1970 Tissot T12 Chronograph, manual winding movement Lemania cal. 873, 43.8mm case. Raised indexes.

In fact, most now prefer to call it by the UFO due to its flying saucer case design, it’s big, perhaps, due to its hidden lugs, the piece wears much smaller than its size.

This Tissot T12 contains the Lemania 873 movement which is mechanically the exact same movement as Omega’s caliber 861 found in the Speedmaster Professional.

Tissot was founded in 1853 in Switzerland offering the first mass-produced pocket watch in that year. They went on to introduce a number of firsts: first anti-magnetic watch, first watch made of stone, wood and plastic.

Interestingly, Tissot merged with Omega back in 1930. Lemania, the movement maker joined the group 2 years later and became the chronograph movement maker for the brands. Having a captive chronograph maker enabled both Omega and Tissot to become official timing partners for many events such as the Olympics, Formula 1 and other sporting events. Tissot and Omega used a lot of similar or even same movements over the years. At times, Omega used a slightly more advanced version or one with more decoration – think of it like VW and Audi. Omega, Longines and Lemania have been under the Swatch Group since 1983.