Service: Certina DS calibre 25-65

IMG_6044This watch has a special place in my collection. When I was 17 I bought this watch from an antics store and it is the first proper mechanical Swiss watch I owned. I wore this watch until it “suddenly” stopped 4years ago. I delivered it to a local watch store in Oslo just before setting off for the Danish school of Watchmaking, but he never got around to servicing it. I picked the watch up last time I was in Oslo and now it is time to get it running again.

IMG_6045One detail that attracted me to the watch was the impressive Turtle on the case back.IMG_6046Movement is in nice condition.IMG_6047The dial is in fairly good condition.IMG_6049The dial and hands removed.IMG_6050There is plenty of dirt in the movement so no wonder it suddenly stopped 😉IMG_6052I remove the auto-winder bridge.IMG_6053The movement is also missing a bridge screw.IMG_6057Here you can see the gear train layout.IMG_6058There is plenty of dirt in the barrel.IMG_6242The movement has been cleaned and I have just put the balance jewels back in place to see that the balance moves freely.IMG_6243I have a new mainspring.IMG_6244The movement is coming together nicely.IMG_6348The movements is back together and ticking.IMG_6357Not a bad result considering it was an non-running watch.IMG_6358I place the movement back in the case and it looking clean and nice.IMG_6359I have brushed of the dial and replaced the luminous compound and the result is great.IMG_6380It’s a sunny day as the watch comes back on my wrist after 4 years! It’s got some battle scars, but that it survived several decades followed by my teenage years and ticked to tell the tale well into my 20’s before taking a well earned break. I would say it might just be on of the toughest watches in the world!!!

12 thoughts on “Service: Certina DS calibre 25-65

  1. Hi, where can I found movement part numbers? I need one screw which holds movement in case (or in the ring with rubber seal) Thanks!
    Reagrds Pavel

  2. Nice to see watch running again. This has a bit of same style that Sea-Gull 816.351 hat I bought from You serviced about 3-4 Years ago. I like this kind of look a lot!

    And yes, the Sea-Gull is still running nicely, worn every single day 🙂

  3. The photo of the watch on Mitka’s wrist is a pretty accurate representation of the true colour of the dial.
    Talking about adjusting white balance – we take together at least 50 to 100 photos per day, so we can really not go through any post-photo process to do anything with the photos, or we won’t be fixing watches any more.
    The cameras are adjusted to the light source we have, but with varying degrees of daylight coming into the workshop, white balance won’t be always accurate.
    Please don’t forget that we fix watches, and that we aren’t professional photographers, and that we really don’t have the time to process our photos.

    • As long as the photos are in focus, and you are normally spot on in that respect, there is nothing that a photo editing software can not fix in a matter of seconds.
      There is also the added benefit that the watch will look even better when it arrives with our clients:-)

  4. Beautiful watch, and nice work! It looks like a good size too. 34mm?

    Regarding the comment from Joris about colour balancing, I’ve found a very easy way to do this. When you photograph the watch, always make sure there is something that is a very pure white or grey in the photo somewhere, under the same lights that the subject is. Before cropping your photo for the website, use Photoshop’s “remove color cast” tool (or the equivalent in whatever image editing program you’re using), point to the thing that’s supposed to be white or grey, and voila, instant correct colour balance.

  5. Lovely watch, and great to see it back where it belong!
    The toughness of these Certina watches is often overlooked.
    The movements strong construction is one part, but the way the whole thing was built is unique!

    http://www.vintagecertinas.ch/img/floating.jpg

    Certina is truly one of the most overlooked brands out there!

    Looking forward to seeing it “in the flesh”!

  6. Nice to see you restored it yourself, and I’m kind of wondering about a watchmaker that does not get around to (trying to) fix a watch?!?

    /nitpicking mode
    By the way Mitka; I often have trouble seeing whether watches you photograph have gold or silver/metal coloured details; to me it seems as if you don’t white-balance your photos correctly. Generally speaking I’m not that fond of gold colour, so I often have trouble deciding whether I should be jealous of the owner or not 😉

    • The watchmaker in question has a very long waiting list.

      It’s a little tricky to capture the true colure of the dial, but best explanation is champagne with gold markers and hands. The case is stainless steel;)

  7. I love stories of broken watches being repaired and given “a new lease on life”, especially when they have sentimental value. Well-done!

  8. Lovely item and great to see it’s story. I would have a few surviving items as I always loved watches. The trouble is I loved them so much I had to take them apart, both mechanical and quartz, and you guessed…never got them back together. I now collect watches but have managed not to bother y=taking them apart!

    Thanks for posting Mitka.

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