Founded in 1853, Tissot boasts a rich and fascinating history of producing finely crafted luxury watches that combine style and performance. Today, Tissot is a fixture in both fashion and professional sports, and Tissot watches are worn by some of the world's most famous athletes and celebrities.
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Tissot’s catalog is a wide assortment of luxury wristwatches, ranging from dynamic sports watches and bold diver’s models to elegant dress watches and classic chronographs.
From solid gold watches powered by in-house developed movements to innovations like the Tissot T-Touch with a titanium case and cutting-edge touchscreen, there is a design to match every personality, profession, and activity. Each Tissot watch strives to deliver accuracy and quality above all else, while simultaneously embodying the brand’s passion for traditional Swiss watchmaking. These enduring works of art are crafted inside the company’s manufacturing facilities, nestled deep in the heart of Le Locle, Switzerland.
Some of Tissot’s widely recognized watches include the PRS 516, which showcases a classic racing design geared towards motorsport enthusiasts, the T-Touch - a multifunction electronic watch with a futuristic aesthetic, the T-Race - a large modern 50mm chronograph watch, the PRC 200 with a water-resistant case of 200 meters, and the Tissot Couturier - an elegant dress watch that can elevate a formal or smart wardrobe with ease.
Tissot watches are now distributed and sold in 160 countries across the globe. Although most of the company’s catalog is positioned at the more affordable end of the luxury watch price spectrum, Tissot remains popular for connoisseurs with even the most sophisticated tastes in Haute Horlogerie since their versatile and durable designs make for great everyday wristwatches.
Today, the Swiss watch manufacturer works with many sporting bodies to refine watches with ever more accurate capabilities. Whether you’re a competitive cyclist, basketball player, professional diver, motorsport racing driver, or tennis enthusiast - Tissot’s track record as Official Timekeeper of MotoGP, Ice Hockey, Cycling, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the Fencing World Championships, the NBA amongst others, has played an integral role in creating some of the world’s most affordable, high-quality wristwatches.
Tissot’s story began in 1853. Charles Félicien Tissot founded the company with his son Charles-Emile. Together they produced gold pocketwatch cases in a small workshop located in Le Locle in the canton of Neuchatel. However, it was not until 1915 that Charles-Emile and his son began creating wristwatches. The two founders fitted externally produced watch parts into their cases and began distributing these to locations like Russia and America. They then merged with Swiss watchmaker Omega, becoming Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère (SSIH).
Many of Tissot’s most fashionable watches were created around 30 years ago during the 1980s and 1990s, including their models with cases crafted from unusual, daring materials like wood and stone. During this time the company became a member of The Swatch Group. Tissot began making a name for itself and created its first anti-magnetic watch in 1929 and 1930.
The first T-Touch watch was created in 1999, demonstrating Tissot’s journey not only as a pioneer in cutting edge technology but also as an innovator in state-of-the-art materials. It contained cutting-edge technology behind a touch-sensitive sapphire crystal touchscreen, creating the building blocks for future models of the series, like the T-Touch Expert Solar and the T-Touch Lady Solar - both of which perform on solar-powered energy.
When a watch from the T-Classic collection is worn on the wrist it exudes a sense of timelessness. Harkening back to Tissot’s routes, these timepieces, as their namesake suggests, celebrate a classic approach to timekeeping. Most suited to businessmen and women these elegant wristwatches are loved for their ability to pair easily with formal attire.
The ladies' collection of Tissot T-Classic watches feature mixed metals and exquisite dials decorated with diamond indexes and lavish detailing. As durable as they are eye-catching, these models for feminine wrists are also incredibly robust, making them ideal companions to wear every day of the week. The T-Classic collection includes the Le Locle range of wristwatches, (equipped with the Powermatic 80 movement capable of an 80-hour power reserve), the opulent Flamingo ladies collection, the simple and understated Tissot Gentleman range, and the technical-looking Chrono XL Classic line.
