Festina Chronograph Ceramic Review – Sapphire, ceramic bezel and this price tag?

Tags: Review | Festina | Men's | Classic

2.8.2022 | 5 MIN

Today I would like to share my immediate impressions of the production of the Festina brand with you, more precisely from their Ceramic collection. In particular, we will talk about the sporty model Festina Ceramic Chronograph, which Festina presented relatively recently.

Right at the outset, I would like to point out very strongly that I am a rather conservative individual when it comes to choosing material for watches. That is, high-quality steel, maybe some noble precious metal here and there, and definitely leather. Ceramics in the watch industry did not appeal to me much until now.

Although I perceived the brands Boccia and Rado as pioneers in the use of ceramics in the design of watches. Of course, somewhere in the depths of consciousness there was information about the fact that Rolex, IWC and even Omega are also going the route of ceramic parts in some of their models. But I never felt the desire to own a ceramic model myself.

So it is clear that with the Festina Ceramic Chronograph F20578/1 model, which we had the opportunity to properly weigh, my, let's say, subconsciously hidden prejudices about ceramics came to the surface.

However, if I had any negative paradigm associated with ceramics, it disappeared the moment I took these Festinas in my hands for the first time. And for me, this beauty had it all the easier because the second I see a chronograph, I probably won't care what it's made of. Even if it was made of butter for all I know. And this model was really successful, I have to give it that. Simply love at first sight.

Despite the slightly misleading name, it was immediately clear that the ceramic only made it to the bezel, where we see it often, but rather on the more expensive models. Maybe that's why I was so interested in this piece...

This watch caught my eye pretty much immediatelyand even more so when it got on my wrist, where it sits just perfect. The combination of the rose gold tone and the black dial is simply fascinating to me. (And other combinations including black and white or blue dial with steel will probably always work too.)

You can definitely feel the pleasant contrast of both colors (by the way, PVD treatment). The chronographs have three sub-dials at the "3", "6" and "9" positions, and the designers have placed the date dial tastefully and legibly between the "4" and "5" positions.

But despite the busyness that's happening on the dial, it is perfectly legible. This beauty is covered by a sapphire crystal on the front and the back of the watch is covered by a screw case back, on which, among other things, you can find the manufacturer's message about water resistance. The declared value of up to 100m allows the wearer of this watch to wear it all day without any problems, and a little water will not take this machine aback at all.

Sapphire glass, ceramic bezel and 100m water resistance. Simply love at first sight.

A nice detail in the form of luminescence of indexes and hands is also worth mentioning. The entire front view is dominated by a robust ceramic bezel. About this element, if I may, a few observations will be by the end.

Luminescence has reached the hands and indexes too.

Since, as it's been already mentioned, this is a chronograph, and so you will find the stopwatch control on the right side. Upper double click for stopwatch start/stop, lower for reset of measured values. Among them, the screw-down crown dominates with its position. The mechanism of the watch is powered by a quartz movement, so it is a battery-operated watch.

The models are tied to the wrist with a steel (in some variants in PVD treatment) bracelet with a folding clasp. Of course, the Festina logo is displayed on it. The suspension of the pins is 21.8 mm.

And it is also worth noting that it is produced on a sports rubber strap with a classic pin buckle.

I still owe you the observations from the already mentioned ceramic bezel. For this series, the bezel is fixed. So you can't turn it around. Maybe a bit of a shame, at least from my point of view. The sixty-minute scale therefore has rather a functional effect only on the eye. But another fact is important, namely the material used - ceramics. So for staunch supporters of traditional materials, a bit of that high-tech skill, but really only a little bit.

The precise definition of the compound from which the parts of a "ceramic watch" are made is quite vague. In general, ceramics are produced from zirconia or titanium carbide at a temperature of 1500ºC to 2000ºC and high pressure. Pressurized and heated in this way, the mixture gives rise to a very hard, but fragile material, which can be further colored with various additives.

Manufacturers declare that it is up to eight times harder than steel, so it is very scratch-resistant, but with the aforementioned risk of brittleness. Ceramics can definitely be classed as the ruling materials of the 21st century, due to its high hardness, chemical stability and hypoallergenic properties, among other things.

So should you buy a Festina model from the Ceramic line? That's a good question.

Ceramic compounds are extremely durable compared to common metals. Thus, the bezel of this series is almost scratch-resistant and will not show signs of wear even after many years of wearing the watch. It is also necessary to highlight its permanence of the color, its shade is not compromised even during constant exposure to UV lighting. So it will always remain like new, i.e. also beautifully shiny.

So, at first glance, ceramic looks like a supermaterial that has no faults and its use in the watch industry is desirable.

However, the molecular structure of ceramics entails one pitfall, and that is the already mentioned fragility. It is a kind of analogy when using sapphire lenses. The chances of getting scratched are pretty low, but if you fall awkwardly on a hard surface, there's a high chance that some part of your bezel will simply chip off.

That this mini summary still hasn't made you decide whether to buy a model from the Festina Ceramic Chronograph series for your collection? Please see their price tag.

... that really doesn't need any further comments in my opinion.

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