The History of Certina

In the shadow of the Jura Mountains, where the rhythmic clatter of tools met the steady tick of gears, two brothers—Adolf and Alfred Kurth—began a journey that would quietly shape the future of Swiss watchmaking. It was 1888 in Grenchen, Switzerland, and the Kurths, working from a small workshop behind their home, built timepieces not for prestige, but for permanence. Their focus was precision, their philosophy endurance—and from those humble beginnings, Certina was born.

By 1906, their craftsmanship had earned a reputation beyond the town’s borders, and their watches began to carry the name Grana, drawn from Granacus, Latin for Grenchen. The name reflected their roots, but their ambitions stretched further. As the world industrialized, the Kurths’ small enterprise grew, adding modern machinery and skilled artisans who shared their pursuit of accuracy. Their watches became known for reliability and thoughtful construction, quietly competing with Switzerland’s best. When Adolf and Alfred’s sons, Erwin and Hans Kurth, took over in the 1930s, they inherited more than a company—they inherited a mission to build watches that could endure time itself.

In 1938, on the company’s 50th anniversary, the brothers reintroduced the brand as Certina, from the Latin certus, meaning “certain.” It wasn’t just a new name—it was a declaration of confidence. Certina promised certainty in every condition, a commitment that would define its future. Throughout the 1940s and 1950s, as the world rebuilt after war, Certina rose from a family workshop to one of Switzerland’s largest private manufacturers, producing over a thousand watches a day while maintaining meticulous standards. But their greatest contribution was yet to come.

In 1959, Certina unveiled the DS—short for Double Security—system, a groundbreaking innovation that transformed watchmaking. It introduced reinforced case walls, a suspended movement cushioned by elastic mounts, and gaskets that made the entire structure shock-resistant and waterproof to new depths. The DS wasn’t just durable—it was revolutionary. To prove it, Certina strapped the watch to Jacques Piccard’s Bathyscaphe Trieste in 1960 during its descent into the Mariana Trench, where it resurfaced keeping perfect time. Later, mountaineers wore DS watches on Himalayan expeditions, Arctic researchers used them in freezing conditions, and in 1970, the DS-2 Super PH500M became standard issue for German Navy divers, rated for 500 meters underwater. Certina had built a watch that could survive the world’s extremes—and did.

As the decades advanced, Certina embraced new technology without losing its soul. The quartz era arrived in the 1970s, and while many mechanical makers vanished, Certina adapted, joining what would become the Swatch Group to secure its future. The brand balanced tradition and innovation, producing both precise quartz movements and Swiss-made automatics—like the reliable ETA-based calibers and the modern Powermatic 80, with its 80-hour power reserve. Its movements became synonymous with reliability, designed to perform flawlessly under pressure while maintaining timeless elegance.

Today, Certina remains headquartered in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland, guided by Marc Aellen, a former executive with Longines, who continues to carry forward the brand’s founding vision: precision, durability, and authenticity over luxury and noise. From the hand-wound mechanisms of the early 1900s to solar-powered DS Action models of today, Certina’s watches continue to represent the spirit of endurance the Kurth brothers began more than a century ago.

In an age when many watches exist to be seen, Certina’s story is about those built to last. It’s the story of a family that turned certainty into art—a brand that conquered the deepest seas, the highest peaks, and the test of time itself.