CERTINA
Read the storyCertina's history dates back to 1888, making it one of the longest existing watch brands in Switzerland. The company was founded by Adolf and Alfred Kurth in Grenchen,
and was incorporated as Kurth Frères SA. The company started as a supplier of movements for other watch brands.
In 1906, the company changed its name to Grana (the Latin word for Grenchen) and made its first watch, where they had done all the production themselves.
In 1938, on the company's 50th birthday, the name was changed from Grana to Certina. The main reason for the name change was that
the company wanted to reach beyond the Swiss borders
where the Certina name was easier to pronounce.
In 1948, on the company's 60th birthday, the first store not located in Switzerland was opened.
With its links to various sports, not least motorsport, Certina has been known to many for its more robust watches, not least because of the DS (Double Security) series, which is extremely shock-resistant. The DS concept was introduced in the 1950s and pioneered the entire watch industry.
Today, Certina has a versatile range of watches for different purposes, both with high-quality mechanical movements and quartz movements that are thermo-compensated. This means that the electronics compensate for the differences in oscillation frequency that would otherwise be dependent on the temperature of the quartz crystal.
Certina was acquired by the Swatch Group in 1983 and is still part of the Swatch Group.
Common to the entire program is that these are quality watches at very reasonable prices - with one of the best price/quality ratios on the market.