Tissot
By Bruce Shawkey
As a vintage watch dealer, I am often asked, “What is a good brand to collect that presents a good value for the money?” There are half a dozen or more good Swiss brands that fall into that category—brands that I believe are under-appreciated and undervalued in the marketplace. One of those is Tissot.
“I first became interested in Tissot watches while backpacking across Europe at 17 years of age in 1970,” says Tom Fulton, a vintage watch collector from White Plains, NY. “They advertised quite heavily on radio at that time. I’ve managed to pick up one very nice piece, a 27B-21, from 1954. It’s in an 18kt yellow gold case and is one of my favorites.”
Vintage Tissot watches have always had good quality cases and movements. The company has been an innovator throughout the decades, and they have always concerned themselves with making quality watches. Yet today, vintage Tissot watches are relegated to the “lower echelons” of many dealers’ inventories. Collectors who can find great watches at what I consider bargain prices. Let us take a look at the fascinating history and innovative watches of this Swiss manufacturer, and perhaps you will have a new-found respect for Tissot.
At the outset, I should make a clarification. There is some confusion between Tissot watches and those manufactured by Mathey-Tissot. They are totally different watches and totally different manufacturers, with the latter being founded in 1886 by Edmund Mathey-Tissot.
Founded in 1853
When I talk about Tissot watches, I am referring to the company founded by Charles-Felicien Tissot and his son Charles-Emile. Charles-Felicien (b. 1804) had been a watchmaker in the Jura region of Switzerland. His son, Charles Emile, born in 1830, apprenticed as a watchmaker in his father’s footsteps beginning at age 12. It must have been in his blood to be a watchmaker because he completed his training very quickly and in 1848, at the relatively young age of 18, sailed across the ocean to America at the request of an uncle to repair timepieces there. Quickly becoming excited at the possibility of supplying new markets with timepieces, young Charles-Emile was not content to stay put in America repairing other manufacturers’ watches. And so five years later, he returned to Switzerland and convinced his father to go into business supplying watches to the world, bearing the family name. Thus, in 1853, the firm of Ch. F. Tissot & Fils. was born in the city of Le Locle.
The father tended to the home fires, overseeing production, while the son handled the marketing. Over the course of the next 43 years, Charles-Emile would undertake no fewer than 52 journeys to North America and Russia. The greater market potential appeared to be in Russia, so Charles-Emile concentrated his efforts there. Only one rail line operated during this time from Moscow to St. Petersburg; Charles-Emile often traveled to the far reaches of Russia by troika, a Russian carriage pulled by a team of three horses. Considering his fragile and precious cargo -- consisting of watches bearing not only his family name but other luxury Swiss timepieces including Audemars Piguet -- it was a perilous way to travel. Through the son’s industrious efforts and carefully chosen alliances with sales agents, Tissot would eventually earn the prestigious title of “Purveyor to the Tsar’s Court.”
In 1873, when Charles-Felicien died, his widow watched over the company at home while Charles Emile continued to travel and develop new markets. By 1883, Charles-Emile brought his son, Charles Tissot, then age 23, into the business. For the next two decades, son and grandson would continue to develop he business and earn awards for their watches in various prestigious competitions throughout Europe, while still concentrating their sales efforts in Russia.
Birth of the Wristwatch
In the midst of all this activity, Charles-Emile passed away in 1910. The fourth generation joined the firm at that time, when Charles brought his son, Paul, into the business. At the relatively young age of 20 years, Paul would soon become instrumental in the company’s future. Paul’s sister, Marie Tissot, also joined the company in 1916 and would become instrumental in her own right in guiding the company’s future. Things would soon begin to change radically for Tissot. The success Tissot had enjoyed in Russia was about to end. With the revolution of 1917, the watch market in Russia virtually collapsed overnight. Tissot would have to find new markets, and their approach to this would be ingenious, as we will soon see. But prior to embarking on a new marketing strategy, Charles' son, Paul, and daughter Marie first concentrated on the manufacturing process itself. Tissot began producing their own watch movements in their spacious and modern facilities (updated in 1908) to reduce their dependence on ebauches (rough movements) from other manufacturers.
The clear leader to emerge during this time was Paul. His strong personality, along with the company’s production improvements, brought him attention from many watch manufacturers, in particular the Brandt family, who owned and operated Omega. The two formed an alliance in the early 1920s that would more than compensate Tissot for its lost market in Russia. That alliance would also irrevocably fuse the two companies in the eyes of jewelers, the buying public, and, eventually, collectors. In 1925, Paul was made a director of Omega, and in 1929, the companies officially merged. Omega, which had already establishedstronghold in the United States, became the distributing agent for Tissot. It is ironic how, today, many collectors think of Tissot as a “poor man’s Omega” because for many decades Tissot was promoted as the “higher end” watch while Omega covered the “lower luxury” market.
