1888 saw brothers Adolf and Alfred Kurth open their first factory to supply movements to the watch making industry, which shortly after evolved to the creation of complete timepieces. Nearly twenty years later the brand name ‘Grana’ was born in conjunction with the release of the first wrist-watches, these were for the main part ladies
as gentlemen still categorically rejected the idea of wearing a timepiece on the wrist.
In 1936 the pioneering brothers created the first digital watch which featured rotating disks bearing inscribed numbers to display time and driven by a standard spring movement. By 1955 the brand employed over 500 people with a daily output of 1000 watches and was thought of as one of the most modern and best equipped watchmakers of its time.
The watch marketplace was becoming ever increasingly competitive so to stay at the forefront of the industry the engineering and technical teams set objectives to craft a unique market based on quality – these objectives were met with the DS or ‘Double Security’ movement, housed in a highly reinforced case. The DS self-winding concept increased the shock toleration three fold up to 6meters plus the level of water resistance to 20 bar – cementing the brands innovative reputation. The company changed the name of the brand to ‘Certina’ which was taken from the Latin word ‘Certus’ meaning certain or assured compounding their brands trademark of outstanding quality Swiss Made Watches.
In the 1960’s Certina makes exponential headway in making its name as being at the forefront of sporting watches
offering outstanding quality at an affordable price. Certina watches have been worn during a number of notable sporting feats including on the first climb of Dhaulagiri (the Himalayas) and on a Japanese expedition to Mount Everest during which one of the most daring downhill skis was completed – going from 8000m to 7000m, during which the watch performs perfectly.
The timepieces have graced the wrists of an increasing number of sporting legends including Muhammad Ali, the Swedish National Hockey Team, Roger de Coster when he achieved the 500 cc World Motocross Championship, Ole Einar Bjørndalen, most successful biathlete in sporting 
history plus Thomas Lüthi who became World Champion of the 125c.
In 2013, as one of the longest-established Swiss watch brands, Certina celebrates in 125th anniversary and is highlighted by a new identity. The brand continues to grow from strength to strength introducing new and innovative movements and models including DS5, DS3 1000M, DS SPEL and the CERTINA Dia-Master Quartz, the Biostar which was the first timepiece to display human biorhythms and the Regatta Chronograph Chronolympic with exact precision for timing of highly demanding sporting events.
