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What's new at Tissot and meet the future of the Swatch Group smartwatch
Mon, 08 September 2014 16:23
Earlier this year, TimeZone met with Sharon Buntain, U.S. President of Tissot to preview the latest from the brand. In addition to some new mechanical models, the biggest and most exciting news to come from Tissot is the development of the world's first solar-power touchscreen watch and launch of the T-Touch Expert Solar and T-Touch Lady Solar.
Tissot T-Touch Lady Solar and T-Touch Expert Solar
T-Touch Expert Solar
In 1999, Tissot pioneered the touchscreen watch with the launch of its iconic T-Touch. For 2014, Tissot debuts the world's first ever touch-screen wristwatch powered by solar energy. Sunlight not only recharges the watch, but it also allows the Super-LumiNova indices and hands to glow in the dark.
A micro-controller manages the watch's consumption and the battery charge state display. According to this state, the micro-controller deactivates certain functions; that is, the micro-controller switches the watch to energy saving mode. When fully charged and used sparingly, the watch can operate for up to one year in a low-light environment. If the battery is completely flat, the watch must be exposed to light for at least 18 hours before it can be used. However, if the watch battery has some charge, then it can be fully recharged with as little as 7 minutes of outdoor sunlight, or fully recharged with as much as 5 hours indoor fluorescent light.
The T-Touch Expert Solar is a powerful timepiece that boasts 25 tactile functions that can be accessed simply by touching the sapphire crystal glass, more than any other watch in the Tissot portfolio. The T-Touch Expert Solar offers essential functions for everyday use such as a perpetual calendar with indication of day and week number to keep track of busy schedules, two alarms - one for the week, the other for the weekend, two time zones for holiday trips, weather forecast with relative pressure, altimeter with difference meter, chronograph lap and split with logbook, compass, timer, azimuth, regatta function and backlight.
T-Touch Expert Solar, Ref. T091.420.46.051.01
The T-Touch Expert Solar boasts 25 tactile functions
Available in several dial and strap variations, the Tissot T-Touch Solar Expert is priced from $1,150 to $1,250 and the Tissot T-Touch Lady Solar is priced from $995 to $1,450.
Swatch Group not only holds this new patented solar technology, it also holds a patented Bluetooth technology and currently manufactures displays (Micro Crystal), batteries (Renata) and microchips (EM Microelectronic) for numerous smarwatches. As such, it is only a matter of time before the largest watchmaker in the world releases its own smartwatch that not only transmits messages, data and phone calls, but also has a reliable and seamless power source that's not yet presented by any other smartwatch manufacturer.
Indeed, after handling these latest Tissot models and following on the heels of the ambitious opening of its first U.S. boutique on Fifth Avenue, we can anticipate a major new smartwatch announcement as soon as Baselworld 2015.
After seeing a number of underwhelming announcements and developments from Silicon Valley, I predict the revolution of smartwatch technology will be announced in Switzerland. In July 2014, Swatch CEO Nick Hayek confirmed that there will be a Swatch Touch fitness smartwatch in 2015. However, Tissot will likely pave the future for the Swatch Group's entry into midrange luxury smartwatches.
An assortment of Tissot Racing-Touch
The Mechanical Novelties
Meanwhile, Tissot continues to manufacture innovative, luxury mechanical watches at an accessible price-point. The Tissot Powermatic 80 Automatic caliber combines precision with an 80-hour power reserve. The new construction concept integrates a new spring barrel to achieve the remarkable power reserve. In addition, the high-tech escapement has no regulator. Similar to the Sistem51, the rate is set at the factory with a laser, making the manual rate adjustments normally required by a mechanical watch unnecessary.
Tissot Powermatic 80 Automatic
Tissot Powermatic 80 Automatic
Tissot Powermatic 80 Automatic
23-jewel Caliber Powermatic 80 automatic movement with high-tech escapement
Tissot T-Complication Squelette
The two latest T-Complication Squelette models combine a hand-wound, modified ETA caliber UNITAS 6497-1 with a modern wheel-inspired skeleton design visible through an openwork dial with Roman numerals. Both feature 43mm stainless steel cases, one with a gold PVD case with gold PVD Roman numerals; and the other with blued Roman numerals and blued hands.
T-Complication Squelette
The modern, openwork dial with Roman numerals
Modified ETA caliber UNITAS 6497-1 with a modern finish
T-Complication Squelette
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