The DS-2

The DS-2 was introduced to the market in 1968 as a successor to the successful DS line that was launched in 1959. So this watch is from year of release !. By that time more than 300.000 pieces of the DS had already been sold.

Apart from the more formal novelties the model featured a few technical innovations: The crown was partially hidden and possessed a double sealing system. In order to increase robustness the movement fixation was additionally strengthened by extra-strong screws. The floating mount of the movement by means of a rubber ring was taken from its predecessor. Originally the dial was available in 15 different versions. There were two different case materials to choose from: Stainless steel and gold plaque. The gold coated version was marked by a 06 instead of a 01 in the reference number. Furthermore a Chronometer version of 18 karats of yellow gold was available (reference 5880 300).

The following in-house movements were included: 25-66 (manual winding Ref. 5201 300), 25-661 (manual winding with date, Ref. 5301 300), 26-651 (“Certidate” Ref. 5801 300) and the calibre 25-652 in the “Certiday” version with day and date (Ref. 5901 300). From 1975 on, towards the end of the production, the improved calibres 25-651M and 25-652M respectively were included. Besides the men’s versions smaller women’s styles were available.

The image below shows the floating mount of the movement with the elastic anti-shock ring. This design renders the DS-2 shock-proof and resistant. Proof for that can be found in the numerous pieces that still run like they were new no matter how “fucked up” the case may be. A distinctive detail of the DS-2 self-winding version is the screwed caseback with the circular wavy relief and the turtle in the centre. At the manual winding version, you can find the turtle in the centre too but the rest of the caseback is flat.