"Scratchproof" : produced the "unscratchable" DS-DiaMaster in tungsten carbide.Biostar: In 1971 introduced the Biostar, the world's first watch that displayed human biorhythms.The watch was taken up the Himalayas by a team who climbed the Dhaulagiri and the watch withstood all changes in pressure and altitude. These were the first watches to increase shock protection and water resistance to 6 m (previous watches were set at 2.2 metres). Thus the company created the concept of suspending the watch movement inside a highly reinforced case, which was named DS after "Double Security". DS (Double Security) Line: In 1959 Hans and Edwin Kurth set themselves the objective of creating a new marketplace niche based on quality through engineering and technical design.Rotating disks bearing inscribed numbers were used to display the time, instead of hands. Digital Watch: 1936 became the first company to produce a digital watch.The first wristwatches : were already produced by the company in 1938 : predominately ladies watches, because men still preferred pocket watches.Wristwatches, world’s first & lines of collection became a member of a new managerial entity, together with Mido and Tissot, which became known as Le Locle, (the newly elected Unesco World Heritage Site in Switzerland). Upon the merger of SSIH and ASUAG companies, Certina S.A. Under the new management, the company managed to hold on to some of their properties, especially in the Scandinavian countries. The restructuring involved the abandonment of their own manufacture of calibres, and by the end of the 1970s, operations were moved to Biel/Bienne and the entity Edox & Technos. The introduction of cheap and reliable automatics and quartz watches from Japan (under the ideas of their strategic management) stopped Certina's expansion. In 1971, the owning family opted to join General Watch Co, the newly created sub-holding of ASUAG, in order to consolidate their efforts with others. ġ983 Certina became a member of the SMH Group (Swatch). īy 1972 the company employed 900 people and produced 600,000 watches per year. Certina worked up a new business plan that expanded its operations. Ĭertina continued to expand and by 1955 the company had 500 employees working between the factory and offices, producing 1,000 timepieces every day. By 1938 the company had expanded and 250 employees celebrated the 50th anniversary of the company. They did not begin producing complete watches and timepieces for a few years which they then did alongside their work producing movements for other companies. At the start Certina's staff consisted of three employees working in a workshop that was connected to the family home. was founded in 1888 when Adolf and Alfred Kurth opened in Grenchen their first movement and supplies factory for the watchmaking industry. 3 Wristwatches, world’s first & lines of collectionĬertina S.A.