TISSOT ROCKWATCH "AVENTURINE" WATCH, CA. 1989

Here we present a rare variation of Tissot's "RockWatch" series.

According to the famous Europa Star magazine, in 1974 Tissot sold exactly 919,200 watches with mechanical calibers of its own manufacture. Ten years later, in 1984, the total number of watches sold had fallen to 14,140, of which 10,226 were equipped with mechanical calibres. That, in a nutshell, is the extent of the decline. Since 1976, Tissot had no longer produced ébauches, but simply assembled its watches. Integrated into the SMH brand network set up by Nicolas Hayek, and now a pure marketing and sales entity, Tissot was to "wake up" in an unexpected way.

It was Ernst Thomke who, buoyed by the success of the plastic Swatch watch just launched in 1983, made Tissot a singular proposal. To relaunch the brand, a new product was imperative," he explained in 1987. During a drunken evening, we said to ourselves: let's make a watch out of stone!

The RockWatch collection was first introduced on the American market in 1985, then in Switzerland in 1986, before dying out around 1992.

It would be the world's first wristwatch with a natural stone case. The RockWatch was available in a multitude of different natural stones, including granite.

The model shown here is made of aventurine, a sparkling, luminous variety of quartz characterized by a multitude of tiny gold or silver flecks, giving it a stunning and unusual pale green color. It is a R150 unisex version with a diameter of 30 mm, which is suitable for a man with a rather slim wrist. The watch is in superb condition and is entirely original. Like all RockWatches, it is a unique piece, which gives it a truly exclusive character: "As individual as your fingerprints, as personal as your signature," as the slogan of the time said.

Collector.

Manufacturer: Tissot
Model: RockWatch
Reference: N/A
Year: Circa 1989 
Materials: Quartz, Aventurine
Dimensions: Case diameter 30 mm 
Caliber: Quartz, Tissot
Bracelet: Width 16 mm Max wrist size approx. 15 cm
Box/papers: No