The Swatch Group. Tissot joined Omega in SSIH in 1930, and SSIH became part of SMH in 1983, renamed Swatch Group in 1998. The group lists Tissot in its mid-range segment.

Where are Tissot watches made?

Tissot is based in Le Locle, Switzerland, and its watches are Swiss Made. Movements come mainly from ETA, the Swatch Group's movement maker, including the Powermatic 80 automatic calibre.

What does PRX stand for?

Tissot explains PRX as precision and robustness, with the X, the Roman numeral 10, referring to 10 bar water resistance. The PR prefix dates back to the PR 516 of 1965, originally read as 'Particularly Robust'.

How do you pronounce Tissot?

TEE-so. The final t is silent, following French pronunciation, since the brand comes from French-speaking Le Locle.

Switzerland · Founded 1853

Tissot

Tissot made the first plastic mechanical watch, the Idea 2001, in 1971.

Tissot is the Swatch Group's mid-range Swiss brand, still based in Le Locle where it was founded in 1853. It sells quartz and Powermatic 80 automatic watches, mostly between a few hundred and about 1,500 euros, and is best known today for the PRX, the Seastar divers and the T-Touch, plus official timing in cycling, MotoGP and basketball.

History

Charles-Félicien Tissot, a case maker, and his son Charles-Émile, a watchmaker, set up Chs Tissot & Fils in their Le Locle house in 1853. Tissot credits its first year with a mass-produced pocket watch showing two time zones. In 1858 Charles-Émile travelled to Russia and built a large trade in savonnette pocket watches there, and his son Charles moved to Moscow in 1885 to run the branch. Tissot delivered a watch to Tsar Nicholas II in 1904 and won chronometer prizes at the Neuchâtel Observatory in 1907.

The 1917 Revolution closed the Russian market. In 1925 Tissot formed a commercial partnership with Omega's Louis and Gustave Brandt, and in 1930 the two firms merged into SSIH under Paul Tissot-Daguette. The same period produced the Tissot Antimagnétique, presented as the first antimagnetic wristwatch, and early timing work began with ski races at Villars-sur-Ollon in 1938. The Navigator of 1953 brought a world-time display to a series-produced watch.

The 1960s and 1970s made the PR name, short for 'Particularly Robust'. The PR 516 appeared in 1965, a chronograph version followed in 1968, and the integrated-bracelet PRX arrived in 1978. Tissot also experimented with materials: the Idea 2001, sold as Astrolon, used a plastic mechanical movement in 1971, followed in the 1980s by the granite RockWatch, the Two Timer with analogue and digital displays, and watches in mother-of-pearl and wood.

SSIH merged with ASUAG in 1983 to form SMH, renamed Swatch Group in 1998, and Tissot settled into the group's mid-range tier. The 1999 T-Touch introduced a touch-sensitive sapphire crystal controlling compass, altimeter and barometer functions. Since 2015 Tissot has timed the NBA. The 2021 relaunch of the PRX, with a 1970s-style integrated bracelet at an accessible price, became one of the most successful watches of the early 2020s.

Founders

Charles-Félicien Tissot: Co-founder, case maker; Le Locle case maker who founded Chs Tissot & Fils with his son in 1853, turning the family house into a small workshop.
Charles-Émile Tissot: Co-founder, watchmaker; Watchmaker son of Charles-Félicien. From 1858 he developed Tissot's sales in the Russian Empire, which became the firm's largest market.

Milestones

1853
Chs Tissot & Fils founded in Le Locle
Father and son Charles-Félicien and Charles-Émile Tissot start the company in Le Locle, in the Neuchâtel Jura.
1858
Expansion into Russia
Charles-Émile Tissot travels to Russia, which becomes the firm's most important market until 1917.
1930
SSIH formed with Omega
Tissot and Omega merge into SSIH; Tissot presents its Antimagnétique wristwatch in the same period.
1953
Navigator world-time watch
The Navigator puts a 24-time-zone display into a series-produced watch.
1965
PR 516
The PR 516 launches; 'PR' stands for 'Particularly Robust', and '516' marks the 16th model in the water-resistant 5 series.
1971
Idea 2001 (Astrolon)
Tissot releases the Idea 2001, sold as Astrolon, a mechanical watch with a movement made largely of plastic.
1978
First PRX
The PRX introduces a slim steel case with integrated bracelet; it was discontinued in the 1980s.
1983
SSIH and ASUAG merge
SSIH merges with ASUAG to form SMH, which takes the Swatch Group name in 1998.
1999
T-Touch
The T-Touch uses a touch-sensitive sapphire crystal to select functions such as compass, altimeter and barometer.
2021
PRX relaunch
Tissot revives the PRX in quartz and Powermatic 80 versions; demand outstrips supply in many markets.

Three things collectors know

Granite, wood and pearl

After the plastic Idea 2001 of 1971, Tissot cased watches in Alpine granite (RockWatch, 1985), mother-of-pearl (PearlWatch, 1987) and wood (WoodWatch, 1988).

The meaning of 516

In the PR 516 name, '5' refers to Tissot's water-resistant series and '16' to the sixteenth model in it. The chronograph version followed three years later, in 1968.

A watch in Rear Window

James Stewart wears a Tissot in Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window (1954), and Richard Roundtree appears to wear a PR 516 on a rally bracelet in Shaft (1971).

Signature models

PRX1978
Integrated-bracelet steel watch, revived in 2021 in quartz and Powermatic 80 automatic versions.
PR 5161965
'Particularly Robust' sports watch; the 1968 chronograph returned as a hand-wound re-edition in 2024.
T-Touch1999
Touch-sensitive sapphire crystal controlling compass, altimeter, barometer and other functions.
Navigator1953
Early series-produced world-time watch, later reissued in Tissot's Heritage line.

Questions

Who owns Tissot?: The Swatch Group. Tissot joined Omega in SSIH in 1930, and SSIH became part of SMH in 1983, renamed Swatch Group in 1998. The group lists Tissot in its mid-range segment.
Where are Tissot watches made?: Tissot is based in Le Locle, Switzerland, and its watches are Swiss Made. Movements come mainly from ETA, the Swatch Group's movement maker, including the Powermatic 80 automatic calibre.
What does PRX stand for?: Tissot explains PRX as precision and robustness, with the X, the Roman numeral 10, referring to 10 bar water resistance. The PR prefix dates back to the PR 516 of 1965, originally read as 'Particularly Robust'.
How do you pronounce Tissot?: TEE-so. The final t is silent, following French pronunciation, since the brand comes from French-speaking Le Locle.

History

Founders

Milestones

Chs Tissot & Fils founded in Le Locle

Expansion into Russia

SSIH formed with Omega

Navigator world-time watch

PR 516

Idea 2001 (Astrolon)

First PRX

SSIH and ASUAG merge

T-Touch

PRX relaunch