Tissot history

Tissot history

Tissot - Innovators by Tradition

From 1853 to the present day, Tissot has continually surprised and delighted customers with its products innovation. A relentless pioneering led the company from its foundation in the small Swiss Jura town of Le Locle, to a presence in 150 countries. From its first pocket watch with two time-zones in 1853 to its revolutionary touch-screen technology T-Touch watch, Tissot has presented a series of 'firsts' in terms of technology, materials and design - even to the extent of creating watches made of rock, wood and pearl.

From day one, Tissot was also dedicated to take its innovations to destinations well beyond the Swiss borders. In 1858, the founder's son, Charles-Emile Tissot, left Le Locle for Russia and successfully sold Tissot savonnette watches across this huge and influential empire. International expansion went from strength to strength and Tissot is today the leading producer of the traditional Swiss watch industry in number of units. Tissot products are sold by 16 000 Points of Sales across five continents today.

Over the years, many key figures have owned Tissot watches, including actress Sarah Bernhardt, singer Carmen Miranda, Elvis Presley, Grace Kelly and Nelson Mandela. Football hero Michael Owen, pioneering female IndyCar® driver Danica Patrick, and World Champion in MotoGP Nicky Hayden are proud Tissot ambassadors today. And as official timekeeper and partner of NASCAR®, MotoGP and the World Championships of cycling, fencing and ice hockey, Tissot clearly expresses its firmly held values by performance, precision and pushing the boundaries to new limits.

1853 : first production of pocket watches.

1917: Banana watches (re-edition in 2002 as Classic Prince).

1930: the first antimagnetic watch

1953: Navigator, 24 Times Zone.

1965: PR 516, precision, robustness

1971: Idea 2001 (Astrolon), the first plastic watch.

1978: F1, official watch of the Lotus racing team

1985: Rock watch, the first watch in stone (granite from Alps)

1986: Two timer, analog and digital watch

1987: Pearl watch, the first watch made of mother of pearl

1988: wood watch, the first watch in wood

1998: Titanium 7, 7 founctions

1999: T-Collection, T3 with real diamonds

2000: T-touch, the 7 function tactile watch

2001: T-Collcetion, empation

2002: Le Locle

2003: Heritage 150th Anniversary Limited Edition

2004: T-Race collection, is born

2006: T-Wave collection for ladies

2007: T-Race MotoGP Automatic Chronograph Valjoux, Limited Edition