The streamlining that had begun in the 1920s continued, so that at one point, Tissot offered 42 different models of watches using only five different cases Streamlining did not mean, however, that Tissot lacked innovation during this period. For example, during the 1930s, Tissot is credited with introducing the industry’s first anti-magnetic watch -- a revolutionary development that would eventually benefit the entire watch industry. Magnetism is a watch movement’s invisible enemy, eventually causing it to run erratically. During the late 1930s, Tissot also introduced a water-resistant case that utilized clips to hold the back to the case. Later case designs would use screws in the back of the watch in conjunction with metal tabs that would “squeeze” the back to the case. Other innovations would follow, which we will discuss in a moment.
While Omega and Tissot tried their best to keep their brands distinct through the coming decades, the inevitable melding of the two did occur. It is possible (though not common), for example, to find watches made during the 1930s-1950s that are signed both Omega and Tissot on the dial! Other Tissot models shared basic movement calibers with Omega watches, particularly chronographs, which tended to utilize ebauches as a basic platform.
Many ladies’ watches of the period (1930s-1940s), meanwhile, took on a more sporty/athletic look. Many had sweep seconds or auxiliary seconds hands, which were almost unheard of in ladies’ watches of the day. This suggests that Tissot was appealing to a wider market than just the “watch-as-jewelry” look emphasized by other manufacturers. As mentioned previously, the collaboration of Tissot and Omega that began in 1925 was formalized in 1930 when the company entered into a community of interests that led to the foundation of the Societe Suisse pour l’Industrie Horlogere S.A. (SSIH), headquartered in Geneva. In 1932, SSIH was joined by Lemania, which effectively supplied the consortium (though not exclusively) with chronograph ebauches. Another consortium of watchmakers, ASUAG, which was formed in 1931, would eventually figure into Tissot’s future. In 1983, the two consortiums would merge to form SMH, which would eventually become the Swatch Group Ltd.
So today, Tissot is part of Swatch Group, which, through the years and through various mergers and acquisitions, has become the umbrella corporation for 18 watch companies and is the largest manufacturer and distributor of finished watches in the world. In terms of sales (in Swiss francs) the Swatch Group represents some 25 percent of the watch production sales in the world. During the years that led to the end of Tissot as an independent company, Marie Tissot played an integral part. Born in Moscow, the sister of Paul Tissot joined the company in 1916 as an administrator, as previously mentioned, but eventually would take over the whole accounting department. Her work was especially crucial during World War II, when most of the factory’s male employees were conscripted for service into the Swiss Army. Perhaps more importantly, she was responsible for giving the Tissot company a “soul.” She created the social department in Tissot, as well as a trust fund that benefited not only workers (male and female) but their widows and orphans. It was one of the first companies to take on responsibility for workers and their families. But at the same time, Marie was a staunch businesswoman, and all the construction and modifications to the factory required her assent before they could commence. Certainly, she was a woman ahead of her time and an anomaly in the male dominated business world at that time. She died in 1980 at age 83.
Her brother, Paul, meanwhile, passed away in 1951 at the relatively young age of 61 while at the zenith of his career at Tissot. After Paul’s death, his cousin, Edouard-Louis Tissot (b. 1896, d. 1977), who was already a member of the board of directors of the SSIH group, agreed to come back to Switzerland and taken over the management of Tissot, together with Marie. He had studied as an electrical engineer in Switzerland and, since 1924, had worked as an engineer in Argentina, where he founded the “Compagnie Suisse-Argentine d'Electricité.” Luc Tissot, the son of Edouard-Louis, born in 1937, also an engineer, was the last managing director of Tissot. He left the company in 1981, approximately two years before the merger of SSIH and ASUAG.
The Watches
We have discussed some of the innovative watches introduced by Tissot through the 1930s. And many more were to come. Starting with the outbreak of World War II, Tissot marketed a watch called the Militar. Though Tissot, to my knowledge, never formally contracted with the U.S. government, the manual-wind Militar was nevertheless popular with soldiers who were not issued a military watch. The watches were often better quality than those issued by the military and may have even served as a “preferred timepiece” for soldiers who were given government-issued wristwatches.
In 1942, Tissot came out with a watch that is today one of the more collectible Tissot watches -- the Mediostat (left). It has a large independent sweep second hand that starts, stops, and resets with the use of a single push button. A constant seconds hand is located on a subsidiary chapter at 6:00. Elapsed time of up to one minute can be measured, or longer if the user can remember how many times the large second hand has traversed the circumference of the dial. The watch was pitched to physicians, where it proved quite useful for taking patients’ pulses. But technicians, scientists, and so forth could also make use of this feature. The model was even touted during World War II as a useful watch for artillery men, bombardiers, and so forth to measure the time between bomb launch and detonation. The watch is currently enjoying a rebirth among Tissot’s “Heritage” line as the “Sovereign” model. But it is a simple time-only watch with date -- no push button and no independent second hand. In 1944, Tissot introduced its first automatic watch using the Caliber 28 family of movements, which bore an almost exact likeness to the Omega Caliber 340 family. For eight years, Tissot automatics utilized a hammer or bumper pendulum . In 1952 these were replaced with full rotor pendulums.
