Eighty hours is the headline
By Dave Kowalski, Chicago ·
Swatch Group has been putting the Powermatic 80 into everything under a grand, and here it is in the Certina. 80 hours of reserve. Take it off Friday after work, pick it up Monday morning, still running. That's the single most useful spec on a mechanical watch for a guy like me who rotates.
The rest of it. 43 mm, 12.9 mm thick, 21 mm lugs, 300 m, sapphire, rotating bezel, steel bracelet. Real diver numbers. Certina's whole deal for decades has been "DS," Double Security, their shock-protection and case-sealing system, so toughness is kind of in the brand's blood.
Now the gripe. 21 mm lugs. WHY. Every strap maker on earth makes 20 and 22. 21 is a pain. And at 43 mm it's on the big side for a daily if your wrist is under 7 inches.
$895 to $995. The Tissot Seastar 1000 has the same movement, same depth, for less. The Certina is a touch more refined on the case and dial, in my opinion. Whether that's worth the extra hundred is between you and your wallet.