Tissot, vintage models

Last Updated on May 14, 2025 by Jason

Tissot watches often receive less praise than they deserve in the vintage watch world. It saddens me to see a brand receive so little recognition when it has successfully bridged the gap between luxury and affordability in the Swiss watch industry. Tissot has a long record of quality watchmaking that includes elegant dress watches and sporty tool watches. Although Tissot’s catalogue has always been positioned at the affordable end of the luxury watch spectrum, the Swiss brand is well respected and popular for its versatile and durable designs. Although vintage Tissot watches may never be “investment grade” watches, I suspect interest will grow in the coming years. In this post, we will look at some of the significant Tissot models that are commonly available in the vintage watch market.

A brief history of Tissot

Tissot was founded in 1853 by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son Charles-Émile Tissot in Le Locle, Switzerland. They established a small workshop attached to the family home. Initially, they purchased ébauche (blank) movements and assembled pocket watches by hand. In the middle of the nineteenth century, Tissot expanded beyond Switzerland. In 1858, Charles-Émile travelled to Russia to expand the brand. He built a strong reputation in the Russian Empire selling their savonnette pocket watches. Russia became Tissot’s largest market, with the brand gaining popularity even in the Tsar’s court. Tissot’s quality and style impressed customers abroad. As a result, Tissot’s reputation grew, earning international recognition for its affordable timepieces.

SSIH

By the early twentieth century, Tissot had become a pioneer in Swiss watchmaking. In 1915, Tissot established a factory and began producing its own movements, including wristwatches. This innovation marked a major turning point for the company. The global financial collapse in 1929 shook the watch industry. In 1930, Tissot merged with Omega SA to form SSIH (Société Suisse pour l’Industrie Horlogère). Despite the merger, Tissot maintained its unique identity and continued to produce watches at the affordable end of the market, under its own name. This included one of the first anti-magnetic wristwatches in 1930.

Tissot has long been associated with timekeeping in sport, starting as early as 1938, when a Tissot watch was used to time a series of downhill ski races. Tissot has also had close ties with other sports. Including the Davis Cup in 1957, and partnerships with cycling and motorcycling championships. In the 1950s and 1960s, Tissot introduced several brands, such as the Seastar, Visodate, T12 and the PR 516. Some of these brands still exist today as part of Tissot’s heritage range. During the 1980s, Tissot joined the Swatch Group, the world’s largest watch producer and distributor.

The Tissot logo

Before we start looking at specific Tissot vintage models, it is worth considering the Tissot logo and how it has changed over the years. There are three distinct changes to the Tissot logo that appear on watch dials, and these can be used to broadly date the watch.

The Tissot “logo” exists in two forms. The first is the company logo that would have appeared on their letterhead or perhaps the signage at the front of the factory. This changed a number of times over the years. Originally, it consisted of the business name, bordered with a floral arrangement. Over the 170 years of business, this business logo has changed perhaps 20 times. The current logo, introduced in 1999, has a more modern and colourful look with a balanced layout and font choice, plus the Swiss cross in red.

The changing registered business names, the Tissot signage and registered Tissot model trademarks can all be found at Mikrolisk, the horological trade mark index. Simply place “Tissot” in the search window.

The Tissot watch logos are far more interesting, as these are exactly what we see on the dial when we glance at the time. Since 1853, the Tissot dial logo has existed in three major iterations. These logos appear during distinct time frames, so they can be used to approximate the date of a vintage Tissot watch, assuming the dial is unaltered.  

Early years

During the late 1800s, through to 1931, Tissot used a variety of markings, most revolving around the Tissot business name, which was registered to the original owners, Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son. On early watches, it is common to see the “CH.F. Tissot & Fils Locle ” name on the dial. In other instances, the dial may have been blank, and you find a brief description of the watch inside the case back, for example: “Cylindre 10 rubis TISSOT Geneve”

The “Sweeping T”

In 1931, the first significant change to the dial logo came when the “sweeping T” version of the word Tissot was introduced. The significant characteristic of this logo was the long top of the first T. Slight variations existed with the typography over the years, however, the “log T” remained consistent.

After Tissot and Omega formed SSIH in 1930, their factories produced movements for both brands. The Omega factory specialised in more complex movements, and Tissot the simpler movements. Where essentially the same movements were produced in both factories, most parts are interchangeable. However, there were usually some slight differences between Omega and Tissot variants to prevent swapping movements between brands by watchmakers. As a result of the merger, there were some instances of direct collaboration. This resulted in some watches being distributed with dual branding, “Omega Watch Co. Tissot“. This was most prevalent during the 1930s and 1940s.

