Tissot is a Swiss manufacturer of luxury watches founded in 1853 in Le Locle, Switzerland, and since 1983 has been a member of The Swatch Group Ltd., the world's largest watch producer, and distributor. The current CEO François Thiébaud
Tissot was founded in 1853 by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son Charles-Émile Tissot in the Swiss city of Le Locle, in the Neuchâtel area of the Jura Mountains
Tissot introduced the first mass-produced pocket watch and the first pocket watch with two time zones in 1853 and the first anti-magnetic watch in 1929-30. Charles-Emile Tissot left for Russia in 1858 and succeeded in selling their savonnette pocket watches across the Russian Empire. The Tissot company was also the first to make watches out of plastic (IDEA 2001 in 1971), stone (the Alpine granite Rock watch in 1985), mother of pearl(the Pearl watch in 1987), and wood (the Wood watch in 1988). Tissot merged with the Omega watch making family in 1930 and Tissot-Omega watches from this era are sought after by collectors. Tissot's parent company, The Swatch Group define Tissot as a "mid-range" brand.
Still based in Le Locle, Switzerland, and marketed in 160 countries around the world, Tissot has been a member of The Swatch Group Ltd., the largest watch producer, and distributor in the world, since 1983.
Tissot is an official timekeeper for the world championships in cycling, motorcycling, fencing and ice hockey, and was used for the Davis Cup in 1957 and Downhill Skiing in Switzerland in 1938. Tissot was also a key Sponsor for the Formula One team's Lotus, Renault, and Sauber. Tissot's first engagement as an official timekeeper was in 1938 where they timed a series of Ski races in Villar, near the company's home town in the Jura mountains.
For early events, handheld stopwatches were sufficient to provide official timings. Today Tissot works with various sporting bodies to develop systems to produce ever more accurate timings for specific events. In competitive cycling, for instance, sensors are placed on the bikes and track which are then linked by computers to provide track timings and performance data.
Tissot recently introduced its tactile, or "T-Touch," technology; several new watches having touch-sensitive sapphire crystals to control various technologies including compasses, barometers, altimeters, and thermometers.
Tissot watches have been worn by Sarah Bernhardt, singer Carmen Miranda, Elvis Presley, Grace Kelly, Banassim Kassim, and Nelson Mandela.[1] James Stewart wore a Tissot watch in Rear Window. Indian actor Kamal Hassan wore a Tissot watch in the Tamil Movie "Dasavatharam". Deepika Padukone is a brand ambassador in India since 2007. T-Touch watches have been worn by Angelina Jolie in the movies Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.
