Aluminium is very neutral, hypoallergenic, corrosion-resistant and temperature-resistant. However, above all, it is extremely lightweight: three times lighter than stainless steel and around one and a half times lighter than titanium. These are some of the qualities used by Certina for manufacturing extremely lightweight cases and clasps. The brand uses anodised aluminium only. Not only does this extremely durable protective layer enable the material to be additionally hardened, it allows it to be produced in any colour chosen by the designers.

PVD is the abbreviation for physical vapour deposition and refers to a modern coating method through which a material, for instance gold, can be transferred in a vaporised form, to a steel or titanium substrate. The result is as fine as it is durable. PVD is resistant, corrosion-resistant and very hard.

Super-LumiNova® (SLN) is a luminescent material with phosphorescent properties. In the dark, the SLN type BG W9 used by Certina emits the light stored as a blue shimmer. SLN does not damage your health in any way and is used in coatings on hands, indices and bezels. It progressively loses its phosphorescence in darkness, but automatically regains it under light.

Sapphire watch crystal is made of aluminium oxide power (Al2O3) heated to over 2000°C. The resultant sapphire nugget is cut with great precision into fine slices, trimmed and polished. Sapphire is extremely scratch-resistant, shock-resistant and is very transparent. This is why sapphire crystal is an essential element in the DS Concept and is used by Certina in all of its models to protect the dials.