Certina DS Super PH2000M: An Extreme 2,000-Meter Dive Watch Under $1,500

Since the 1960s, the historic Swiss watchmaker Certina has been a pioneer in making watches that can withstand underwater pressure, having developed its signature innovation, the “DS” or Double Security system, in 1959, and incorporating it into one of the first 200-meter water-resistant diver’s watches, the DS PH200M, a few years later; the “PH” initials refer to “hydrostatic pressure,” the physical law that determines waterproofness. Since then, Certina has continued to make the DS system a central element of its timepieces and has reached for even greater robustness in its PH dive-watch series. The most recent of these, unveiled today, is the brand’s most extreme underwater timepiece yet — the DS Super PH2000M, which is rated to a crushing 2,000 meters of depth resistance. 

With a case made from Grade 2 titanium, and an array of four colorways to choose from in the collection (plus one extra-special limited edition), the Certina DS Super PH2000M follows up previous “ultra divers” like the DS Super PH500M (500 meters of water resistance) and the DS-2 Super PH1000M (you guessed it, 1,000 meters), and brings the watch to its highest level of performance. The tonneau-shaped case measures 43mm in diameter and 16mm thick, with a screwed crown and caseback, and a helium-escape valve at 9 o’clock. The unidirectional rotating bezel features a dive-scale insert made of ceramic, color-matched to the dial, with a luminous triangle at 12 o’clock. 

Under a domed sapphire crystal, the dial has the wide sword-and-arrow handset characteristic of the PH series, with a date window at 3 o’clock, and Super-LumiNova coating on the hands, hour indexes, and the previously noted orientation triangle on the bezel. The four dial-color options in the regular lineup are gradient blue, black with beige details, white with blue details, and yellow with black details. Orange is used as an accent color for the minute hand, the most crucial hand for a diver to recognize underwater. The STC Limited Edition, which is a product of Certina’s collaboration with the Sea Turtle Conservancy, has a gradient turquoise dial (shifting to black on its outer periphery) and a black ceramic bezel. The limited edition number of 1,959 pieces is a dual tribute, both to the STC’s founding year and to the launch year of the DS concept. 

As with many of its contemporary watches, Certina has equipped the PH2000M models with the Powermatic 80.611 movement, an automatic caliber with an 80-hour power reserve that it shares with several other value-oriented brands within the Swatch Group. Beating behind a solid caseback engraved with Certina’s hallmark sea-turtle motif, the movement is equipped with a Nivachron balance spring that ensures it also achieves long-term precision and resistance to magnetic fields. In keeping with the brand’s “DS” architecture, the movement is suspended inside a shock-absorbing rubber ring within the main case, essentially floating behind the dial within a cushion of air that absorbs the kinetic energy of shocks and impacts. 

Each of the Certina DS Super PH2000M models is delivered on a titanium link bracelet, with an additional color-coordinated strap in silicone, rubber, or fabric, depending on the model. Certina also maintains its well-earned reputation for value in the area of dependable, automatic Swiss-made dive watches with these new editions: the MSRP in the United States is $1,440, well under what most would expect for a dive watch at this level of technical and aesthetic mastery.

Visit Certina's website for more details.