New Certina DS+ and a conversation with CEO Marc Aellen

Text/picture: Aleksandar Mladenovic

On Monday Certina presented an interesting novelty – the new DS+ where you can easily and smoothly change the look of your watch in no time. Eqotime was on site during the launch in Zurich and also got to talk to Marc Aellen, who is CEO of the company.

Briefly about the watches

The new watches are offered in three combinations: Sport & Urban, Urban & Heritage, Aqua & Sport. But as you understand this is only a base since you can supplement with more cases and straps directly from Certina's website or at your authorised retailer. The choices are in principle endless.

The whole concept builds on three components: a base (the watch itself with movement and dial), a case and a strap. The base comes in three different executions: black dial, blue dial or silver. After that Certina has composed three base offerings in the packages mentioned above, something that according to them took 3.5 hours during a meeting when all the employees present had their own favourite combinations. But this is as mentioned only a base and you can supplement and combine however you like and depending on what lifestyle you have, or build a completely own configuration online.

There are 4 different case shapes in a total of 6 different executions:

Aqua – a 43mm case in stainless steel with a bezel insert in aluminium.
Sport – a 41mm case in stainless steel with 6 screws in the crystal ring.
Urban – a 40mm case in stainless steel with a smooth crystal ring.
Heritage – a 43.4mm cushion-shaped case.

The cases Sport and Urban are also available with a crystal ring with a golden PVD treatment.

The process of changing the case itself is smooth and goes quickly as soon as you have got the knack of it. What you do is unscrew both crowns on the base as well as the case and then you place the case on top of the base and press down until you hear the distinct click. After that you screw in both crowns and put on the strap of your choice with the help of their Quick Switch mechanism. The whole construction feels very robust and gives a solid impression and does not in any way feel like a cheap construction.

Among the straps there is also quite a lot to choose between, from bracelets in stainless steel to NATO straps, leather straps and a synthetic strap in #tide ocean material.

Inside the watches ticks the robust and reliable Powermatic movement with an 80-hour power reserve and a Nivachron^TM balance spring, and all the watches are water resistant down to 200m.

The watches' box works as both display and storage for the different components and there are empty places for new cases and straps. The box is made entirely in recyclable materials and a small pouch for the watch is also included for when you are travelling.

The different sets cost 11,200kr for Urban & Heritage, 11,400kr for Sport & Urban and 11,500kr for Aqua & Sport.

A conversation with Marc Aellen

Eqotime also got the pleasure of sitting down and talking with Certina's CEO Marc Aellen, a pleasant conversation where we talked about how the last few years have been, the trends in the industry and of course the new concept.

Marc, tell us a little about your background

-After I graduated from university I began looking for a job in the watch industry. My family already has a background within the industry and I got two offers: one from Certina and one from TAG Heuer. I felt that Certina's policy, being part of the family-owned company the Swatch Group, resonated well with me and 22 years later I am still employed by the Swatch Group.

-I did my first 4 years at Certina, which was something completely different then from what it is today. Nothing digital, no e-commerce. We had good products but something completely different compared with what the company is today. After 4 years I was moved to Omega and was responsible for Eastern Europe and Scandinavia. After 4 years at Omega I was offered another job at Jaquet Droz, which is a high-end brand within the group, as Head of international sales. I was there for 12 years and suddenly I got a call from Mr. Hayek that he wanted to meet me and he offered me the position as CEO of Certina in 2020.

What was it like starting as CEO of Certina in the middle of the pandemic?

– It was very interesting because under normal circumstances you start travelling around to the different markets straight away. But since it was not possible to travel I had time to learn more about the brand and the products and to talk with the different markets. Sales were still going well thanks to e-commerce but the tempo at work was lower, which I think was a good moment to take office as CEO.

-It was a little difficult to plan since we start new projects 2 years in advance and 6-12 months in advance for the production, which made it a little harder to foresee the future.

Let us talk a bit about Certina's status in Sweden – what is it about Certina that has made it so popular in Sweden and Scandinavia over so many years?

-I think that we share the same philosophy in Switzerland and Sweden. We want good value for money and we are not people who want to "show off" with very extreme watches. With Certina and the value we offer for the middle class it is very interesting in terms of design and quality. We still sell masses of watches to Sweden from our classic collection which we do not even show and market.

You are thinking of those watches in gold that you get for long and loyal service?

-Exactly, in Sweden it is really a tradition. We have strict contracts regarding the amount of gold in the watch, the price, and it is a very unique market. For us it is something that generates quite a lot of money every year.

Tell us a bit more about the new collection DS+, the thought behind it and how long you have worked on the project?

-When I took over Certina on 1 July 2020 the idea already existed. We had discussions with the team and I was not completely convinced from the start because I really wanted a handsome product without cutting corners on the quality. So we started with the development but I said that if we run into trouble for technical reasons so that we cannot achieve the right quality then we stop the project.

-We are a strong company with a strong group behind us, above all within Research & Development where other companies can support us. It took 2.5 years to develop the product and 1 year ago we decided that the product was good and started thinking about how we should present, market and sell the product. But the first 1.5 years there was a big question mark over whether we would carry out the project or not.

-This is only the beginning, we have endless possibilities for the future. A limited edition only for Sweden, other materials beyond steel, e.g. recycled materials. With the base we have so much we can play around with in the future and still remain at an attractive price level.

It feels to us as if the new collection is aimed at a younger audience. Is that something you will continue with in the future, to strengthen Certina's presence among the younger and first-time buyers?

-That is the big challenge for all brands, to attract the young audience. Of course the DS+ can be very attractive for that audience but we do not neglect the customers who are 40+ and 50+ because they are the ones with the purchasing power. So the campaign is aimed at a fairly large audience. It is also a very good product for e-commerce since you can easily supplement with new cases or straps online.

When it comes to trends within the industry, do you see a bigger demand for smaller watches from Certina?

-We launched the Action Diver in the 43mm size earlier this year which has been very successful, but the smaller size 38mm has also been very successful. I would say that there is a market for every size. If you had asked me 10 years ago whether 38mm would be a good size for men I would have said no. Today it is a good size for both men and women. So there is a greater inclination today to choose a more classic size.

-Then we also have another trend which is yellow gold or in our case golden PVD treatment. 10-15 years ago yellow gold was out of fashion and it was only rose gold that was popular. But suddenly we see that the market is going back to yellow gold and it is only that which customers ask for. Also when it comes to movements, when I started at Certina in 2001 95% of the production was quartz and today it is closer to 50/50 between quartz and mechanical.

What do you have in the pipe for the coming years and what will be your focus as a brand generally?

-We will continue to deliver the best quality in terms of price. That is always what we have in focus when we develop new products. I think that what we offer today is among the best within the industry in terms of value for money.

-We are not a fashion brand but we have to keep ourselves updated to the prevailing trends. We were one of the first brands that made diver's watches during the 1950 & 60.s so we will continue with that and the Action Diver collection today makes up around 25% of sales and continues to grow.

-Also when it comes to Heritage models we will look more at our history and take inspiration from that. Heritage watches are very trendy right now but will they be in 10 years? Who knows. We have to adapt. We know what we will do during 2023 and 2024 but we have no plan for 5 years ahead, but we know what our main direction is. You never know what the market likes and what becomes successful. We look forward to seeing the market's reaction to the new collection.

Which combination is your favourite?

-The one with the diver.

Read more at Certina.