In 1959, Tissot updated its typography once again. This time, introducing a logo that would become the foundation of the one used today. This version debuted the “T” emblem, which is often seen on vintage Tissot watches from the 1960s and 1970s. The text font remained unchanged after this redesign. In 1976, the Swiss cross was added above the “T”, which was a clever move by Tissot to emphasise the brand’s Swiss heritage.

Tissot vintage models

Now we are going to take a look at the various Tissot vintage models made from the 1930s until the 1980s. This list will by no means be comprehensive. However, it will focus on those watches readily available in the vintage watch market. There is very little “official” material available for these models, so a lot of this is best guess. The information has generally been sourced from online sales listings, vintage watch forums and contemporary advertisements. I can’t promise 100%, but I will do my best.

Tissot Antimagnétique

Watch components, such as balance springs, were traditionally made of steel, a material which can become magnetised when exposed to a magnetic field. Once these components become magnetised, they affect the timekeeping of the watch and can even cause it to stop. This became a problem in the late 19^th and early 20^th century with the widespread introduction of electrical machinery and powerlines.

In 1885, Vacheron Constantin was the first watchmaker to produce an anti-magnetic pocket watch by using palladium in the balance wheel, balance spring and lever shaft. As wristwatches became more prevalent in the 20th century, there was a need to introduce the same technology to these smaller timepieces. It is claimed that the Tissot Antimagnétique introduced in 1930 was the first anti-magnetic wristwatch. However, this was not the case. The Tavannes Submarine watch, produced in 1915, for use on board submarines, was the first non-magnetic wristwatch.

Affordable anti-magnetic wristwatch

In the 1920s, the use of electricity in homes and businesses became more widespread. As a result, the general public became more aware of the need for an anti-magnetic watch. This is where the Tissot Antimagnétique came into play. It was probably the first affordable anti-magnetic wristwatch commercially available to the general public. Detailed technical information on the Tissot Antimagnétique is limited. However, Tissot is likely to have used the same palladium solution to counter magnetism as Vacheron Constantin.

In the examples of the Tissot Antimagnétique I have seen online, all used the Tissot calibre 27, which was in production from 1936 until 1949. The 27 series was a manual wind mechanical watch movement with 15 jewels, a frequency of 18,000 vph and a power reserve of 43 hours. The movement featured: hours, minutes, and small seconds in a subdial. The “anti-magnetic” component is likely to have been a palladium balance spring. Tissot promotional materials don’t say precisely how many gauss the movements could withstand.

Tissot Camping

The Tissot Camping model was introduced in 1938 and was designed for rugged outdoor use. It featured strong water and dust resistance, an “unbreakable” plexiglass crystal, and a stainless steel case. Tissot produced the Camping model in several designs until at least the late 1950s. Some models used stainless steel cases, while others featured chrome-plated versions. The case backs varied, some screwed in securely, while others used basic snap-on fittings.

Movements ranged from the manual-wind Tissot 27B-1 calibre with sub-seconds to the automatic 28-R5 calibre. These movements resisted dust and moisture, offered anti-magnetic properties, and included Incabloc shock protection.

Tissot Aquasport

The Aquasport trademark was registered by Ch. Tissot & Fils SA in 1939. This is an even more obscure model than the Tissot Camping. Contemporary advertisements claimed: “Waterproof, shockproof, non-magnetic, stainless steel, unbreakable glass and accurate”.

The Aquasport included a screwed-on caseback. However, there is nothing special about the crystal or crown that would make this watch any more water-resistant than any other wristwatch of the time. The examples I have seen online typically use the Tissot calibre 27 manually wound movement, with a lever escapement, 15 jewels, a compensation balance and a frequency of 18,000 vph. Most of the Aquasport models I have seen online were in a round case. However, there are a few that have a rectangular case. These shared the same case design as the Omega Marine Standard, a genuine dive watch. The Aquasport was made from the early 1940s into the 1950s.

In the 1970s, a version of the Tissot Aquastar called the Regate (Italian for Regatta) was a yachting watch. I won’t pretend for a moment that I understand how a yachting watch works. However, I believe that, as well as operating as a normal wristwatch, it incorporates a feature that allows the skipper of a yacht to track the countdown to the start of a race. This is managed via a series of “discs” on the dial, which gives the skipper a clear and accurate visual indication of the minutes and seconds that elapse before the start of the race. Naturally, these automatic watches included shock protection and water resistance. In the example, I saw it used an automatic Lemania 1345 flyback movement.

I am still none the wiser regarding yachting watches.

