Let's talk about Festina!
Festina - which took its name from Augustus Caesar's phrase of "Festina lente" meaning "make haste, slowly" in Latin, was founded in 1902 by the Studi family in the Swiss town of La Chaux-de-Fonds - the same town in which Enicar was founded. In 1935, the company was sold to a German businessman Willy Burkhard von Wilhelm and transferred to Barcelona during WWII (that's probably why there are so many NOS Festina watches coming from Spanish dealers). Festina was another casualty of the 1970s quartz crisis, but was ultimately acquired by Spanish watchmaker Miguel Rodriguez Dominguez in 1984 as part of his Festina Lotus Group where it is still located in Barcelona with a turnover of 5 million watches a year. More recently Citizen has taken an financial interest in Festina and produces its quartz models in its factories in Japan. In 2008, Festina acquired the Swiss movement manufacturer Soprod who is best known for its high quality Swiss made Soprod A10/M100 movements which are compatible with an ETA 2892-A2. Festina was the certified timekeeper of the Tour de France from 1994 to 2016.
Here are some vintage examples from my collection:
Festina Prima Chronograph (1962) ref. 480 559 Movement: Manual Landeron Caliber 51 Case size: 37.5mm - includes original Festina box
Festina Chronographe (1970s) ref. 4000 Movement: Manual Valjoux 7734 Case size: 35.7mm - purchased from its' original owner's grandson
Festina Racing Chronograph (1970s) Movement: Manual Valjoux 7734 Case size: 42mm - all original including original rally strap
Festina Caribbean 100 (1969) ref. 161 Movement: Automatic ETA 2452 Case size: 35.3mm
Festina Dive Watch (1970s) ref. 150 Movement: Automatic AS 1913 Case size: 37mm NOS - all original including original signed bracelet with tags
Festina Palm Beach Special Edition (1970s) ref. 445322 Movement: Automatic ETA 2789 Case size: 37.8mm NOS - all original including original signed integrated bracelet with tags
Festina Compressor (1970s) ref. 344.201 Movement: Automatic ETA 2836 Case size: 36mm NOS - all original including original signed integrated bracelet
Festina Sport Watch (1970s) ref. 425228 Movement: Automatic ETA 2452 Case size: 42mm NOS - all original including original suede strap with tags
I really like chronographs especially vintage ones.
Really nice brand, real value for money!!! i have a f20445/6 myself, and it looks great,and feels better than expected!!!
Ultra sweet collection! I didn't know they made such nice pieces, always figured they were some boring mall watch brand. Hope they reissue some of these babies.
Ultra sweet collection! I didn't know they made such nice pieces, always figured they were some boring mall watch brand. Hope they reissue some of these babies.
Thanks for the kind words. Some of their best releases were in the 1960s/1970s.
Unfortunately, they are owned by a Spanish firm now that is more motivated by selling volume-based quartz models than reissuing historic pieces.
They have a really decent movement maker in Soprod - Zodiac Super Sea Wolfs all use the Soprod movements. So it's possible if they decided to reissue some of these classics that they could do it with some solid movements.
Mine and wife's. We fell in love with Festina and instantly became our favourite brand.
Mine and wife's. We fell in love with Festina and instantly became our favourite brand.
Excellent! Thanks for sharing.
Time to add some vintage Festina to the collection 😉
Excellent! Thanks for sharing.
Time to add some vintage Festina to the collection 😉
Yes definitely. But we're slowing down cause lol we kinda went overboard all in. we bought like 10 watches in like 2 weeks and running out of room so im waiting on one more Lorus from amazon and then find a nice way to display everything in our home. THEN be on the hunt again
The fact that the name is Latin alone makes me love them more, and I was rather fond beforehand.