There are immortal words that summarize my feelings about the Certina DS Super PH1000M STC: I like turtles. My next sentiment is that I refuse to call such a great watch by such a cumbersome name. Henceforth, at least for this review, this watch shall be known as the Super Turtle.
I’m a big fan of Certina. They have a cool history of making technically capable watches, particularly dive watches, for exploration and research. Vintage Certinas, a great resource for info about the brand and its historical references, has an approachable brand chronology worth checking out. Certinas have adorned the wrists of subaquatic researchers on SeaLab II and mountain climbers pushing over 8,000m, including Yuichiro Miura’s awesome ski descent of Mt. Everest. If it is an Earthly environment that presents challenges to human breathing, odds are a Certina has been put to use. There’s also a bit of mystique in modern times, as the brand has only recently returned to official US sales.
The Super Turtle is part of the brand’s DS lineup, which refers to their “double security” system that dates to the late 50’s. The DS system’s hallmarks – a shock-absorbing Incabloc movement housed in a shock-absorbing holder – are familiar today, but were cutting edge tech at the time. The particular DS model that serves as the reference point for the Super Turtle is the DS-2 Super PH1000M that was launched in 1974, and provided by Certina to one of the Tektite II missions. Safe to say Certina, and this model line, have strong deep water credibility.
Certina brought the lineup back in late 2023 with black and orange dial variants that harkened back to the original 1970’s models. This STC special edition was launched in mid-2024, in partnership with the Sea Turtle Conservancy, from which the “STC” suffix is derived. I do love the historial-leaning models, but this sea-green colorway adds a level of vibrant playfulness that evokes the panoply of colors in the undersea environment for which the watch was designed. The orange accents, consistent with the black-dial model, also play exceptionally well here, both aesthetically, and with regards to legibility.
Legibility is also aided by the dial’s relative simplicity. Applied, lumed hour markers with polished surrounds are coupled with orange plots on the dial to draw your eye, and the remaining minute positions are handled by fine, printed white hashes. I’m happy Certina kept the date wheel white, to better balance the hour markers, and maintain the design cues from the vintage reference models. The printed white box surrounding that aperture provides visual finishing to its cutout, but required the removal of the 14-, 15-, and 16-minute markers. That tradeoff is not a major functional impairment, as dive timing is handled by the elapsed-time scale on the bezel.
The combination of a necktie hour hand and obelisk minute hand will be familiar not only to vintage Certina fans but also those of CWC’s Royal Navy Diver and vintage Omega Seamasters, though Certina trades a block-tipped seconds hand for the arrow style used on the latter references. The painted finish of the hands is even and provides depth around the inset lume channels, ensuring the hands maintain vibrance in bright and low light conditions.
Oftentimes, modern re-issues of vintage references are reborn with bulkier dispositions than their predecessors. While the modern Super Turtle is only small by Invicta standards at 43.5mm wide and about 14mm thick, it still presents a more svelte figure than its source material, which measured around 18mm thick. Presumably, those Tektite II researchers didn’t need to fit the watch under the cuff of their subaquatic dress shirts. Modern construction techniques and gaskets can only do so much magic while maintaining 1000m of water resistance, and 14mm isn’t all that thick, given the Super Turtle’s descent capacity.
Despite the modern watch’s robust size, it feels smaller and lighter on the wrist than I anticipated it would, similar to another storied brand’s own Turtle. The top-down view presents a familiar H-shaped case, but one with a pleasing elongated curve along the sides of the case. The upper surface of the case is brushed, with a sharp transition to the polished vertical flanks of the midcase, which are then undercut by a polished bevel that transitions to the underside of the case. The thin, arcing band of those vertical surfaces and the undercut reduce the visual weight of the case, minimize the width of the watch that contacts the wrist, and add elegance to the Super Turtle’s profile.
One of those flanks carries a well-sized, slightly inset crown that bears Certina’s logo, while the other side has an embedded helium-release valve. No additional crown is needed, as the valve operates on its own, should you ever enter an environment that necessitates the function. Beneath the arcing bands of the midcase is a protruding caseback that clearly handles a lot of the structure needed for the Super Turtle’s depth rating. Certina did well to design the case so that the arcing profile lets the lug tips sit close to the lowest surface of the caseback, which allows the watch to wear well on pass-through straps.
The caseback of the STC is adorned with the Sea Turtle Conservancy’s logo, brightly polished and set against a matte-finished background. I do appreciate the three-dimensional turtle caseback emblem of the orange and black colorways, but such finishing likely would not be worth the cost for a limited edition. Nestled within the case and caseback is the Swatch Groups’ Powermatic 80 movement. Much has been written about this movement and the advancements that elevated the ETA 2824 platform to an 80-hour power reserve. In my experience with watches utilizing the Powermatic 80 – the STC included – it works exceptionally well. Handwinding is smooth, the date changes with a satisfyingly heavy click, and the power reserve will leave you happily surprised to find the watch running after days of not being worn. If only I operated with such efficacy.
Affixed to the top of the case is a 120-click rotating bezel that angles inward towards its peak, where it sits flush with a flat sapphire crystal. The bezel’s grip alternates polished and matte-finished surfaces, with the latter deeply inset to provide a good grip for spinning the elapsed-time scale. There’s a nice detailing of the polished elements, which have a distinct turn down to where the bezel approaches the case. The way in which the bezel rotates includes another of Certina’s security-focused functions, which requires the bezel to be pressed inward toward the case while it is being rotated. It might take a moment to get used to, but it works with ease once you get familiar with the action and helps mitigate unintentional rotation.
As is the case with all the modern Super Turtle models, the bezel insert on the STC is aluminum and provides welcome vintage vibes. The green portion of the insert is an eggshell finish that appears matte but still catches some light. The fully graduated elapsed-time scale is polished metal, which catches even more light and affords strong visibility when contrasted with the eggshell green surface. Maybe I’m getting old, but these days I much prefer aluminum inserts to their ceramic counterparts, as the metal provides for a subtle sheen, rather than a glossy shine.
The STC is sold with a multi-textured black rubber strap accented by contrasting orange stitching. It is of supreme quality and is very comfortable, but it in no way matches the colors of the STC edition. I wish Certina had taken their great use of color on the watch and translated some of it to the strap – a subdued orange would contrast nicely, while a light-emerald green would complement the color of the dial and bezel insert. Fortunately, the Super Turtle range has a 20mm lug width, enabling a wide range of aftermarket strap options. I fell in love with how the watch wears on a burnt-orange fabric single-pass, and it also looks excellent on medium-brown leather. Certina made a good choice by not pairing the Super Turtle range with a bracelet, as it would increase the cost and the heft of wearing the watch.
That such a capable and well-finished watch is available for less than the MSRP of several Seiko Prospex models and for less than half the cost of a Doxa Sub 300 illustrates the potential for Certina to succeed in the US market. The band has equivalent sporting credibility to Seiko and Doxa, and the Swatch Group’s technical capabilities measure favorably to that of Seiko. Much of that success will rely on factors beyond Certina’s watches, like their distribution model and marketing, but the quality of the product is readily evident in person. As for the STC, it is an example of how vintage references can be made fun through the use of color, which elevates the watch from its more sober roots. It is a refreshing integration of playful form and purposeful function.
