Original vintage 1952 Tissot advertisement for the company's first automatic watch - “The Post-War Wonder Watch You’ve Waited For!”
 
Dimensions: 10.25 inches wide by 13.5 inches high
 
Founded in 1853 in Le Locle, Switzerland, Tissot boasts a 170-year history; that same year, the company introduced the world’s first pocket watch with two time zones. In 1930, Tissot merged with Omega creating SIHH, eventually growing via merger with other watch companies to evolve into Swatch Group today.
 
Founded by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son Charles-Émile Tissot, the father and son team worked as a casemaker (father) and watchmaker (son).  The two turned their house at the time into a small 'factory' – five years later, Charles-Emile Tissot left for Russia in 1858 and succeeded in selling their pocket watches across the Russian Empire. Russia became Tissot's greatest market, with the brand gaining popularity even in the Tsar's court; Charles Tissot, Charles-Émile's son, moved to Moscow in 1885 to manage the branch his father had set up there.
 
In 1929, the global financial collapse brought the entire watch industry to a standstill, and Omega and Tissot forged an alliance under the leadership of Paul Tissot-Daguette, who had been trained at Tissot and became Omega's chief executive officer in 1930. The merger formed Société Suisse pour l'Industrie Horlogère (SSIH),  and Tissot-Omega watches from this era are sought after by collectors.
 
Tissot's first engagement as an official timekeeper was in 1938 where they timed a series of ski races in Villars-sur-Ollon, near the company's home town in the Jura mountains.  Tissot was used for timing downhill skiing in Switzerland in 1938, and for the Davis Cup in 1957.
 
SSIH-ASUAG was formed in 1983 (Allgemeine Schweizerische Uhrenindustrie Aktiengesellschaft, ASUAG, was a holding company supplying the watch industry), then SMH (Société Suisse de Microélectronique et d’horlogerie; 1983–1985).  SMH then took the name of the Swatch Group in 1998.  Tissot SA remained in Le Locle, Switzerland, and marketed in 160 countries. Tissot watches are classified by the Swatch Group as "mid-range market" products.
 
Tissot is an official timekeeper for the world championships in cycling, motorcycling, fencing and ice hockey, as well as the sponsor for the Formula One car-racing teams Lotus, Renault, and Sauber.  In the past handheld stopwatches were sufficient to provide official timings.
 
In more recent times manufacturers and sporting bodies together develop more accurate systems for specific events. In competitive cycling, for instance, sensors are placed on the bikes and track, and linked by computers to provide track timings and performance data.