Tissot Seastar

In the early 1950s, Tissot developed an improved model of a hermetically sealed waterproof watch case. The creation was airtight thanks to a double case back, with additional protection against moisture and dust. The decision was made to name it Seastar. Interestingly, this was only a few years after Omega launched the Seamaster. I have often wondered if the Seastar was the Tissot version of the Seamaster. The Seastar trademark (Tissot Sea Star) was registered to Tissot & Fils in 1952.

The Tissot Seastar collection comprised a range of elegant, water-resistant timepieces suitable for outdoor pursuits. In the 1950s, watches were generally not water resistant in any way. Washing your hands and doing the dishes were all tasks that involved taking your watch off. Swimming and showering were unthinkable with the average watch. The Seastar, along with other water-resistant watches of the period, changed all of that. The Tissot Seastar was a watch that could handle exposure to water on a day-to-day basis, including a swim in a pool or snorkelling at the beach. In the 1960s, the Seastar Seven marked a step change in the quest for technical progress. The watch acquired a reinforced crystal and a monoblock stainless steel case, which allowed the Seastar to adopt a slimmer and more graceful profile.

The Seastar was produced in high volume, in a wide range of models. There’s the Seastar Seven, the Visodate, the T12, chronographs, and super compressors. Many Seastars used in-house movements, like the automatic Tissot calibre 2481, which was shared with the Omega 1481 movement. Earlier, hand-wound models used movements such as the Tissot 782-1 calibre. Most models had a date complication (Visodate), and those from the 1960s models onwards often had a quick-set or semi-quick-set date function.

Tissot Visodate

The Tissot Visodate was launched in 1953 to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary. It was significant at the time because the Visodate was one of the earliest watches to incorporate a date display into its automatic mechanism. Despite its initial launch with an innovative automatic movement, the Tissot Visodate was also available in manually wound versions. 1950s advertising material by Tissot promoted the Visodate with the following features: “Perfected self-winding”, “Micronized movement”, “Shock-protected”, “Scientifically antimagnetic”, “Clear-view date window”. “Remember, the Tissot Visodate tells the precise time and the exact date automatically”. Later, in the 1960s, Tissot advertisements said, “Knowing the time is not enough!” A watch must also tell the date. A mistake that can cost you dearly. There is no doubt that you will be saving the day before or after wearing a Tissot-Visodate. The timepiece of your choice indicates the exact time and exact date each day.”

The Tissot Visodate was promoted at the 1964 New York World Fair:

The self-winding Visodate… featured at the N.Y. World’s Fair 1964

TELLS THE DATE AND MINUTE AT A GLANCE… and never needs winding. The result of over 110 years of dedicated craftsmanship, each Tissot watch reflects uncompromising standards of Swiss precision, famous for tolerances as fine as 1/1000th of a millimeter. Tissot watches are known throughout the world for their proven dependability and exceptional accuracy. That is why leading jewelers recommend Tissot.

Visodate movements

The Visodate movements included the Tissot calibre 28.5R-621 (produced 1952 – 1962) automatic and the Tissot Jewel 782 and 269-621 manual movements.

Tissot Navigator

Tissot unveiled the Navigator in 1953 to celebrate its centenary. It beat Rolex’s GMT-Master to the market by a full year. The original Navigator measured 36 mm in diameter and housed a bumper-automatic calibre 28.5N-21T. It sported a rotating city-name disc paired with a 24-hour scale. A small pusher froze the disc at midnight under your home city. You then set the hands to local time with a simple crown turn. That clever setup made global time-keeping feel effortless. Tissot offered robust steel versions alongside limited 18 K gold editions. Each gold piece wore a discreet anniversary engraving on its case back. These early Navigators quickly won fans among globe-trotters embarking on transcontinental flights.

World-time functionality

The Navigator dial pairs a central 24-hour ring with an outer city-name disc. Press the pusher to halt the disc at “00” under your home city. Rotate the crown to set the hands to your local time. Once set, each city name aligns with its hour on the ring. Later versions of the Navigator swapped the pusher for an inner rotating bezel.

Key models and variants

In the late 1960s, Tissot married the Navigator to its Seastar T12 diving case. That T12 Navigator sported a chunky 42 × 50 mm cushion case and twin crowns. It housed the calibre 788, a 21-jewel 18,000 vph automatic with a 24-hour hand and date. Other T12 variants used calibre 798, which added quicker date setting and smoother crown action.

Around 1970, Tissot rolled out colourful Navigator chronographs (refs 45501–03). These featured bold panda-style sub dials and a 38.5 mm steel case. Inside ticked the calibre 2170, a 17-jewel Lemania-based auto-chrono running at 28,800 vph. It offered about 44 hours of power reserve and a column-wheel mechanism. An earlier ref 45500 chrono used calibre 2160, with a single 12-hour register and simpler layout. Each variant added its twist to the original travel-ready ethos.

