We have a fondness for Certina here at Fratello. Now owned by the Swatch Group, the brand offers good bang for your buck with its solid modern lineup of tool and dress watches. But Certina is also one of those brands that is such a treasure trove for vintage-watch hunting, and one of its many treasures is the Argonaut.
Hunting for vintage watches is a great deal of fun. Some brands have seen high or perhaps even bloated prices on the secondary market. People will pay what they are willing to pay. This was particularly evident during the COVID years, as general enthusiasm for watches seemed to reach a fever pitch. There are other brands and model lines, however, that are real bargains, presenting interesting designs and great quality without breaking the bank. Today, we’re looking at the Certina Argonaut, which broadly falls into the latter category.
Yuichiro Miura on Mt. Everest in 1970
Certina — a brand for adventurers
This is not the first time I have explored Certina here on Fratello. I previously had the privilege to cover the Certina DS PH1000M dive watch, which is a reissue of an impressive 1970s tool watch. That original version graced the wrists of Royal Australian Navy clearance divers in the 1970s. I have also covered the story of how Japanese skier and adventurer Yuichiro Miura used a Certina DS-2 chronograph in his rapid descent down Mt. Everest. Certina developed a reputation for rugged tool watches that pushed the boundaries of shock protection through a patented double-security (hence “DS”) system.
The Certina DS-2’s forebear, the DS, had already experienced the traverses of a mountain expedition. The original DS accompanied a Swiss climbing expedition to the Himalayas back in 1960. As the great website Vintage Certinas notes: “In 1960, the Certina DS was able to prove its robustness on the Himalaya. On May 13th, 1960, a Swiss team, under the leadership of Max Eiselin, succeeded in reaching the summit of Dhaulagiri (8,167 m). At this time, it was the second-last not-yet-climbed eight-thousander. In this expedition, for the first time, a cargo plane was used to transport the equipment as well as the members to the base camp 2 at 5,700 m. Thereby, the prototype of the Pilatus Porter PC-6 (HB-FAN) set the still-valid record for the highest landing.”
Certina watches proving their mettle
That particular expedition almost came to an untimely end, as is noted in the feature on Vintage Certinas: “Mr. Eiselin named this airplane Yeti. It crashed during the difficult takeoff maneuver on May 5th, 1960, but nobody was injured. The members of this expedition were equipped by Certina with DS Automatic watches. It was the reference 5601 003 with date, equipped with a Gay Frères metal band. On the case back of these watches, ‘Schweizer Himalaya Expedition 1960’ is engraved. In October 2015, I was allowed to meet Max Eiselin personally and had the opportunity to photograph his watch. The watches were also present during Eiselin’s expedition to the Hindukush in 1963. They are mentioned as equipment in his book Wilder Hindukush.”
Editor’s note: The above paragraphs from Vintage Certinas have been edited for punctuation, spelling, and clarity.
From this account, we can see that Certina watches were accompanying adventurers on some of the most difficult of assignments. Considering the amount of attention the brand put into shock protection and general ruggedness, it is no wonder that the watches seemed to operate well and would continue to serve their wearers on adventures in the decades to come.
The Certina Argonaut — An interesting design development
The DS concept pioneered innovation in shock protection. Certina, which had started as Grana before a change in name, had long focused on tool watches. The calibers inside were of high quality and noted for their durability. Rather than the classically styled Certina DS and DS-2, the Certina Argonaut series took on even bolder designs, now much more associated with the 1970s. The line technically started before that decade. However, the use of block-like cases is something we would associate with the 1970s, to be sure.
The Certina Argonaut came in multiple iterations, including chronographs, three-hand time-only models, and dive watches. The example we are looking at today is a simple three-hander. This particular watch came into my possession through a fellow collector, my good friend Jack. You see, he was having a watch serviced by a local watchmaker here in Australia when he saw this Certina on the watchmaker’s bench. The striking case design grabbed his attention, and he inquired about it. Apparently, the original owner who dropped the watch off never came back to pick it up, and it had sat unclaimed for years. Finally, the watchmaker had decided to part with it after many years. Jack picked up the watch but found it didn’t quite gel with him, so he offered it to me.
A Certina with an unusual case
The Certina Argonaut 220 has a striking 33 × 39mm case with a 19mm lug spacing. From what I have read online, the “220” in the name seems to be a reference to water resistance in meters, which is impressive. While the Argonaut line came into the Certina catalog towards the end of the 1960s, it truly matured in terms of variety in the 1970s. Certina offered a range of Argonaut chronographs with Valjoux calibers. Alongside those, the time-only and time-and-date Argonauts proved to be simple and reliable watches. The particular example we are looking at today is nice and slim, housing a manual-winding Certina caliber 25-66. You can read more about these wonderful watches in this post.
This particular example has beautiful, square-shaped applied indexes marking the hours and a minute track in stark white. The baton hour and minute hands are simple, effective, and highly legible. The white seconds hand is also incredibly easy to read, even in low-light conditions. This is because it contrasts starkly with the beautiful blue dial. You can see lume plots that have faded to a nice cream color with the passage of time, and, unsurprisingly, they no longer glow. There’s also the simple model text “Argonaut 220” just above the 6 o’clock position and “Certina” just beneath 12 o’clock. One of my favorite aspects of this simple, clean dial is the crosshairs in white, which give the dial a clinical look.
Pricing for vintage Certina Argonauts
When seeking out these Certina Argonauts, you’ll see some pretty significant price variations. Generally speaking, the Valjoux-powered chronographs are on the pricier side. My colleague Balazs covered one of those examples in a feature on Fratello here. But when we focus our attention on the three-handers, we can find incredibly reasonable prices. Certina offered several iterations of such models, like the Argonaut 220, 280, and 285. These variants were given the different designations simply based on their water resistance.
When we look at websites like Chrono24, we can see three-hand Certina Argonauts for sale for anywhere between €200 and €1,000. Listings from private sellers on other sites also reflect these prices, though many options are closer to the €200 mark. When we look at chronographs, prices get higher, but they are still very reasonable for a well-built chronograph from a reputable watch brand. These seem to go for between €1,200 and €1,800, with some rarer versions commanding higher prices.
Concluding thoughts
The Certina Argonaut is just a fun, funky watch. My particular example seems to have come with an aftermarket crown, but the price I paid for it (€200) reflected this. The movement winds wonderfully smoothly, and the timekeeping seems accurate and without issues. The more I research vintage Certina, the more charming examples of different watches I find. Certina is a great brand, and it’s good to see a thriving community of collectors on forums worldwide.
What do you think, Fratelli? Would you pick up one of these block-like Certina Argonaut watches? Let me know your favorite vintage Certina in the comments section. I look forward to reading your suggestions!