News · Certina

Certina gives the DS Action Diver 38 mm a green pulse

A black coated 300 m automatic diver gains bright green timing details, a bracelet and rubber option, and a Swiss list price of CHF 865.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 4 min read · 23 October 2026

• Certina announced green and orange DS Action Diver 38 mm variants on 21 October, alongside two DS Action Chrono references.
• The green C048.807.33.051.01 pairs a black coated 38 mm steel case with a ceramic bezel, 300 m rating and Powermatic 80.611.
• Certina lists the green reference at CHF 865 in Switzerland; an Australian list price and local availability have not been confirmed.

A diver sold on the energy of padel sounds like a collision of two advertising briefs. The court is dry, the sea is wet, and neither cares what colour the seconds hand is. Yet there is a watch underneath the campaign that deserves a closer look: a compact automatic diver with a serious rating, dressed in black and a sharp green that refuses to be discreet. Certina announced it on 21 October as part of the new DS Action group. This is the DS Action Diver 38 mm, reference C048.807.33.051.01.

Green lines on a black tool case

Certina has given the 38 mm stainless steel case a black PVD coating and paired it with a ceramic turning bezel. The green is limited to the bezel markings, minute track, seconds hand and an available rubber strap, so the colour has a timing function rather than being painted across every surface. The dial stays black. Look closely at the hands and large hour plots and there is plenty of white luminous material to keep the central time display distinct from the accents.

The case is 13.22 mm high, with 19 mm between the lugs. That is a notably substantial thickness for a 38 mm watch, and it matters more to fit than the diameter alone. The odd lug width matters as well: anyone planning to swap straps will need a 19 mm option rather than assuming a common 20 mm will do. Certina lists a net weight of 197 g for the reference. That figure belongs to the brand's specification, though the product imagery also shows the watch with a rubber strap, so it should not be taken as the weight of every possible configuration.

The crystal is sapphire, and Certina lists 300 metres of water resistance. The bezel's ceramic surface and Super-LumiNova markings fit the same practical brief. Certina also describes its latest DS Concept shock-resistance construction, including extra support around the dial and movement.

The colour has to earn its place

The press release covers two diver colours, orange and green, with bracelet or silicone choices, alongside two quartz DS Action Chrono versions. This green reference is the most interesting to my eye because the luminous white plots do not have to compete with the accent. On the bracelet, the black case and links almost disappear until the green scale catches light; on the rubber strap, the whole thing reads more openly as a sports watch. Those are observations from Certina's supplied images, not a claim about how it feels on the wrist.

The dial keeps the familiar diver arrangement: broad hour and minute hands, a central seconds hand, a date at three and a unidirectional scale around the outside. The green minute track is particularly useful. It draws attention to elapsed time, the part of a diver display a rotating bezel exists to help measure, instead of making the accent colour a vague flourish. I would have liked a more restrained strap than the matching green rubber, but the coated steel bracelet gives that reader an alternative without changing the watch head.

Turn the watch over and the solid back carries Certina's turtle emblem. That is not a movement-viewing window, and it is better for it: a 300 m sports watch has nothing to prove by showing a rotor through glass. Inside sits the Powermatic 80.611 automatic calibre. Certina states an 80-hour power reserve and a Nivachron balance spring. The long reserve is useful if this is one of several watches in rotation, but the point here is simpler: a mechanical movement has not been traded away to achieve the colour treatment or the depth rating.

DS Action Diver 38 mm pricing and availability

The green DS Action Diver 38 mm, reference C048.807.33.051.01, is listed by Certina's Swiss storefront at CHF 865 as a regular price, with a boutique reservation option. The brand presents both the black coated bracelet and a green rubber strap in its product imagery. Certina has not published an Australian price or confirmed Australian availability on the regional pages checked for this reference. The companion orange diver and two chronographs form part of the same 21 October announcement, but the CHF 865 figure here belongs to the green reference.

This is a better watch than its sporting tie-in might suggest. The measured case, real diver certification and legible dial give the colour a sound base; the green simply makes a hard-working design less anonymous. If the thickness suits your wrist, there is no need to care about padel to understand the appeal.