Certina

Certina began in 1888 in Grenchen, Switzerland, where the brothers Adolf and Alfred Kurth set up a workshop making movements and parts for other watchmakers. The firm sold under the name Grana from 1906 and adopted Certina, from the Latin certus, in 1938. Its technical signature came in 1959 with the DS, or Double Security, construction: the movement is suspended within a reinforced case on a shock-absorbing ring, with a thicker crystal and a double-sealed crown, giving markedly better shock and water resistance.

Certina joined the ASUAG group in 1971 and became part of SMH, today's Swatch Group, on its formation in 1983; it is now based in Le Locle. The DS concept, marked by a small turtle on the case back, still underpins the whole range: the DS Action divers, the DS PH200M reissue of a 1960s dive watch, and the DS-1 and DS-8 dress and chronograph lines, most powered by ETA movements from within the group.