The Swatch Group<\/a> is home to many prestigious brands such as Blancpain, Breguet, and Glash\u00fctte Original. It owns iconic brands like Omega and Longines. Even its portfolio of “entry level” brands is impressive, which includes Hamilton, Certina, and of course – Tissot. The history of Tissot experienced a paradigm shift when it merged with Omega in 1930. This was one of the foundational steps down a very long road that would inevitably lead to the formation of the powerhouse Swatch Group of today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tissot started back in 1853 in Le Locle. A father and son team consisting of Charles-F\u00e9licien Tissot and Charles-\u00c9mile Tissot began creating watches by assembling parts<\/a> acquired from other suppliers. Tissot also introduced the first pocket watch with two time zones this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Five years later, around 1858, Charles-\u00c9mile went off to Russia. The company was selling pocket watches all across the Russian Empire by this time, and its watches even made it to the Tsar’s court. Tissot actually delivered a watch to Czar Nicholas II in 1904. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Russia was Tissot’s biggest market<\/a> before the revolution of 1917. Approximately a year before the revolution, Tissot introduced its “Banana” watch<\/a>, which was very popular in Russia at the time. Someone actually returned one of these to the Tissot factory for service, but because it wasn’t legal to return it after the revolution, it apparently still sits in the company’s factory in Le locle. It also inspired the modern Tissot Heritage Prince model.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After the events of 1917 in Russia, Tissot realized it needed to find new markets. This led to an increased focus on wristwatches. During the October Revolution, Charles Tissot sent a letter to his brother explaining that: <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPresent demand in the watch market is increasingly concentrated on small pieces, indeed the smaller the better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n By 1918 Tissot had transformed itself into a legitimate manufacturer. It started to mass produce \u00e9bauches for its movements on its own premises. Starting as early as 1925, the seeds were being sown for a merger. A merger that wouldn’t take place until 1930. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Tissot would produce the first anti-magnetic wristwatch in 1930. This would also be the year it merged with Omega. It would produce certain calibers under the Omega brand (and vice-versa), and the two companies would share a common production plan. This arrangement would also lead to some of Tissot’s calibers being produced by Lemania as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Wall Street crash of 1929 disrupted economies around the world. One of the consequences of the crash would result in a merger. Two companies, Omega and Tissot, would form an alliance to pool resources and to ride things out. The year was 1930. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Lemania would also become a member of the newly formed group SSIH (Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 Suisse pour l\u2019Industrie Horlog\u00e8re SA) two years later, in 1932. The famed Omega caliber 321 is based on a Lemania movement, so we can see the importance the celebrated manufacturer of chronograph movements contributed to the group. Tissot chronographs from the 1930s and 1940s can be found with Lemania movements<\/a> as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\nThe Early Years<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Independent Years leading Up To The Great Depression<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
The Blockbuster Merger That Changed The History Of Tissot Forever<\/h2>\n\n\n\n