Certina

Switzerland · Founded 1888

Founded 1888 in Grenchen by brothers Adolf and Alfred Kurth (Kurth Frères) as a movement/components workshop; watches were sold under the 'Grana' name (from Latin Granatus, for Grenchen) from 1906 until the brand was renamed Certina (from Latin certus, 'assured') in 1938 for export markets. Joined ASUAG's General Watch Co. in 1971 and became part of SMH (later Swatch Group) in 1983; today sits alongside Tissot and Mido under Swatch Group's Le Locle-managed cluster. Best known for the 1959 DS ('Double Security') concept — a shock- and water-resistance system (reinforced case, gasket-sealed crown/back) that still underpins the modern DS product family. Adopted a turtle-motif logo in 2014 as part of a repositioning toward a more premium, heritage-forward image, distinct from sister brand Tissot. Confirmed via Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Certina); DuckDuckGo-aggregated web sources corroborate the Swatch Group / DS lineage. Founders' names and exact 1888/1906/1938 dates are single-sourced (Wikipedia) and not independently cross-checked against a second primary source in this pass.

Models

DS Action 3 references
DS PH200M 2 references
DS Podium 2 references
DS Super PH1000M 3 references
DS Super PH2000M 1 references
DS-1 2 references
DS-2 2 references
DS-7 1 references
DS-8 2 references