The plus sign in the logo symbolises the Swiss quality and reliability Tissot has shown since 1853. The watches, sold in more than 160 countries, are authentic, accessible and use special materials, advanced functionalities and meticulous design. 

Tissot stands by its signature, Innovators by Tradition. The high calibre of the brand has been repeatedly recognised. Tissot has been named Official Timekeeper and Partner of many disciplines, including, basketball with the NBA, FIBA and CBA; cycling with the Tour de France and the UCI World Cycling Championships; motorsports with MotoGPTM and the FIM World Superbike Championship and rugby with the RBS 6 Nations Championship, TOP14, the European Rugby Champions and Challenge Cups. It is also the Official Timekeeper of the World Championships of fencing and ice hockey and of the AFL.

In 1853, Charles-Félicien Tissot, a gold case-fitter, and his son Charles-Émile, a watchmaker, joined forces to found the „Charles-Félicien Tissot & Son“ assembly shop in Le Locle, Switzerland. The Tissot catalogue included a large range of pocket watches and pendant watches, mostly in gold, richly decorated or with complications. During the 1900 World’s Fair, the famous actress Sarah Bernhardt bought an 18 carat gold pendant watch. 

In 1907, Charles Tissot had a factory built on Chemin de Tourelles, in Le Locle, where the company’s current headquarters are situated. From the dawn of the 1910s, Tissot sold its first wristwatches for women and subsequently created wristwatch models for men. 

Tissot stood out for their technical innovations, including the world’s first non-magnetic wristwatch. In 1917, Tissot started producing its own movements, becoming a manufacturing company. It was therefore able to propose high-quality watches at an affordable price.

In 1930, Tissot and Omega merged to strengthen their position and offer their customers a more complete range of products. This new entity, the SSIH (Société Suisse pour l’Industrie Horlogère), was the first Swiss watchmaking association. 

In 1953, Tissot celebrated its 100th birthday. The arrival of Edouard-Louis Tissot in the role of managing director marked a turning point in the industrial organisation of Tissot. Thanks to the introduction of a „single calibre“ principle in 1958, the range of movements was simplified and production was rationalised. Indeed the addition of different complications to a basic movement made it possible to produce manual or automatic watches, with or without a calendar and day-date, which were sold around the globe.

In the 1960s and 70s, Tissot started to create collections for teenagers, including models experimenting with synthetic materials, such as fiberglass. 

In the 1970s, Quartz watches increased in popularity and sales were strengthened by the close collaboration between Tissot and the world of Formula 1 when the brand partnered with teams such as Ensign, Renault and Lotus, and internationally-renowned racers like Jacky Ickx, Clay Regazzoni, and Mario Andretti.

In 1983, to confront the crisis in the watchmaking industry, Nicolas G. Hayek recommended a merger of the main watchmaking groups of the time. As a result, Tissot joined SMH, which was renamed „The Swatch Group“ in 1998. Looking to reinvent itself, Tissot created iconic watches such as the RockWatch, the first watch made of natural stone. The WoodWatch and the PearlWatch followed suit, attracting the business of a large customer base seduced by these new concepts. 

At the end of the 1990s, Tissot, through the T-Collection, proposed ultra-feminine models, but also placed importance on sporty models, whose features were increasingly advanced. Sensing the extraordinary potential of touchscreens in the digital world, in 1999 Tissot created the T-Touch, the first tactile watch in the world. 

In 2014, the T-Touch Expert Solar, a new version powered by solar energy, was another world-first. In this way, the company is staying true to its slogan „Innovators by tradition”.