Tissot 2012 Novelties Overview

Several weeks ago, at the beginning of the day, I had the opportunity to meet the Tissot France Team for a presentation at the Maison des Centraliens of the novelties and of the current collection. I'm always interested in this kind of presentation because it gives a very picture of the strategy and of the evolution of the brand. Moreover, Tissot is a very important company inside Swatch Group beeing one of the entry level brands with a very high production volume. We have to understand that in several countries Tissot has a respected image of quality with an affordable price.

Tissot has clearly two missions in my point of view: first mission is obviously to have excellent sales figures to contribute to Swatch Group overall results. This mission requires an effective production process to control the costs while keeping the quality requirements and so to deliver an attractive product at a reasonable price.

The second mission is to be able to propose the first "good watch" for a lot of clients who have never worn a watch from a known brand before. This mission is crucial for Swatch Group because if the client is satisfied by this first watch, maybe he will have the will to spend more to purchase a watch from a higher segment, maybe a Longines... or even an Omega.

Quartz movements power a very large part of the Tissot collection but I feel that step by step, the brand tries to improve its horological contents thanks to the presence of some noticable mechanical watches in the catalogue, especially in the Heritage and Classic collections.

I would like to present you 4 watches which are good representatives of this catalogue.

The presentation at the Maison des Centraliens:



































A) T-Touch Classic

We all know the T-Touch maybe now the most famous Tissot watch. This watch is gathering tactile functions, some very classic like the chronograph to others useful for outdoor activities like a compass. There is now a wide collection of T-Touch dedicated to specific contextes: Racing, Sailing, Sea, Expert... without forgetting the Silen-T which provides time through vibrations!

The T-Touch Classic is broadening this collection by offering as its name says it a more classic style to this watch which could be perceived as too casual to be worn as a business watch.

The watch combines a more sober case with 11 tactile functions and I must confess that the result is quite convincing especially with the black dial (of course, I shot the white one...). The bezel is rather thick for a 42mm case diameter but it is visually acceptable. Thickness is 12,15mm. We can't say that it is a thin watch but it is an overall good diameter/thickness ratio for a daily watch.

A good move by Tissot which will be successful in my point of view.










B) T-Touch Expert Dragon 2012

This is the other side of the T-Touch collection: the Dragon 2012 has a very daring and  bold design  dedicated especially to Chinese customers. The positive point of this 44mm watch is the use of titanium for the case and of carbon for the dial. The red markers of the main functions on the dial  work pretty well with the Dragon. This Dragon 2012 is not my cup of tea and I much prefer the original T-Touch Expert. Anyway, this watch is a very worthy way to own a titanium & carbon watch.











C) Heritage PR 516

This 2012 novelty is maybe my fav Tissot. Inspired by a model of the 60's, it features a 40mm case easily recognizable due to its specific shape. Several dial colours are available: silver, black, blue and without any doubt this last one is the most appealing. I like the red colour of the big second hand.

Movement is an ETA2836-2: you will notice the design of the winding rotor.

A nice watch, at the same time sportive and quite elegant due to its vintage roots.


















D) Le Locle Automatic Chronometer Edition

This is a very famous watch... well at least it is a Tribute to the watch which won the latest "Concours International de Chronométrie". Of course, the version you will find on the shelves will not have the same settings than the watch which got the prize... even if it proudly displays its chronometer accuracy on the dial. It is a COSC wach after all.

It is available with a pink gold coated PVD SS case or with a two tones one. I much prefer the   pink gold PVD version even if a true PG case would have been preferable. But the price wouldn't have been the same... Case diameter is 39,3mm. The dial is well balanced as the date window position gives the proof. Frankly speaking, I would have removed this date window especially when it comes with the white colour! The Tissot name on the dial is a bit too big for my taste. Hands and applied figures contribute the elegance of the watch.

Movement is an ETA2824-2 with a power reserve of around 40 hours. Case back follows the usual Le Locle style with the split window.

A decent watch with an elegant style but a SS case without coating would have been better IMHO.


















I hope to have managed to give you a good idea of the current Tissot collection. But I don't want to finish this report without speaking about the main Tissot ambassador: Tony Parker! For the greatest pleasure of the French journalists, Tony Parker was present during the event and we were able to ask him some questions about his life, his partnership with Tissot, his NBA carreer and so on... As a Celtics fan, I told him that I regretted that the latest Finals were not a clash between the Celtics and the Spurs! And honestly, it will become more and more difficult for both teams to reach these Finals due to the average age of their rosters. But who knows? With such players, a surprise is always possible!





The Celtics fan is on the left and the Spurs point guard on the right:




I would like to thank a lot the Tissot team for the organisation and Tony Parker for his availability.

Fr.Xavier