TISSOT

Tissot is a luxury Swiss watchmaker company founded in 1853 by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son Charles-Émile Tissot who established the Tissot factory in the Swiss city of Le Locle, in the Neuchâtel area of the Jura Mountains.^[2]

Tissot should not be confused with Mathey-Tissot, a separate Swiss watchmaking firm established by Edmond Mathey-Tissot in 1886.

History

Tissot introduced the first mass-produced pocket watch and the first pocket watch with two times 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 Rock watch in 1985), mother of pearl (the Pearl watch in 1987), and wood (the Wood watch in 1988).^[2] Tissot merged with the Omega watch making family in 1930 and Tissot-Omega watches from this era are sought after by collectors.

Still based in Le Locle, Switzerland and present in more than 150 countries around the world, Tissot has been a member of The Swatch Group Ltd., the largest watch producer and distributor in the world, since 1983.^[3]

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 Villar, near the company's home town in the Jura mountains.^[4]

For early events, handheld stop watches were sufficient to provide official timings. Today Tissot works with various sporting bodies to develop system 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 has become known in recent years for its tactile, or "T-Touch," technology; several new watches have touch-sensitive sapphire glasses and include compasses, barometers, altimeters and thermometers. T-Touch watches have been recently featured on Angelina Jolie's wrist in the movies Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Famous people who have worn Tissot watches include the actress Sarah Bernhardt, singer Carmen Miranda, Elvis Presley, Grace Kelly, and Nelson Mandela.^[1] James Stewart also wears a Tissot watch in the movie "Rear Window".Indian actor Kamal Hassan also wears a Tissot watch in the Tamil Movie "Dasavatharam".