If you’re looking to splash a little more cash, the Tissot T-Gold collection is where you’ll find some of the manufacturer’s most expensive models. The Tissot Bridgeport Automatic Gold watch, for example, boasts a case crafted entirely from 18k gold that houses one of the industry’s best automatic calibers with a built-in chronograph functionality. Tissot created the mission statement "gold value at silver price" to represent their T-Gold collection, underscoring their passion for creating luxurious timepieces at affordable prices. The Tissot Goldrun and Tissot T-My Lady watch also belong to this collection.
Tissot can proudly look back on a heritage spanning over 160 years. Some of their most iconic designs are recreated in this portfolio of inspiring timepieces. The models bridge the gap between traditional wristwatches and timekeeping tools for the modern watch lover. The Tissot Heritage watch collection includes; the Porto mode, with an instantly recognizable tonneau-shaped case, the Heritage 1973 models and the Visodate watches. The Visodate, in particular, marked a significant decade for Tissot. The brand celebrated its centenary by adding a date feature to the Visodate’s automatic mechanism.
When Tissot became the Official Timekeeper for MotoGP, it further strengthened the brand’s ties with the sports industry, sparking the beginning of the brand’s T-Sport watch collection, which includes the popular PRS 516 models. Since 2001, these designs have been incorporating unique features like brake disc-style bezels, date magnifiers, and super-accurate quartz movements. Their color-splashed chronograph dials and sporty straps have been injecting vibrant, athletic undertones to a gentleman’s attire, while at the same time providing him with a set of innovative and highly technical functions.
Tissot also underlines its role as Official Timekeeper of the NBA with a series of specially developed watches that embody the core values of basketball. Moreover, the SuperSport models from the T-Sport collection are characterized by their sleek black tachymeter bezels which can be used in conjunction with the chronograph features to measure distance based on speed or speed based on traveling time.
Tissot’s creation of the tactile T-Touch watch marked a historical milestone in Haute Horlogerie. A sapphire crystal touch screen acts as the interactive cockpit for the functionalities of the watch, such as a compass, altimeter, barometer, chronograph and many more. The cases of these watches are crafted from titanium and stainless steel and each T-Touch watch has been expertly developed to withstand extreme outdoor conditions too. Tissot has continued to update its T-Touch models since 1999, improving the model's user-friendliness.
The Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar watch is an environmental-friendly version since its innovative design is solar powered. There’s also a range of other models belonging to the collection, like the Tissot T-Race Touch with a chronograph that measures a hundredth of a second and the T-Touch Expert with an in-built thermometer that’s perfect for mountaineers.
Tissot’s partnership with the sporting industry is unprecedented. Holding the same values in standards of precision as well as performance, the brand is committed to supporting events like the Tour De France, the UCI, FIBA, EPCR, and the Guinness Six Nations. In 1996, Tissot also became a partner of the International Ice Hockey Federation as well as the Fédération Internationale d’Escrime (FIE). They’ve also enjoyed the achievements of the legendary French car manufacturer, Alpine, in obtaining titles such as World Rally Champion in 1973, with the Alpine A110 (at the Rally of Monte Carlo) and the scratch victory at the 24h of Le Mans in 1978 with the Alpine A442b.
There are hundreds of models in Tissot’s diverse portfolio. Generally speaking, women’s Tissot watches and men’s Tissot watches start at under $1,000 for the quartz-powered models, and top out at several thousand for the more luxurious models with automatic mechanical movements. Most quartz models such as the Tissot T-Touch, T-Race, and Sea-Touch can be found for under $1k on the secondary market, making them excellent value propositions given their cast range of features.
The most expensive Tissot watches are those crafted from 18k gold, which can reach prices of around $3000 like the Tissot Vintage Powermatic 80 men’s watch in 18k yellow gold. With that in mind, many Tissot watches can be found at a discount on the pre-owned market, with most mechanical models in steel cases selling for just shy of the $1k mark.
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