Try saying that when you've had a few brews!
Anyway I've had this for a while now and finally got round to taking a few pics.
For those that don't know they house the ESA 9210 which is exactly the same movement used in the Omega Speedsonic. Essentially this is a tuning fork movement (ESA 9164) with a chronograph module piggy backed on.
As with all tuning fork movements the hands move completely smoothly around the dial. They're a joy to watch although quite disconcerting at times because your eye seems conditioned to see stepping. Sometime you have to double take to make sure it's still actually moving. It's not a problem though, especially with such a beautiful watch :)
These pieces where produced between 1975 and 1976 and came in either a blue, black or silver dial. I've seen a few examples of the blue and black dial but the silver dialled example seems far rarer. Talking of which they're far, far less common than the Omega Speedsonic (in itself pretty rare) which was in production for 7 years between 1973 and 1980.
Enough talk, here's the pics. From what I can tell the crystal has a slight dome to it.
The dial in some more detail, I love the linen texture of these.
Notice the day of the week is indicated by a number rather than an abbreviation. Makes far more sense than trying to squeeze in three or four letters and instantly makes it suitable for all markets throughout the world. Clever thinking imho.
I particularly love all the textures and contrast on the case. The sides have a vertical grain whilst the lug sections are highly polished and the bezel section has a sunburst finish.
The crown sits low in the case, presumably to accommodate the chrono module.
The pusher are a sort of rounded off triangle shape which is a nice touch and a bit different.
So there you have it, the Certina Chronolypic C-Tronic in all its glory (hopefully my pics have captured some of this anyway). It's a beautiful piece imho and pretty scarce but well worth the hunt if you can find one.
If anyone wants to know more just yell.
Cheers,
Gary
What a remarkable piece, and in excellent condition. It really is very desirable.
Nice but, on balance, I think I prefer Roman numeral (to Arabic numerals) for days of week.Originally Posted by Omegary
Yes, different but very nice.
Thanks for posting that.
It's a beauty, very Speedsonicesque :)
What size is it?
38mm sans crown
42mm with
45mm lug to lug
14mm deep
20mm lug width
Thanks, I'll take a comparison shot next to my Speedsonic in a mo.
Cheers,
Gary
A very Q&D comparison shot of the C-Tronic and Speedsonic.
As you can see the Speedsonics cushion case is quite a lot larger.
Cheers,
Gary
Great write up and lovely piece 8)
Nice picture.
They are both lovely watches and are very similar, but also quite different :) .
On balance, and I didn't think it likely, but I think I prefer the Certina for the handling of the calendar and the smaller case :thumbright: (but I do love that Speedsonic dial)
Simply beautiful :love4: and great pics as well, thanks for posting that.
/Stefan
Omegary, that is lovely fella, i know they say if you have to ask a price, then you cannot afford it but what do these go for??
Cheers,
James. :D
It varies James, sometimes they slip through ebay relatively unnoticed. In this instance I traded my gold plated Speedsonic and some cash for this example. I loved the Speedsonic but very rarely wore it as I'm just not a gold kinda guy. I think the seller (KeithT) was originally asking £825 for the Certina. Considering its rarity I think I did well and it certainly graces my wrist far more.
Cheers,
Gary
That silver dial is lovely and your pictures are, as usual, great. I never knew when these were produced, didn't realise it was for one year only and I wonder how many they actually made.
Here is a (poor) pic showing the blue version that I have along with another sharing the same hummer movement.
Cheers,
Steve
Thanks Steve and especially for posting the pic of your blue dialled version :love4:
From memory I think Ebauches S.A only produced a total of 21,000 ESA 9210 movements. The vast majority of these went to Omega for the Speedsonic (cal.1255) and the rest were shared by Derby, Longines (cal.749.2), Baume & Mercier (cal.19210) and Certina (cal.749).
I'd be very surprised if Certina produced more than 3,000 of this model but that's just speculation on my behalf really. I'm trying to get a production figure but in vain I suspect.