Movements & specs details

• Calibre. 28.5N-21T: 17 jewels, bumper winding, 24-hour disc control.
• Calibre. 788: 21 jewels, 18,000 vph, automatic 24-hour hand, date.
• Calibre. 798: Adds quick-set date, refined crown action, world-time bezel.
• Calibre. 2170: 17 jewels, 28,800 vph, 44 h power reserve, column-wheel chrono.
• Calibre. 2160: Single 12-hour register chrono, straightforward auto winding.

Marketing

The Tissot Navigator was marketed using material such as the following:

The Globe on your wrist!

The revolutionary new Tissot Automatic Navigator

There are people, airmen, marine officers, diplomats, for whom local time is often less important than the time on the far side of a continent. There are men and women carrying out worldwide businesses, using the overseas telephone services, tuning in to far-distant broadcasts—who daily need to know what time it is thousands of miles away in Shanghai or New York, Rio de Janeiro or Tokyo.

For them, we have created the Tissot Automatic Navigator.

Switzerland’s most famous watchmakers will tell you at a glance not only the time where you happen to be, but also the time at any other longitude on the globe. With the Tissot Navigator, you really carry the globe on your wrist! This Tissot Navigator is a technical masterpiece, and a thing of beauty as well. Within its fine, solid gold case is a superb automatic movement, worked to within a thousandth of a millimetre. You will never need to wind your Tissot Navigator; it winds itself with every movement of your wrist.

The Navigator’s mix of clever world-time engineering and sporty variants keeps it firmly on collectors’ wish lists.

Tissot T12

The Tissot T12 was introduced in the late 1950s. The earliest T12 I have seen was 1958, dated by the Tissot serial number. There is debate online about what T12 means. Some consider it T for Tissot and 12 for Atmospheres waterproof (400ft). However, the advertisement below, translated from French and dating from 1962, is very clear. The T12 is water resistant to 120 metres. An interesting variant of the T12, introduced in the 1970s, was the T12 Sonorous, an alarm wristwatch. Inside Sonorous was one of the two A. Schild manually wound alarm calibres, the calibre 1475  or the later calibre 1930.

The Tissot T12 watches used a variety of hand-wound and automatic movements. These include the Tissot calibre 782-1 and 782-1 hand-winding movements, the Tissot calibre 784, Tissot 28.5R-21 and Tissot 794 automatic movements. I am sure I will add to this list over time.

Like the Visodate, the Seven and the Seastar models, the T12 name appeared on a variety of Tissot watches. Each name basically represented a certain function. The Visodate name represents a date function, and the T12 represents the enhanced water resistance of 120 metres. One particular characteristic of the T12 / Seastar combination was the Spanish Galleon emblem that appeared on the screw-on case back.

Tissot Seven

The Tissot Seven was introduced by Tissot in 1960. The “Seven” refers to seven “essential qualities” that Tissot felt set the watch apart from other offerings in the same price range. A Tissot advertisement from 1960 promoted the following seven essential qualities:

“Here are the 7 tests of the new Tissot Seastar 7 Seven:

An unbeatable price range in addition to these advantages, the Seastar Seven price remains at the usual level of Tissot’s top prices, which, as we know, are one of the main factors of their prodigious successes worldwide.

Unique Tissot calibre: a base or sub-base movement that is adapted to a date or automatic mechanism (or both at once).

A single-piece case: a more elegant, more solid, and more precise watch.

A single-piece case that is more waterproof, thanks to the bottom and non-slip properties of traditional waterproof cases.

An original and luxurious watch (deluxe case and hands).

A presentation of the brand new watch, in a polystyrene case, unalterable and non-deformable.

Worldwide sales and entertainment service.”

I think a lot of this was marketing hype. The standout feature was the case design. The Tissot Seven had a monobloc case, meaning there was a one-piece metal case, and the movement was held in place with a reinforced acrylic crystal and a clip spring. Like many of the other Tissot vintage models, the Seven appeared across multiple designs, including the Visodate and the Seastar. This was most likely due to the enhanced water resistance from the monoblock case.

Tissot PR 516

In 1958, Tissot received an autographed photograph from Swiss racing driver Harry Zweifel. The photograph included a note that read, “My Tissot is by my side in every race.” This endorsement inspired Tissot’s watchmakers to create a wristwatch that could endure the rigours of motor racing. They set out to create a timepiece that was both robust and truly reliable.

