Tissot Watches

The Tissot watch brand

Who are Tissot?

Tissot is a name that has long been associated with wrist watch making excellence for more than 150 years. The Tissot brand was founded by father and son watch-makers, Charles-Felicien Tissot, together with and his son Charles-Emile Tissot, in the region of Le locle during 1853.

During the mid to late 19th century Le locle was a hub of watch making activity. Some of the world's leading watch-makers migrated to the Le Locle region to become part of the watch making revolution taking place there. Many other watch companies including Tissot can trace their heritage back to this Swiss region, and to similar humble beginnings. However, from these humble beginnings the Tissot family soon evolved into a prestigious company, producing wrist watches for the key public figures such as the Tzar Nicholas II and for Queen Elisabeth I of Belgium.

The Tissot name became extremely prominent and gained increasing influence by the turn of the century, with many Royals and celebrities of the time travelling to the Le Locle region to have their watches made by Tissot. This courtship of key figures of the time continued into the 1940's with film and Broadway star Carmen Miranda frequently seen wearing a Tissot ladies watch.

Tissot though, were not just a fashion watch fad for the rich and famous, they were now a key player in the technological advancement of wrist watches. Tissot launched the world's first antimagnetic automatic watch in 1933 ­ this move proved to be a huge step forwards and lead the way towards the development of the range of Tissot wrist watches we all know and love today. The antimagnetic automatic watch was a huge success for Tissot.

Tissot had found a niche in the market as innovators. They began creating wrist watches that would push the boundaries of wrist watch making technology and further advancements were soon to follow the antimagnetic Tissot automatic watch.

Tissot launched the famous Navigator watch during the 1950's. This particular watch once more showed that the Tissot brand were clear innovators in the field of men&rsquos watches. They created a watch that was perfect for the new market that was immerging and being heavily influenced by aeronautical advancements. The Navigator watch was a men's Tissot watch and was a clear sign that men were viewed as the key buyers of watches at this time.

Tissot continued to advance their brand name and respectability in the world watch market by continuing to create men's and ladies Tissot watches with increasing appeal and popularity. The 1970's were an important decade for Tissot. Tissot launched their first plastic watch at the 1971 Basle watch fair.

The 70's also saw Tissot expand their advertising into the world of sports gaining a deal to sponsor the F1 Lotus team. This sponsorship would prove to provide a long term link between Tissot sports watches and sporting activities.

Tissot ­ 80&rsquos, 90&rsquos and now

The 1980's saw Tissot continuing to experiment with materials used to manufacture their watches in the form of a new collection of ladies watches. These new ranges of watches were aimed specifically at the growing watch market which was represented by women.

The new collection started with a watch made of rock ­ this collection was quickly expanded to form a watch collection like no other. This was a watch collection featuring natural materials like granite and wood, with these materials being used in new, never seen before ways to create the cases of the watches.

In addition to experimenting with new materials, Tissot also expanded their collections in order to tap into the new, fast growing LCD watch market. This expansion was the first step into what would become the most successful Tissot watch range ever. This new range was the beginning of the development towards the iconic Tissot T-Touch range , with the T-Touch range following on two decades later.

The 1980's also saw further expansion of the Tissot watch family through the development of new Tissot watch ranges such as the Tissot PR50 and the Tissot Desire.

Tissot continued their close coalition with sports throughout the 80's and 90's, securing some of the most lucrative advertising deals featuring many up and coming sporting stars such as Michael Owen, who bust on to the world sports scene with  premiership football clubs, Liverpool and England.

Michael Owen is still part of team and is frequently seen wearing Tissot watches, the Tissot Quadratto being just one of his extensive collection. Tissot have also tapped into the lucrative advertising scheme of timekeeping at some of the biggest world sporting events such as the Cycling World Championships and Moto GP. Tissot have added people like Nicky Hayden from the world of Moto GP to their sports star sponsorship schemes creating the much sought after T-Race limited edition range as part of their sponsorship deal with Nicky Hayden and Moto GP.

The Noughties have brought the most exciting developments within the Tissot watch brand, with Tissot wrist watches once more at the forefront in terms of innovation in the watch market. This innovation was epitomised when Tissot created the masterpiece that is the Tissot T-Touch watch.

From the moment the Tissot T-Touch watch was launched, the way in which wrist watches are worn and used by the wearer was completely revolutionised. Watches now hold an ever increasing array of features and can hold a wealth of information. In spite of this phenomenal success, Tissot have not rested on their laurels but have continued to plough forward with further expansion the T-Touch watch range as new technology emerged.

2008 saw the launch of the T-Touch Expert , the second generation of T-Touch watches. The T-Touch Expert featured new and improved functions like 100 meter water resistance and a back light, features which were added across the T-Touch Expert range.

2009 saw further additions to the T-Touch Expert range with the addition of the Sea-Touch and the T-Touch Expert Pilot.

The Tissot PR100 was launched in 2010, to replace the PR50. The PR100 comes with lots of new features such as a stainless steel bracelet, a large black dial with red detailing, a fly back chronograph and a screw-down crown.

The Tissot PRC200 is a timeless classic with a screw down back and crown and 200m water resistance. This watch also features a date function. The PRC200 is an elegant, sporty looking watch that will look as fantastic tomorrow and beyond as it does today.

Tissot Watches continue their reign throughout the world as one of the most well known authentic Swiss watch brands. Tissot brand watches are made to the highest quality standards. Tissot are renowned for their durability, genuine Swiss movements both quartz and automatic mechanical, as well as for their attractiveness and innovation.

All Tissot watches purchased from Hot Watches have an official Tissot 2 year guarantee, instructions and Tissot presentation box. Hot Watches also offer a free gift wrapping service should you wish the item to be gift wrapped.

Reasons to buy Tissot watches from Hot Watches

• Authorised dealer of Tissot branded watches
• Comprehensive range of Tissot wrist watches featuring key pieces such as the PR100, PR200, Tissot T-Touch range, Tissot T-Touch Expert and the Tissot Sea-Touch
• Customer Care team waiting for your call 7 days a week
• Amazon authorised seller
• Ebay Gold power seller
• Paypal checkout available
• Sage pay verified payment process offering 100% security at all times
• ‘No Fuss&rsquo 14 day return period
•  FREE UK DELIVERY on everything
• Free gift wrapping service (optional)
• Engraving Service available
• Price Match Promise on like for like products against any authorised dealers
• National Association of Goldsmiths (NAG) member for over 20 years
• Over 30 years experience in the jewellery and wrist wear trade
• Excellent customer care service perfected through over 30 years in business
• Information security - we won&rsquot pass on your personal information to any third parties without your express permission