Certina is one of those brands I don’t believe gets enough attention. The Swatch owned company, although not mentioned much, is home to an impressive selection of robust and reasonably priced Swiss made tool watches. Their DS Super PH1000M will forever be one of my most highly recommended diver’s watches for serious underwater explorers. It’s a sub £1,000 watch with a 1,000 metre water resistance – that’s not a common sight in today’s world…
Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 - Credit WatchGecko
Although arguably best known for their diving instruments, Certina does also boast a fantastic line-up of everyday sports watches, and just recently, they entered into the realm of automatic GMT sports watches with the launch of the Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80. This is a category of watch that is certainly not lacking in the industry right now. You have affordable brands like Seiko with their 5 Sports range, popular models like the Tudor Black Bay GMT and the more expensive, and hard-to-obtain Rolex GMT-Master. It’s a competitive space, but with its Swiss manufacture, fair price point and rare flyer GMT complication, the Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 is a strong entry.
Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 - Credit WatchGecko
The new Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 collection comprises of three new references. The first is a blue-dialled and blue and red-bezelled model with a stainless steel bracelet (ref. C032.929.11.051.00). The second opts for a black and brown colourway with dressy gold accents on the bezel and crown (ref. C032.929.26.051.00). This model also swaps out the bracelet for a dark brown leather strap. Finally, my favourite reference, and the model we’re reviewing in detail today, boasts a black and green bezel and a stainless steel bracelet (ref. C032.929.11.051.00).
The Case
Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 - Credit WatchGecko
The dimensions of the new Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 are as expected for a watch of this genre, sitting at 41mm wide and 14mm thick with an overall lug-to-lug width of 49.5mm. The housing is engineered from 316L stainless steel and offers fairly basic finishing including brushed case sides and lugs and brightly polished elements on the crown and bezel rim. On the wrist, the watch feels solid and robust and that’s cemented further by its 200 metre water resistance ensured by the signed, screw down crown at 3 o’clock placed between two crown guards and screw down display case back.
Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 - Credit WatchGecko
The top of the watch showcases flat sapphire crystal glass with anti-reflective treatment and a bi-directional rotating bezel. Rolex fans will have no doubt spotted the similarities between this Certina reference C032.929.11.051.00 and the Rolex “Sprite” which also has a two-toned 24-hour bezel in black and green. In this instance, the sapphire insert utilises black for the night time hours and green for the day time hours with the numerals and inverted triangle marker printed in white.
The Dial
Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 - Credit WatchGecko
For the dial of the Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 watch, very little has changed compared to other dive models in the Swiss watchmaker’s portfolio. It’s a legible black display with contrasting white markings for the applied hour markers, angled minute track and date window at 3 o’clock. The four central hands include a large arrow-shaped hour hand, a sharp needle-like minutes hand, a lollipop-tipped seconds and a bright green GMT. The green colouring of the GMT cleverly matches with the small inclusion of green added to the GMT lettering at 6 o’clock. All of the hardware is adorned with blue-emission Super-LumiNova to match the inverted triangle on the bezel.
Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 - Credit WatchGecko
The Movement
For me, the most impressive part of the Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 watch is the movement. Most affordable GMT watches you’ll find are “Office GMTs”, watches with GMT complication that have an independent 24-hour hand. Something you don’t see very often however is a “True GMT” or “Travellers GMT” at this price point. This version of a GMT watch still displays multiple time zones but allows you to adjust the local time hand in one-hour increments. Those that time zone hop frequently will find this incredibly useful.
Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 - Credit WatchGecko
For the DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 watch, Certina have delivered exactly that: a True GMT movement based on their Powermatic 80 calibre. The exact movement in question is the Powermatic 80.661 and like usual, it delivers a healthy 80-hour power reserve and a frequency of 21,600vph. It also has its anti-magnetic Nivachron balance spring for enhanced accuracy. I have to applaud Certina here for incorporating a true GMT complication into this novelty. It’s exactly what’s going to help this collection stand out from the many other accessible GMT sports watches out there.
Price & Availability
The entire Certina DS Action GMT Powermatic 80 collection is a permanent addition and is available to order now directly from Certina and authorised retailers. Reference C032.929.11.051.00, and its red-and-blue counterpart, retail for £1,040 while the two-toned gold model is a little cheaper thanks to the leather strap priced at £995.
Technical Specifications:
- Brand: Certina
- Model: DS Action GMT Powermatic 80
- Price: £1,040
- Material: Stainless steel
- Movement: Powermatic 80.661 automatic winding
- Power Reserve: 80 hours
- Complications: Hours, minutes, seconds, date, true GMT
- Dial: Black with Super-LumiNova hands and markers
- Size: 41mm
- Water Resistance: 200 metres
- Strap: Stainless steel bracelet
