Great looking divers - why these are 'under the radar' (or rather sonar) is strange. I'd have mine over a Sub any day.

 

Back from service!

 

A little more on this excellent but currently undervalued brand:

The brothers Adolf and Alfred Kurth had their full attention on pocket, fob and belt watches when they established Kurth Freres S.A. in 1888. Wristwatches meant as little to them as a special name for their horological products. However, the latter appeared first as "Grana" - five letters that paid tribute to their town of origin (Grenchen) known in French as “Granges”, and the 20th century brought a review of the product range.
As early as 1906, the company advertised its first wristwatches, delicate models for women, because most men disdained to wear timepieces on their wrist. However men's wristwatches joined the collection in the following years. The Kurths had correctly assumed that robust, sturdy sports watches in particular would be most acceptable to men. This idea resulted in a patented timepiece with a tiny compass incorporated in its bracelet.

The 50th jubilee celebrations in 1938 must have triggered the search for a new brand name, for in 1938, the family firm announced Certina, a neologism that could be pronounced in all languages and was derived from "certus" which means "sure" in Latin. The Certina brand has been protected by copyright since then, a well respected name widely popular in the European markets.

 

I am extremely happy with my first Certina, looking for more

 

First Certina, first time on the wrist. Love at first sight I don't normally like angular cases, but something about the proportions of this one, along with the square lumes and rectangular batons, just works. The bakelite bezel rocks, and that 25-651 movement keeps amazing time. Hasn't lost a beat over nearly four days of continuous running.

Oh Certina, where have you been all my life?!

 

I love vintage Certinas and have owned many. Here's one I miss from the past.

 

Super cool with the military hours. Love it!

 

You can still get these, if you're lucky, for relatively reasonable prices, but they're rising fast. Give it a year and they'll be up over $2000 like the other bezelled Certina divers from the 1960s. The GMT bezelled argonauts are already well north of that!

 

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Nice first-series Val 23 chrono, at a fair price as well.

 

I had a funny conversation about watches with my +70yo father. I showed him my Certina and was like “pretty nice, huh?” He was not impressed: “Why do you keep buying old Certinas? Do you know that back in the day Certina was considered a low-quality brand?” I guess Certina’s branding efforts did not reach him during the ‘60s and ‘70s He doesn’t know anything about watches, he’s just a geezer who bought a couple nice watches when he was younger. Then I showed him my run-of-the-mill Omega Genève. He smiled and said: “Now that’s a watch!”

First of all, I know I am preaching to the choir but hey-ho. What I really like about Certina is the uncollectible nature of most models. Maybe I am too poor and stupid, but purchasing expensive, collectible pieces usually gives me too much anxiety. Thus, I gravitate towards cheap but solid brands. Recently I bought a 1964 DS for 150€. A lovely, very usable watch. Now I am waiting for a Blue Ribbon that I got for 60€. Purchasing a vintage Certina is such a relaxing affair as prices are low and most examples seem to be in honest condition. You don’t have to get a PhD in Double Security Studies and sell a kidney to get a nice watch. Try buying a black dial Constellation with limited knowledge – you’ll get fucked up, son. My first vintage beauty was a Bristol 190 and my love affair with the brand shows no signs of leveling off

 

Is it just me or does the case look a little bit soft, especially around top and bottom?

 

Post a pic of the Blue Ribbon when you get it! I am waiting for a serviced DS with a final cost of 150 euro plus shipping, hopefully I will have it next week!

 

I will Seller's pics suggest it could be a real looker. Not a lot info available about Blue Ribbon as a model series. My understanding is that originally it was priced above Waterking/Bristol and design emphasis was put on thinness and elegance. Great name for a model, that's for sure. You got an excellent deal on that DS That's going to be hard to beat but I will keep on trying

 

Funny the contrast between that and watchmakers, who consistently praise the build quality and movement in Certinas. As for their collectability, that's changing quite fast. Prices are going up rapidly, pulled along by the interest in the vintage divers (bezelled DS, DS-1, DS-2, DS-3, and Argonaut) and DS series.

It's also important to recognize that lots of mid-range makers considered collectible now were practically unknown just a few years ago and could very much be picked up cheap back then. Hamilton, Wakmann, Yema, Zodiac, and Glycine all come to mind, to name but a few.

I'm preparing a more thorough write-up about Certinas, but suffice to say, these are well undervalued right now, but unlikely to stay so for long!

 

Sssshhhh!

 

New Blue Ribbon circa 1968 Ref 5801 174, caliber 25-651. In ok condition overall. Really nice design with a lot of details. Hirsch Liberty strap pairs well and wide lugs give the watch good presence. Amazing value, I think.

 

Lovely

 

Very, very nice. Those Blue Ribbons often operate in the shadow of the DS series, but there's really a lot to like about them--they're well-made and quite elegant IMHO.