Festina
Festina is a Spanish watch manufacturer. The company was founded in 1902 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland. The manufacture's motto was Festina Lente (Latin for 'Hasten slowly'). During World War II the brand was established in Barcelona, Spain. In 1984, entrepreneur Miguel Rodríguez, already owner of Lotus watches, created the group Festina Lotus S.A.. Since this takeover, the company headquarters have been located in Barcelona, Spain. Their watches are exclusively assembled on Citizen Watch Company Japanese movements, in their most popular watches, while its high-end watches are designed and crafted entirely from its factories in Spain and China called Heschen. Festina owns now Candino Watch Company in Bienne, Switzerland, the seat of their Swiss distribution.
Festina Group
- Festina
- Candino
- Jaguar
- Perrelet
- Soprod - produces Swiss-made mechanical and quartz watch movements [1]
- Calypso
- Lotus
Sponsorship
Festina is also known for its sponsorship of the Festina cycling team from 1989 to 2001. During the 1998 Tour de France the team was at the center of the doping scandal which became known as the Festina affair.
In reaction to this, the cycling team reorganized itself and Festina set up the Fondation d’entreprise Festina whose mission was to promote the fight against doping.[2]
References
External links
Media related to Festina at Wikimedia Commons