Tissot PRS 516 Automatic Chronograph

The history of Tissot

Chs Tissot & Fils was founded in 1853 in Le Locle, in the Jura in Switzerland, by the father-son duo Charles-Félicien Tissot and Charles-Émile Tissot, who were born and raised there. Like most Swiss watchmakers founded at the time, Tissot started out as a comptoir, an assembler of parts sourced from individual makers in the region. In that first year, the company delivered between 1100 and 1200 watches to the region around Le Locle.

In 1858, the younger Tissot, Charles-Émile, left for Russia and, with the Tsar's blessing, sold Tissot brand pocket watches throughout the Empire. Between 1860 and 1875, in addition to finished watches, Tissot also produced spare parts and watch tools, among other small items.

Also noteworthy is that Tissot received numerous awards and prizes at various industrial exhibitions throughout the entire period of the late 1800s. Among the prizes won were the Diploma of Honor in Zurich in 1888, the Grand Prix and Gold Metal in Antwerp in 1890, the Grand Prix in Paris in 1900, and the First Prize for Chronometers and for Marine Chronometers in the Concours de l 'Observatoire de Neuchâtel in 1907.

Charles-Émile's son Charles was born in the late 1880s located in Russia. His son Paul was born in 1890, and daughter Marie in 1897. Paul and Marie would both play an important role in the management of Tissot, with Paul taking care of general affairs with his father and Marie managing the day-to-day running of the company. would take.

In 1918, Tissot reorganized the workshops and turned them from a factory into a production company. The company made timepieces in its own factory and began mass-producing them.

Times change, names change

As ownership of the company changed and passed from father to son (and behind the scenes, daughter), so did the name. In 1865 the company became Charles-Emile Tissot & Fils. In 1917 the name changed again, to Chs. Tissot & Fils - SA.

In 1930 and the new partnership with Omega, Tissot went under the banner of SSIH, and in 1976 the name Tissot Marché Suisse SA appeared. Finally, in 1982, Tissot was doing business under the formal name of Tissot SA.