Cheers,
Gary
P.S. Any other owners out there like to post a photo?
Thanks for the info Gary and yes you did well, its a stunner, gotta love a vintage watch with quality. :)It varies James, sometimes they slip through ebay relatively unnoticed. In this instance I traded my gold plated Speedsonic and some cash for this example. I loved the Speedsonic but very rarely wore it as I'm just not a gold kinda guy. I think the seller (KeithT) was originally asking £825 for the Certina. Considering its rarity I think I did well and it certainly graces my wrist far more.
Cheers,
Gary
Never seen one of those before - beautiful watch and superb pictures
David
For a moment I thought it was a month window. That made me think of this:
Found a couple of brochure pics of the blue dialed version.
From 1975
From 1976
Images courtesy of http://www.vintagecertinas.ch/en/indexeng.html
Cheers,
Gary
Interesting that the brochure also shows the day as a number whereas mine is a word (in Spanish) as it is on my other one as well.
The bracelet looks great on it. I do have the original leather strap and buckle for mine but it is so thin - and blue.
Yep the bracelet looks fantastic and suits the watch perfectly, probably as rare as hens teeth unfortunately :(
Re the day wheel, maybe different markets demanded the more traditional day indicator. Alternatively your example might have been replaced over the years, the plastic day and date wheels on all mosaba movements are prone to damage as I'm sure you know.
Cheers,
Gary
Very aesthetically pleasing dial config....................
Lovely - thanks for that post
:) :)
B
Well don;t know about 3000..its a good a guess as any..and probably not far from the actual figure.
I have 4 examples in the last few years., 2 are on this thread..... and 3 of which have originally come from Italy...not sure if that is significant or not
Its the 2nd best watch model that utilises the ESA 9210 chronograph IMO.....
K
Good point, I'll have to look for others now to compare.
I'm guessing from our previous conversations that the Longines Ultronic is your favourite, correct?
Cheers,
Gary
No - I reckon the otther one in my picture :wink:I'm guessing from our previous conversations that the Longines Ultronic is your favourite, correct?
Cheers,
Gary
I sold mine for some reason. Still got it Keith?
I've got Speedsonic now, and the C-tronic was a better bit of kit imo.
Lovely looking watch.
I sold mine for some reason. Still got it Keith?
I've got Speedsonic now, and the C-tronic was a better bit of kit imo.
Nope...was mine..then sold..then yours..then mine again...oh and then someone elses.... :lol: they don't call me fickle for nothing you know ! ( so thats 3 on this thread now )
The more I look at Garys excellent pictures the more I realise I should maybe have kept hold of one.
That said.....still would favour the blacked dialled Ultronic if one came up.....( let 5 of those slip through as well, plus about 20 or so Speedsonics and 3 of the generic type as in Steves pic..1 Derbysonic..the only one I have ever seen...but never a B&M example...though a few have popped up on Ebay over the last few years.
K
That's a gorgeous watch in brilliant condition.
Love the look of both of those watchesThat silver dial is lovely and your pictures are, as usual, great. I never knew when these were produced, didn't realise it was for one year only and I wonder how many they actually made.
Here is a (poor) pic showing the blue version that I have along with another sharing the same hummer movement.
Cheers,
Steve
They seem to have had a problem squeezing the DAY into this calibre. :P
........Steve
john
"The whole purpose of mechanical watches is to be impertinent." ~ Lionel a Marca, CEO of Breguet
That is fantastic.
Very nice - better looking than the Speedsonic!
Just seen this - beautiful watch Gary, and another previously unknown model to covet!
Sorry about that mate.
That's the trouble with watches, there's so many interesting and beautiful examples out there and not enough time or money to experience them all. Probably why I stick mainly with Omegas to try and narrow the field a little, although I seem to be having a relapse of late
Cheers,
Gary
P.S. Thanks for posting your pic JD, that looks a very good example.
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