1969 vintage Tissot T12 Day Date.

Vintage Tissot T12, automatic movement cal. 794, chunky steel 37.5 mm x 46 mm. screw back case.

Founded in 1853 in Switzerland, Tissot was 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.

The period between 1945 and 1975 was remarkable for the extreme growth. Company benefits and perquisites were many and frequent. Tissot was a major employer in Le Locle, and retirees still quietly brag about being Tissot pensioners.

While in 1953 Tissot released the first mass-produced watch to feature 24 time zones, the Tissot Navigator.

Having a captive chronograph maker consequently 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.

In 1985 and 1986, Tissot produced two of its most iconic watches. The RockWatchs one of the most amazing thing was that, it was made of Granite from the Alps, and appeared first. A year later Tissot followed the RockWatch with the Two Timer, the first watch to feature both analog and digital time displays. A single crown activated both the displays.

Finally, in 1990, with the world championships in cycling and ice hockey Tissot stepped up its sports activities. Now several major sports are officially timed by Tissot.