Certina DS-2 Chronograph Automatic 2023

Quick specs Certina DS-2 Chronograph Automatic 2023
Price: Steel: € 2.220 | CHF 1’980 | approx. $ 2,300 | £ 1,855 / PVD Gold: € 2.185| CHF 1’995 | approx. $ 2,300 | £ 1,885
Size: 43.3 x 38 mm
Reference: Steel: C024.462.18.041.00 / PVD Gold: C024.462.36.091.00

This is the Certina DS-2 Chronograph 2023, inspired by the vintage Certina DS-2 Chronolympic worn by Japanese Yuichiro Miura (October 12, 1932). He is an alpinist and skier, and in 1970 he skied from the Mount Everest, the highest mountain in the world. Well, not from the top, but still…

He went on an expedition where five Certina watches accompanied the Japanese adventure to the highest peak – and that moment is a nice story for a new watch model, right? Just like Omega had watches on the moon. But that’s another story. Miura skied down the mountain from 2,000 meters at speeds of 160 kilometers per hour, and it was all cinematized in the film “The Man Who Skied Down Everest”. He is in his 90s nowadays and a brand ambassador of Seiko. Also another story.

The Certina DS-2 Chronograph Automatic 2023 is powered by a solid ETA movement

The Certina DS-2 Chronograph Automatic 2023 model comes in two versions, both with a tonneau shaped case measuring 43.3 x 40.5 millimeters. One is executed in steel with a gold PVD coating and a green dial, the other one is plain steel with a blue dial. And that’s the model that comes close to the 1970 original, which was 43.5 x 38 millimeters (height x width). This one had a manual winding Certina 29-062 (which is a Valjoux 726) and was produced between 1968 and 1972. We are not sure if this reference 8501 503 was worn by Miura, by the way.

Inside the Certina DS-2 Chronograph Automatic 2023 is an ETA A05.231 automatic with a power reserve of 68 hours and silicon hairspring. It features hours, minutes, small seconds, date, and a chronograph with stop seconds, a 30-minute counter and tachometric scale functions. The price is reasonable, but if you want the 1970s model, you can still buy them for about 50% more than a new one.