Guide to Tissot Movements & Materials
Benjamin Tran .
Oct 09, 2020
POWERMATIC 80
An automatic watch is powered by the energy of the person who wears it. Wrist movement enables the mechanism to run. The Powermatic 80 movement boasts 80 hours of power reserve, which is enough to continue telling time accurately even if the watch is not worn for three days. It is an innovative movement that outperforms the competition, whose movements general provide 1.5 days of power reserve.
SWISSMATIC
The Swissmatic movement is a true innovation in the watch-making industry. The secret that enables Tissot to offer a model at such an attractive price lies in the automated production chain on which its components are manufactured, then assembled in modules to build a complete movement. The Swissmatic 72 movement offers 72 hours of power reserve, which is enough to tell time accurately even if the watch is not worn for three days.
VALJOUX
The ETA Valjoux calibre is a sturdy, self-winding chronograph movement. The top-of-range model has beautiful finishing touches, such as Geneva waves or circular graining. Designed in the 1970s, its reliability and performance have made it a classic across eras. It is one of the most iconic movements in the world of watch-making.
MECHANICAL MOVEMENTS
A Tissot mechanical movement contains an average of 100 finely manufactured parts. The balance wheel lies at the heart of the movement and ensures its accuracy. With its constant backwards and forwards movement, the balance and the balance spring divides the time into equal portions, thereby accurately regulating the movement of time. The movements of the balance spring, called oscillations, are what causes your watch to “tick”. The balance wheel’s total oscillations equate to 385,000 turns a day.
NIVACHRON™
Because the magnetic fields generated by our electronic objects (mobile phone, computer, radio, magnetic closure, etc.) are ever more present in our daily lives, Tissot has developed a new, titanium-based alloy at the cutting edge to preserve the precision of its watches. A Nivachron™ balance spring is regarded as far more resistant to and unaffected by magnetic fields than standard springs.
SILICIUM
When electronic objects emerged in the 1930s, Tissot began harnessing its expertise to help its customers prevent interference between their watch movements and the magnetic fields generated by electronics. Nevertheless, magnetic fields continued to be a preoccupation for watchmakers. With the arrival of silicon as a new material to make components in the mechanism that controls a movement, Tissot can offer far greater resistance to the magnetic fields produced by everyday objects such as mobile phones, televisions, computers, hairdryers, radios or the magnetic closures on handbags. Thus, Tissot watches became even more accurate than before.
SAPPHIRE
A sapphire crystal gives a watch the following properties: extremely high resistance to impact and superior screen and hand readability thanks to its transparency. Because it is the strongest material after diamonds, it is used in fine timepieces for its anti-scratch prowess. Sapphire crystals can take many forms and give the watch a variety of looks: flat, domed, concave or ground.
DIAMONDS
Tissot pledges to guarantee the origin and quality ‒ including colour, clarity and carats ‒ of the diamonds in its watches. All Tissot diamonds meet the certification requirements of the Kimberley process, an international system for certifying rough diamonds.
GOLD
Gold is one of the world's most precious and prized metals. It is renowned for its radiance and numerous technical properties: non-oxidising, insoluble, unalterable. Tissot uses 18K gold, a prestigious alloy comprising 75% pure gold combined with a mix of silver and copper useful in gold production. Thanks to Tissot's expertise and craftsmanship, gold timepieces have unmatched longevity, generation after generation.
MOTHER OF PEARL
Mother of pearl is formed in the depths of the sea and harbours very unique features such as iridescence and opalescence. No two specimens are alike, which gives the watch a unique character, especially for ladies watches, both on the dial and on other elements.
CERAMIC
This material, recognised to be one of the hardest substances, has been used at Tissot for decades. It is perfectly suited to the external parts of a watch that is exposed to daily scratching and impacts. Ceramic ingredients include aluminium oxide and zirconium, which means that it will never oxidise no matter how much time passes. That means the watch will never lose its shine. It is known for its hypoallergenic properties and is well suited to any wrist.
SUPERLUMINOVA®
Ensuring visibility under all conditions is an important goal for Tissot. This is why some timepieces feature a material we call SuperLuminova®. This material is placed on visible parts such as dials and hands, where it functions as a miniature accumulator of reflected light when the watch finds itself in the dark.
WATER RESISTANCE
All Tissot watch cases undergo several tests, including a water resistance check. Tissot tests the watch's ability to resist impacts and pressure, as well as the penetration of liquids, gas and dust by replicating the real-life conditions in which the watch may find itself.
SOLAR
Tissot uses the greenest of energy sources to power its iconic T-Touch collection: Expert Solar and Connect Solar. Tiny solar sensors located on the watch dial capture light that is stored in an accumulator. The energy needed to run the quartz usually comes from a battery, but here the energy comes from natural or artificial light. This sustainable technology is enabling Tissot to create watches that run for several months without ever needing a recharge.
TACTILE TECHNOLOGY
Tissot developed the first tactile watch 20 years ago. This high-tech feature improves watch ergonomics and makes it unique and intuitive to use. The technology offers an array of functionalities ‒ compass, altimeter, weather, alarm, chronograph ‒ without an abundance of buttons or complex sub-menus.
COSC
Tissot markets COSC-certified watches, which means they are approved stopwatches. This certificate is issued by the COSC (Official Swiss Chronometer Testing Institute), which spends 15 days conducting a battery of extremely stringent tests on the movements to check their accuracy, anti-magnetism and resistance to impact.