Fergus Nash
Although the Kingdom of Spain is known for its rich culture, food, and favorable climate, it is not particularly known for its watchmaking. In fact, Wikipedia’s “List of Watchmakers” lists 442 names of horological significance, of which only one is Spanish. While certain towns in Germany, France, and Switzerland became legendary in the watch industry from the 1700s until today, that spark never really took off in Spain. That said, here are six of Spain’s best watch brands that escape the shadow of their European cousins.
Festina
It’s debatable whether Festina can really be considered a Spanish watch brand, but it’s a powerful company that deserves a spot on this list. Festina was founded in 1902 in La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland, but its headquarters moved to Barcelona in the 1930s. After changing ownership several times, the brand was finally acquired by Spanish businessman Miguel Rodriguez in 1984. Combined with his previous Lotus brand, the Festina Group was born. Today, the Festina Group includes watch brands such as Lotus, Jaguar and Perlée, but more importantly it owns the movement manufacturers Soprod and Manufacture Horlogère de la Vallée du Jeu (MHVJ). That’s what I’m doing. Festina was also once a prominent sponsor name of the Tour de France, but unfortunately that sponsorship ended when the Festina team was exposed in a doping scandal. Although the company’s headquarters are still in Barcelona and it has a strong global presence, most of the Festina watches themselves are made in Switzerland.
Buffy’s Recommendation: Festina F16940/F. Price: 99 EUR (~100 USD)
Crepas
Originally founded in 2010 under the name Compañía Relojera Especializada para Actividades Subacuáticas SL (CREPAS), this Spanish microbrand does what many microbrands do best: vintage-inspired dive watches. is growing. From the photos you can clearly see the attention to detail and quality. Crepas doesn’t specify which vintage watches its collections are based on, but most of the time they’re discreet enough to feel unique. Many of the company’s models have been launched on Kickstarter, and its latest project, the Crepas Aquamatic 1200, was successfully funded within a week in May 2024. The brand is based in Zaragoza, where it also operates another military-focused watch company called Tactico.
Buffy chose Aquamatic 1200 in Yellow Pumpkin. Price: €789 (~US$815)
Temporax
Tempore Lux is the youngest brand on this list, but they maintain high standards. All of the brand’s watches are assembled in Mallorca by Miguel A. Martinez, who runs S’Hora des Relotge. This is an authorized service center for the Swatch Group brand, and all Tempore Lux watches assembled there are subject to individual quality testing and regulation. For the price of a microbrand, you get incredibly high-end service. The first of the two watches is the Ocean 200. Well-proportioned diver, but fairly common. Its main appeal lies in its bright color options of green, red, or yellow, matching bezel, and STP1-11 automatic movement. Tempore Lux’s second watch is much more thrilling with its brushed square cushion case and complimentary bicompax subdial. The Racing One Chrono stands behind its detailed design, powered by the Seagull ST1901 movement, offering a column-wheel chronograph experience at an affordable price.
Buffy chose the Tempore Lux Racing One. Price: €699 (~US$720)
Chronometry Atelier
Although the first watch wasn’t released until 2016, it took just four years for Atelier de Chronométrie to be nominated for a GPHG award. This is an incredible feat for any company, let alone a small team building one-off watches in Barcelona. Their designs are primarily inspired by early watches from the 1940s, and designs like the AdC8 definitely have a Patek Philippe vibe. This obsession with the vintage world extends to the movements as well, typically using older calibres such as the Venus 179 or Omega 266 as ebauches. In early 2023, we launched our first fully in-house movement, known as the M284. In authentic antique style, it features three-quarter plates, vibrates at a slow rate of 18,000 vibrations per hour, and has a power reserve of 38 hours.
Buffy’s pick: Atelier de Chronométrie AdC22 in 18k gold. Price: 65,000 EUR (~66,900 USD)
Raul Pagès
Although Raul Pagès is based in Switzerland, this inventive watchmaker sticks firmly to his Spanish heritage. After honing his skills as a restorer for the likes of Patek Philippe, he took liberties with his own brand and set about reinventing the wheel, so to speak. The Regulator à Detente RP1 brings back the detent escapement, which has been in the shadow of lever escapements since the mid-18th century, and created a huge buzz when it was launched in 2022. This is not just a novelty, as detent escapements have always been considered highly accurate, but they are just more susceptible to shocks than lever escapements. Now, people like Raul Pagés are using modern techniques to show that this centuries-old craft still has room to develop. The design of the dial cannot be ignored either. It has a very eye-catching design with separate dials for hours, minutes and seconds.
Buffy’s Choice: Raúl Pagès Régulateur à détente RP1. Price: CHF 85,000 (~USD 93,300)
Time+Tide Timeless recommendation: Pita Barcelona
Founded in 2005 by Aniceto Pita, Pita Barcelona was a small family business of international importance. Mr. Aniceto devoted himself to watchmaking, and his son Daniel jointly took charge of design and management, creating high-end watches full of ingenuity. for example, Their Oceana dive watch was water resistant to 5,000 meters Thanks to the crownless case, time setting is done via a magnetic gear connection. There was also a carousel “slow-motion” tourbillon in which the entire movement rotates every 12 hours, and a vibrant Sol Y Luna with decorative sun and moon showing the day’s progress. If you don’t need flashy complications, there’s a minimalist with a distinctive crownless design for a simple and elegant wearing experience. What’s more, the price was surprisingly reasonable for what is essentially a custom-made, handmade watch. Unfortunately, although the founder is still listed on AHCI’s website, there have been no social media updates in over five years, the website is down, and the domain name is available for purchase, so Pita’s The future is uncertain.
