Tissot

Tissot SA
Member of the Swatch group
Industry Watchmaking
Founded 1853 by Charles-Félicien Tissot and Charles-Emile Tissot
Headquarters Le Locle, Switzerland
Number of locations
 16,000[1]
Area served
 150 countries
Key people
 François Thiébaud, (president)
Georges Nicolas Hayek Jr. (chairmain of the board)
Products Wristwatches, pocket watches, timing devices and systems
Services Timing systems
Number of employees
 250
Parent The Swatch Group Ltd.
Website www.tissotwatches.com
Tissot Le Locle

Tissot /tiˈsoʊ/ is a Swiss luxury watchmaker.[2] The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853.[3]

Tissot is not associated with another Swiss watchmaking firm, Mathey-Tissot. Tissot is a subsidiary of The Swatch Group.

History

Tissot was founded in 1853 by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son Charles-Émile Tissot in the Swiss city of Le Locle, in the Neuchâtel area of the Jura Mountains.[3]

Tissot introduced the first mass-produced pocket watch as well as the first pocket watch with two time zones in 1853[1] and the first anti-magnetic watch, in 1929–30. Charles-Emile Tissot left for Russia in 1858 and succeeded in selling their savonnette pocket watches across the Russian Empire.[1] The Tissot company was also the first to make watches out of plastic (Idea 2001 in 1971), stone (the Alpine granite RockWatch in 1985), mother of pearl (the Pearl watch in 1987), and wood (the Wood watch in 1988).[3] Tissot merged with Omega in 1930 and Tissot-Omega watches from this era are sought after by collectors.

Tissot has been a member of The Swatch Group Ltd. since 1983, the largest watch producer and distributor in the world.[4] Still based in Le Locle, Switzerland and marketed in 160 countries around the world. Tissot watches are currently classified by Swatch Group as "mid-range market" products.[5]

Tissot is an official timekeeper for the world championships in cycling, motorcycling, fencing and ice hockey, and was used for the Davis Cup in 1957 and downhill skiing in Switzerland in 1938. Tissot was also a key sponsor for the Formula One teams Lotus, Renault, and Sauber. Tissot's first engagement as an official timekeeper was in 1938 where they timed a series of Ski races in Villars-sur-Ollon, near the company's hometown in the Jura mountains.

For early events, handheld stopwatches were sufficient to provide official timings. Today Tissot works with various sporting bodies to develop systems to produce ever more accurate timings for specific events. In competitive cycling, for instance, sensors are placed on the bikes and track which are then linked by computers to provide track timings and performance data.

Tissot introduced its first tactile watch, with "T-Touch," technology in 1999; watches containing this technology have touch-sensitive sapphire crystals to control various functions like compass, barometer, altimeter and thermometer. The latest models in the T-Touch series, the T-Touch Expert Solar and T-Touch Lady Solar, have 25 functions.[6]

Tissot watches have been worn by Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, Sarah Bernhardt, singer Carmen Miranda, Elvis Presley, Grace Kelly, Banassim Kassim and Nelson Mandela.[1] James Stewart wore a Tissot watch in Rear Window. Indian actor Kamal Hassan wore a Tissot watch in the Tamil movie Dasavatharam. Deepika Padukone is brand ambassador in India since 2007.[7] T-Touch watches have been worn by Angelina Jolie in the movies Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Official timekeeper

Tissot has been the official timekeeper for a multitude of major sports, including MotoGP, ice hockey, cycling, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) the Fencing World Championships, the Women's National Basketball Association,[8] for many years. Being the official timekeeper means that Tissot has the responsibility of actually timing each of these sports. It has sponsored the Swiss national team,[9] the Chinese Basketball Association and other basketball-related events, teams, and organizations.

Brand Ambassadors

Tissot has partnered with a wide range of celebrities from basketball players, actors, cricket players, to MotoGP racers to be their brand ambassadors. As of 2018, brand ambassadors include Tony Parker, Liu Yi Fei, Virat Kohli, Deepika Padukone, Huang Xiaoming, Jorge Lorenzo, Thomas Luethi, Marc Márquez.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Tissot Official Website: History". Tissot. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  2. ↑ "Best Luxury Watch Brand". Kings Of Time.
  3. 1 2 3 "Tissot: The Brand". Tissot. Archived from the original on 2 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  4. ↑ Bedford, Patrick (2008-07-23). "Buzzle.com: The History Behind Tissot Watches". Archived from the original on 2013-01-02. Retrieved 2009-09-18.
  5. ↑ Lorenceau, René. "Middle Range watches – (Tissot, Balmain, Certina, Mido, Hamilton, Calvin Klein) – The Swatch Group - Swatch Group". www.swatchgroup.com.
  6. ↑ "The New Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar". Anytime. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  7. ↑ "Deepika Padukone welcomes Virat Kohli to 'TISSOT' family | India TV". Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  8. ↑ "NBA, watchmaker Tissot announce multiyear partnership". ESPN. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  9. ↑ FIBA EuroBasket 2017, FIBA.com, Retrieved 31 August 2017.
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