TISSOT ROCKWATCH "PEARLWATCH" MOTHER-OF-PEARL WATCH CA. 1988

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 here is a natural mother-of-pearl variant, nicknamed "PearlWatch", version R150 said to be unisex with a diameter of 30 mm, which will suit a rather slim wrist for a man. The set is in Nos condition, entirely original with the price still displayed in Swiss Francs. Like all RockWatches, it's a unique piece, which gives it a truly exclusive character: "Individual like your fingerprints, personal like your signature," said the slogan at the time.

Collector.

Manufacturer: Tissot
Model: PearlWatch
Reference: N/A
Year: Circa 1988
Materials: Natural mother-of-pearl
Dimensions: Case diameter 30 mm
Caliber: Quartz, Tissot
Strap: Width 16 mm Wrist max approx. 15 cm
Box/paper: No