Marcus Hanke
[PuristSPro Moderator]
11515
PuristSPro report: Tissot at Baselworld 2014
ii
Tissot novelties at Basel 2014
reported by Marcus Hanke
Tissot novelties at Basel 2014
reported by Marcus Hanke
The Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar is here; finally. It was presented to me already at last year’s Basel fair, and I presented it to you. But whenever I asked my local dealer about the T-Touch Solar later during the year, all I received was a shrug: nobody knew when it would find its way to the dealers.
This year, I met it again, but this time, the Tissot staff assured me that it is ready for delivery. The reason for the delay were various last minute improvements that should be incorporated. Consequently, the product we now are confronted with is a true high-tech product, and well ahead of its competition, regarding the effectiveness of its solar power generator.
The watch’s power reserve was stated to be one year, without any sleep mode for the hands. The new solar shall also enable the battery to be reliably charged by artificial light, and a few hours of broad daylight should be sufficient to reach the full power reserve. If these claims are confirmed by practical experiences, this would indeed be a step forward of the main producer of solar-powered wristwatches, Citizen.
Also the number of functions have been upgraded, also the way to activate and use them became easier. Altogether, I was told that 25 functions are now offered by the T-Touch.
The delay also caused the smaller Lady T-Touch Solar to be distributed not before this year. Here, the solar panel is discreetly hidden under a mother-of-pearl dial surface.
Following the spectacular victory of the Tissot T-Complication Chronometer at the 2013 Concours International de Chronométrie, the manufacturer releases a beautifully elegant timepiece, very sober in style, featuring a black dial with hinted stripe decoration. The T-Complication Chronometer (I have no idea, though, where exactly the “complication” is hidden) has an ETA/Unitas 6498-2 hand-winding movement in a 43mm stainless steel case. Faceted dauphin hands indicate the time, there is no luminous material present. Setting this watch apart is the COSC chronometer certificate. While it is a very nice piece, I think that last year’s Tissot Chronometer with the selfwinding Powermatic 80 movement offered more in design and technology, at a lower price.
Last year, the T-Complication “Squelette” was a dial-less watch with a rather modernistic design of the bridges and plates. It became a good success, so it is not astonishing that another skeleton watch is added to the line now. Called “Chemin des Tourelles”, after the Tissot company’s traditional location in Le Locle, it has a much more classic appearance than its predecessor. The characteristic star-shaped bridge was replaced by a conventional one, wearing a nice perlage decoration. Noteworthy are the slim hands and Roman numerals, all attractively blued and offering a rather good contrast for a skeleton watch.
The movement has remained the same, an ETA/Unitas 6497, but with a different bridge layout.
Tissot has the tradition to be among the very rare manufacturers releasing new pocket watches every now and then. The “Chemin des Tourelles” is the perfect place to present Tissot’s second skeleton watch this year, the Pocket Mechanical Skeleton.
For me, this is one of the most attractive new releases this year. This Lépine with the ETA/Unitas 6497 is a very nice pocket watch, generally very modern in design, but with the bonus of a see-through movement, that is even - rather crudely, though - adorned with some laser engraved arabesques. the faceted dauphin hands and the polished Arabian numerals make it well legible, and I also like the massive base of the crown, proudly showing the Tissot-“T”.
The Pocket Skeleton is available in either plain stainless steel, or with a gold PVD bezel, both for the same price.
An instant success with the ladies I met at the Tissot booth is the gaudy Quickster Football quartz chronograph. Its bezel is made from aluminum anodized in different colours, and a strap made from the much more comfortable silicon instead of rubber.
Especially attractive is the variant dedicated to this year’s world soccer championship in Brazil, sporting the Brazilian national colours: green on the bezel, and yellow on the strap. It is the perfect summer watch, and a very nice gift.
The new Powermatic 80 movement with 80 hours of power reserve finds its way into more models, both for gentlemen and for ladies:
Finally, there are some new chronographs, among them this elegantly designed specimen:
Generally, Tissot continues to be Swatch Group’s expert for economically priced watches with innovative technology and - especially important - very unique and sometimes also innovative design elements, setting it apart from the private label brands that often demand higher prices even.
Copyright April 2014 - Marcus Hanke & PuristSPro.com - all rights reserved
Comments, suggestions, and corrections to this article are welcome.
This message has been edited by Marcus Hanke on 2014-04-13 01:20:28 This message has been edited by Marcus Hanke on 2014-04-13 01:21:23
PuristSPro report: Tissot at Baselworld 2014
ii Tissot novelties at Basel 2014 reported by Marcus Hanke The Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar is here; finally. It was presented to me already at last years Basel fair, and I presented it to you. But whenever I asked my local dealer about the T-Touch Solar ...
I was less seduced by Tissot this year than the year before.
I don't know... but at least last year some pieces were very appealling and I didn't feel the same in 2014. Thanks Marcus! Fx
The Tissot Touch solar again....
I liked this one last year and kept asking dealers who never heard of it..!! I hope it will finally be released this year. Do you have any details on the functions as I can't believe there are 25 functions..? Thanks for the report, Andy.
