Tissot has turned into the go-to brand for fake watches that pack lots of technological and mechanical punch for not a ton of money (relatively speaking, as always) within the Swatch Group’s diverse portfolio of watch brands. Well, Tissot’s stepped things up a notch with the Everytime Swissmatic, providing an automatic Swiss-made watch for at a very nice price. But the real question: Is it really so good?
Any time you purchase a best watch, you’re making compromises. There are no truly perfect watches, so whether the trade-offs have to do with price, size, materials, or any number of other variables, they’re there. With watches at the entry-level end of the spectrum, these compromises can be dramatic though. Do you want a better dial or a more reliable movement? Does the watch need to be automatic or would quartz suffice? Longer power reserve or a bit of movement finishing?
The dials come in either white or black, with either printed Arabic numerals or applied stick markers. All of the constructions have a very nice minimal, modern look to them. There are no frills here. There’s the “Tissot 1853” signature at 12, the “Swissmatic” and “Swiss Made” signatures at six o’clock (Swiss is in there twice, lest you forget), a date window at three o’clock, and three hands. In theory, I really like the layout, and I think Tissot was honest to match the date discs to the dials for a cleaner look.
However, ultimately the quality of the dials is a bit disappointing. They’ve got a real flatness to them that can almost look paper-like at certain angles. The black is better than the silver and would be my choice if I were to pick. If you compare these dials to those of Seiko 5 watches, for instance, they pale in comparison. It’s hard to make a cheap dial look nice, but not impossible.
Turn the Swissmatic over and you get a look at that all-important automatic movement. It might look a little familiar, and with good reason: it’s a new take on the movement developed by the Swatch Group for the Sistem 51, the completely machine-made automatic replica watches that can be had for $150. This one has a few more metal components, including the full metal winding rotor, and the power reserve is a little longer at three days, but it’s still mostly made by machines, and doesn’t really display any of the traditional finishing you’d find on a Swiss-made movement. According to Tissot, this new caliber is excellent to them, though I wouldn’t be surprised to see Swatch Group use the technology elsewhere in the future. However, I do think this is a very special watch, mostly because of the interesting movement inside, but I wouldn’t say it’s the best watch you can buy at this price either. It’s not a typical Swiss watch, but it offers a glimpse into where the industry might be heading.