The history of the Tissot brand – A family workshop and watches for the Russian Tsar
Swiss production has long been recognized as a guarantee of quality and prestige. Perhaps only Swiss watches can be considered more reliable than Swiss banks. How did it happen that “Swiss Made” on the dial symbolizes wealth, high taste and prestige? We analyze the history of Tissot what people and events formed one of the most recognizable brands in the world.
The history of the brand began in a Swiss town at the foot of the Jura Mountains Le Locle. At the time when Charles-Emile Tissot and his father Charles-Félicien founded Tissot, the city resembled a watchmaking machine: half of its population was employed in this field.
1853
The family business began with a workshop for assembling parts from regional manufacturers. “Charles Tissot Son” did not exist as a family brainchild for long in 1858, the future world-famous brand received the blessing of the Tsar of Russia Alexander II.
1858
Charles-Emile’s prophecy and his passionate desire to perpetuate the knowledge of the watch industry by creating a watch school played into his hands: soon the watchmaker was appointed national inspector of all watch schools in Switzerland. At this time, the younger Tissot went to Russia. Establishing external relations turned out to be a sensation for the brand Alexander II appreciated the brand’s pieces, and 8 years later, in 1866, Tissot was appointed the supplier of watches for the royal family and the court. Father and son created special models with individual engraving for officers of the Russian army and the country’s elite.
In addition to pocket watches, Tissot created a wristwatch by special order of the emperor. The historical royal relic was sent to Le Locle for repairs and disappeared from sight after 1917. In 1991, the watch was found and its production was resumed as part of the Classic Prince catalogue. The Tissot Heritage Prince I Mechanical model is considered a landmark for the entire collection and represents the importance of Tissot’s relations with Russia.
1889
Active travel and establishing contacts with other countries made Tissot famous as a manufacturer of high-quality watches. Therefore, the victory in the watch class at the World Exhibition in Paris in 1889 did not come as a surprise to the Tissot family. Since that year, the company has received dozens of awards for precision and exported watches to many countries. At the end of the 19th century, Charles Tissot, as the future president of the company, founded subsidiaries in Moscow and Frankfurt, thereby ensuring close cooperation with Russia for years to come. At that time, high-precision and high-quality watches were created in the Tissot workshop, new personnel were trained, production and respect for the brand grew.
1920
After the reconstruction of the production center, Tissot launched serial production of watches. With the widespread introduction of electricity, it became clear that magnetic fields had a negative effect on the accuracy of the movement. Then Tissot suggested using alloys in production that were resistant to this effect. This is how the world’s first collection of antimagnetic watches, Tissot Antimagnétique, was created.
1937
Competition in the market was growing at an incredible rate, and in order to reduce production costs and increase production, Tissot entered into a collaboration with Omega. The new SSIH concern developed a segmentation system: Tissot began to serve middle-income customers, and Omega took on the creation of luxury models. This was how the first Swiss association of watch manufacturers was created.
1960
Continuing the tradition of innovation, Tissot developed another revolutionary design: modified with a few details, the main caliber could be reworked into an automatic watch with a calendar. This solution quadrupled the brand’s sales turnover, and soon allowed the development of the first plastic watch in the world, the “Astrolon”.
1983
Tissot has always done business openly in 1970 the company had an advertising slogan: “Come! See for yourself! This is the best way to convince yourself of the quality of our watches.” The doors of the factory were open to anyone in October of that year alone, 3,500 people visited the production. With the advent of electronic watches, companies producing mechanical watches faced a crisis. Salvation for the Swiss watch industry and the future of Tissot was the risky but prophetically brilliant strategy of Nicolas Hayek, about whom the brand’s president François Thiébaud spoke with great respect:
“Yes, we are very grateful to this man for his constant trust and support. After all, without his participation, who knows what would have happened to such an old brand as Tissot, which suffered greatly from the consequences of the 1975 crisis and underwent numerous reorganizations?”
The entrepreneur led Tissot along with two dozen other famous brands, and under the Swatch Group, he brought the Swiss watch industry to first place in the world.
2021
To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Memphis movement, Tissot has teamed up with designer Ettore Sottsass to recreate the iconic watch. The Pop Art-inspired collection embodies the motto of the time: breaking the rules. The dial features a rotating seconds disc and indexes inspired by the Buddhist mandala. With a Precidrive quartz movement and a designer finish, this limited edition is one of the iconic collections in the Heritage family, embodying a work of art on the wrist.
