1888: Founding of the factory at Grenchen, Switzerland. Reliability, precision, innovation: the Kurth Brothers' fundamental principles to guide the Swiss company's early years. The watchmaking firm rapidly climbs to an important rank in the international watchmaking world.Third Millennium: Certina confirms its ambitious trajectory by strengthening its commitment to international motorsports. The sportswatch brand displays brilliant creative impulse through inspired new collections that gain wide public success.For Certina, the past and the present share a strong common denominator, of uncompromising excellence and clever audacity. Since its creation, the spirit of the brand has stood at the pinnacle of technological evolution, through the use of the very finest components and materials: titanium, 316L stainless steel, sapphire crystal and world-famous Swiss Made ETA movements. As the Swiss leader for sport-watches in the price segment between CHF 300.00 and CHF 2,000.00, Certina has always championed the best quality at an affordable price. From early on, the brand has shown a keen interest in the world of sports, particularly so with the introduction of its Double Security concept in 1959, which raised water and shock resistance to new levels. Tested during a number of extreme international expeditions, Certina DS timepieces successfully withstood the most challenging of conditions. Through decades, Certina has boasted great dynamism and joined its name to those of legendary champions such as Muhammad Ali, Mike Doohan, Alex Crivillé, Colin McRae, Petter Solberg, Sete Gibernau, Timo Glock and last but not least, Hollywood's famous Swiss-born stuntman, Oliver Keller.In 2001, Certina shifted to high gear by sponsoring the Swiss 125cc GP motorcycle rider Thomas Lüthi, who went on to seize the World Championship title in the 2005 season. The Swiss watchmaking company then decided to take a further step into the dynamic world of motor sports, prestigious Formula 1 this time, by becoming Official Partner of the Sauber Petronas F1 team. That decision marked the start of an ongoing collaboration with Robert Kubica, its new ambassador inside a re-christened BMW Sauber F1 Team organisation, after their acquisition of Sauber Petronas. The partnership has been keenly synonymous with success, with a breathtaking one-two finish by Kubica and Heidfeld at the Montreal Grand Prix—the team's first F1 win ever—and a worthy outcome to a very natural alliance. Indeed, in watchmaking as in motor sports, passion and extreme demands live side by side, in an exciting universe without room for compromise, where talent and technology are prerequisites for achieving the best times and highest results.