Considered to be the king of all gemstones, diamond is the hardest natural material in the world. The quality of diamond is classed according to the “four C's”: Cut: The more facets the stone has, the more intensely it reflects the light. Certina uses bri liants (full-cut diamonds) in its watch-cases and single-cut diamonds on dials. Colour: At first sight you might think that diamonds are white. Experts, however, can identify their subtle shades of colour. Certina uses Top Wesselton diamonds only. Clarity: Almost all diamonds have tiny flaws, called inclusions, which can be seen with a jeweller’s loupe. Certina uses stones in the highly desirable VSI – very small inclusions – class. Carat: The unit indicating the weight of a diamond. One carat is equivalent to 0.2g.

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.

The 316L stainless steel which Certina uses for cases, bracelets and clasps, for instance, is extremely resistant, corrosion-resistant. It contains only a very small proportion of nickel, which is not released when worn and therefore does not trigger any nickel allergies.