina is operated by the Swatch company just as Tissot is.
Only the Powermatic 80.111 has a plastic escapement and 23 jewels, the Powermatic 80.611 never has a plastic escapement, it has 25 jewels (NOT 23) and a Nivachron balance spring.
I own a DS Action Diver 38mm with the same Powermatic 80.611 as this Certina.
What’s the lug to lug on this 43mm Certina?