# Tissot Today



## greenidge (Aug 7, 2007)

Hello Folks,

What does the Tissot band represent today?

They seem to offer a good looking product at a very attractive price. But what is one "loosing out on" compared to the standards set by, say, Omega?

Thank you for any insight.

Simon.


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## Barryboy (Mar 21, 2006)

My two pence worth.... let's start off by saying that I've had four Omegas and moved them all on. I've now got four Tissots plus something called a Matthey-Tissot, whose pedigree I simply can't find out. Knowing how litiginous the Swatch group is (if you don't, ask anyone who posts regularly on TZ-UK) there must be a legal right to use the name, but I'm jiggered if I can find out what it is.

Firstly we should start off by accepting that Omega are quite deliberately a high-end maker as that is how the Swatch group base the brand's business model. Tissot (also part of the Swatch group) seem to be presented in a lower market segment by Swatch in that their range is broader than that of Omega's and not so high-end. In my considered opinion there has always been a certain cachet to the Tissot brand, although the Omega brand has a higher desirability factor; and if I may use the motor industry as a scenario, then Omega would be Audi to Tissot's VW.

Two of my Tissots are quartz (a Seastar 660 diver and a D380 alarm watch) watches and low-range. I don't know what the RRP was when they were new but they are probably in the Â£70 to Â£80 price bracket now. Good watches, decent value for money but nothing special. No better than for example Seikos, Citizens, Orients or lots of other watches in that price bracket. Certainly not Omega challengers, by any standard, although to be fair you wouldn't expect them to be.

My other two Tissots are a very nice automatic LeLocle dress watch and a PRS516 sports chrono with a Valjoux 7500 movement, both from a higher price bracket. The PRS516 has a RRP in the Â£850 range and the Lelocle a bit less. Now this is where things start to blur. The movements used are the same base movements used in a wide range of watches, including Omega, but I believe that Omega's ETA movements (for example) are modified and improved by Omega before they are fitted to the watches - I don't know if this is true of Tissot. One thing I do know, however, is that Omegas are very much more expensive than Tissots. The nearest Omega equivalent to my PRS516 is probably one of the Speedmasters, such as the 3570.50.00 - the RRP of that one, however, is Â£1675. So it's twice as expensive, but is it twice as good?

And that's why I no longer have Omegas. Good watches... Very good watches, in truth, but are they worth the money? That's a subjective issue, but to me they're not. I'd buy the VW bfore the Audi, and the Tissot before the Omega.

Rob


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## greenidge (Aug 7, 2007)

Thank you for the insight.

Simon.


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## Griff (Feb 23, 2003)

I still rate Tissot, but they seem to do a lot of quartz these days, and one or two of those models have very disappointing zero jewel ETA quartz movements, yet some have much better movements including jewelled Rondas.

The new auto Tissots are very good value, but IMO they have slipped to not much better than Rotary who are a bit on the up again, and I think in general terms that Oris have the edge on both.

If you ring Swatch and ask about Tissot they tell you to ring a different number. The connection between Omega and Tissot is much less than before IMO.

Vintage Tissot have the better mechanical movements, and there the link with Omega is much stronger


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