Eventually, many of Tissot’s automatic watches took on the initials “PR” in their reference. It has been previously reported that the first reference was the R500,” but the company can find no record of the watch existing. According to Tissot, the first in the PR series was the “PR516” manufactured in 1956. The PR has had several meanings over the years, including Precision Resistance, Particularly Resistant, and Precise and Robust. As far as what the number after the “PR” indicates, this is anyone’s guess. Some have suggested that it indicates the depth of water resistance in meters, but this simply doesn’t hold true for all models across the span of time. Others suggest it stands for a particular alloy of steel used in the case. One caliber in particular, launched in 1951, the 28.5N-21, became the platform for what is arguably Tissot’s most famous vintage wristwatch. In 1953, the company used this caliber in a revolutionary new watch called the Navigator (right). It is easy to spot, because an independent inner
The 1960s and Beyond
The 1960s were turbulent times for the watch industry, as mainstream manufacturer struggled to compete against the onslaught of throw-away watches by Timex (pin-lever) and the cheaper jeweled-lever imports. Tissot made a gallant effort to remain a premium watch.
But no watch manufacturer remained immune from the public’s taste for cheap watches. Tissot, like everyone else, looked for ways to lower the cost of production. A breakthrough occurred in 1969 when Tissot rolled out its first “Sideral” model. The case was made of plastic reinforced with fiberglass. The name Sideral was a marketing ploy and referred to sidereal time, which is time based on the rotation of the earth with reference to the background of the stars. For example, a sidereal day is the exact time required for a complete revolution of the earth, which is equivalent to 23 hours, 56 minutes, 4.09 seconds in terms of solar mean time, which is the standard unit of time measure (i.e., 24 hours in a day). Of course, the watch does not keep sidereal time any more than the Omega Constellation shows the patterns of the stars on its face. It was simply Tissot’s attempt to come up with a catchy name. The first in the Sideral series of plastic-cased watches was an automatic model, that was followed by electric and chronograph models as well. Models often have an inset screw on the back to fine-tune the time. This eliminates the need to open the case for routine timing adjustments. The initial price of the automatic model was 105 Swiss francs, equivalent to about $24 U.S. dollars at the time. That was about half the price of the most basic man’s Tissot model cased in metal. Judging by the number of these watches that I see in the vintage market, the Sideral was a success.
Two years later, in 1971, Tissot carried this innovation one step further by introducing a watch with a plastic movement, called the Astrolon or, in some cases, the “Sytal,” an acronym for “Systeme Total d’Autolubrification.” The majority of the parts -- wheels, pinions, escapement, and plates -- were all cast from plastic, and much of the watch movement was machine-assembled. The only metal components werethe balance assembly, the mainspring and barrel, and the keyless winding mechanism. Various parts of the movement are red, white, and blue -- a nice touch. The number of parts was reduced from 90 in a conventional movement to 52. Because the movement was self-lubricating, the word “Autolub” was added to some models. The caliber designations were 2250, 2270 (date), and 2280 (day and date). One very distinctive model, the “Idea 2001,” was housed in a clear plastic case so the movement was visible.
Most of the models had cases that were sealed. Furthermore, the movements could not be disassembled; they simply had to be replaced. Priced from $22.50 to as low as $8, they were designed as throw-away watches, only better, according to Tissot. The watch withstood normal water immersion tests to 30 psi, and Tissot’s engineers claimed that the timepiece could compete with a chronometer for accuracy and reliability. Some models were eventually made with cases that could be taken apart, so that the movement could at least be swapped out if problems arose. The watch, however, faced several problems, not the least of which was the introduction of commercially viable quartz watches. The Astrolon project was soon dropped, and today, the watches (in particular, the Idea 2001 model) are quite collectible. Many collectors say the Astrolon was the forerunner to the Swatch watch, introduced in 1983. While there are many similarities, I still place the Astrolon in a separate category, since it continued to rely on a mechanical movement, while Swatch watches, at least initially, were strictly quartz watches (though many mechanical Swatch models were eventually, and continue to be, released).
The trend toward making cases out of nontraditional materials would continue into the 1980s, as Tissot introduced watches with cases made of granite, mother of pearl, wood, and ceramic. In 1996, the company introduced the Autoquartz, with the ETA Caliber 205.111 movement. It is a hybrid between a mechanical and quartz watch, like the Seiko Kinetic. But the similarities end there. The mechanics work in a totally different manner.
The company has made a marvelous comeback from its days of makin“throw-away” watches, due in part to the renaissance of the Swiss watch industry as a whole. The public’s taste has turned around to more durable goods of all kinds, which translates to better quality watches. Today, the Tissot line is divided into six categories, ranging from the “vintage look” to watches that appeal to those on the leading edge of technology.
Perhaps the most impressive watch in that last category is Tissot’s new “T-Touch” touch screen watch. The company claims it is the first watch with a touch-sensitive dial. Various functions of the watch are activated by touching the crystal of the watch. The functions include “me-teo” (which gives atmospheric pressure); “altimeter” (reads height above sea level in feet or meters); “chrono” (a digital chronograph to 1/100-th second); “Compass” (shows geographic north with adjustable East/West declination); “Alarm” (with audible signal); and “Thermo” (reads outside temperature in either Fahrenheit or Celsius). The watch is available in either a stainless or titanium case. Prices start at $630 retail.
More ads and pictures of Tissot watches are shown below and on the following pages.
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