In 1965, Tissot launched the PR 516, a tough, sporty tool watch built for the race track. The brand firmly asserts that “PR” signifies “Particularly Robust” or sometimes “Precision and Resistance.” The three digits clearly represent the 16th model in the 5th series. Models with a “5” displayed distinctive waterproof features. Initially, the PR 516 range offered both mechanical and automatic models with three hands, available in stainless steel or gold.

That very year, Tissot overhauled its marketing strategy for the PR 516. The brand decisively linked the watch to international motor sport by introducing open-worked metal bracelets with perforations. The design clearly drew inspiration from leather-bound steering wheel rims of the era. Major advertising campaigns boosted the watch’s popularity. As a result, Tissot subsequently introduced several new versions, including the PR 516 GL for Grand Luxe and specialised chronographs. In addition, Tissot introduced an alarm version in 1972.

In 1973, Roger Moore famously wore a Tissot PR 516 in “Live and Let Die”. It became the only genuine Tissot timepiece ever featured in a James Bond film. His watch prominently appeared during a thrilling speedboat chase. It is generally believed that this PR 516 was the actor’s personal watch.

Tissot Stylist

First introduced in 1965, the Tissot Stylist was designed as a range of wristwatches targeted at the budget-conscious youth of the era.  The original movements were a mixture of Tissot’s manual winding, 17-jewel calibres, the 781-1 (1965 – 1972), 2141 (Omega calibre 625) and the 792 (1965 – 1972, no seconds). Rarer versions of the Tissot Stylist included automatic movements, such as the AS2066. The Tissot Stylist was made until the mid-1980s, with later watches incorporating Quartz movements. Although the case design was typically round, there were versions of the Stylist that used a square case. Additionally, some Stylists include a date function, these were usually dual-branded with the Visodate name.

Tissot Astrolon and Autolub Actualis

This is an interesting model, which was probably ahead of its time. However, I doubt very much if I would ever add one of these to my collection.

In 1952, Tissot filed a patent for a revolutionary “oil-less watch”. In 1971, the Tissot Astrolon and Autolub Actualis emerged after 19 years of experimentation with plastic, self‑lubricating movements. The Astrolon name refers to the nearly all‑plastic calibre. Autolub Actualis names the watch that houses it in a gold‑plated, barrel‑shaped case. Both share the same auto‑lubricating technology but differ in presentation and design.

Tissot introduced the movement in 1971 under the name IDEA 2001. The term IDEA 2001 originated as part of Tissot’s marketing to highlight its futuristic plastic movement. This name is most likely associated with Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 film “2001: A Space Odyssey” to suggest innovation. The movement used 52 injection‑moulded plastic components instead of the 90+ components used in a traditional metal mechanical watch. The only metal components were the balance assembly, the mainspring, the barrel, and the winding mechanism. It relied on a self‑lubricating SYTAL system (“Systeme total d’autolubrification” = Fully Self-lubricating System), so unlike traditional watches, it never needed lubricants.

Tissot Actualis watch

The Actualis was marketed by Tissot as a watch rather than a movement. Its case used steel, often gold plated, in a barrel shape. It housed either the time‑only calibre 2250 or the date‑equipped 2270. Both calibres run at 18,000 vph and weigh around 2.5 g. The time‑only calibre uses one synthetic jewel impulse pin. The date module adds two extra jewels to the calendar works. Tissot designed these movements to work without service for forty years.

The Astrolon watches often used clear plastic cases so you could see the colourful movement inside. The Actualis models hid the movement behind a classic dial. They used simple hands and markers for clarity. Tissot sealed the Astrolon case so that no regular servicing could occur. They only advised replacing the balance or winding stem if needed. Watchmakers would now struggle to find original parts for either model.

Tissot made about 15,000 Astrolon units a year until 1976. Reportedly, half a million stayed unsold after production ended, so there is probably a reasonable chance of finding New Old Stock (NOS). The watch never really caught the attention of the public. However, it laid the foundation for the technical solutions which Swatch successfully adopted in 2013 for its System 51.

Tissot summary

An exhausting post of over 4000 words and many weeks of research. However, given the number of vintage Tissot watches I had come across recently, I thought it was only just to write about one of my favourite Swiss brands. Tissot has always been a strong, affordable brand in the watch marketplace. It was popular with quality-conscious buyers who could not justify or afford the price of Omega or Rolex.

Are there any vintage Tissot models I have forgotten? If so, let me know in the comments below.

Related content

Tissot serial number lookup. Note that Tissot abandoned serial numbers in 1984. After that date, other methods will need to be used to date the watch.