Over the past ten years, many watches have contended for the title of best-value automatic watch. Then along comes Tissot and all of a sudden, all the years of waiting, settling, while knowing something better was out there just beyond our grasp, now seem worth it. About two years ago, Tissot rocked the world of luxury watches when they unveiled their throwback piece, the PRX, which paid homage to their Seastar model from the 1970s. During a time when Rolex and Tudor were releasing diving watches with oversized bevels, Tissot gave us their version: simple and elegant, while still functioning as a sleek weatherproof and waterproof design. This was before they coined the title PRX, which stands for Precision and Resistance and X, which represents the Roman numeral 10, and denotes its water resistance of up to ten bars. Not long after that, the Powermatic would arrive on the scene and forever alter the cultural conversation, both in and out of this niche world of watches.

Why We Love the Powermatic 80

Anytime you introduce a watch with a heritage, people are going to give it a second glance. The Powermatic 80 demands nothing less. Although the PRX plays on design motifs that date back to the 70s, the PRX logo feels like it comes from a scene out of 1985’s Back to the Future. With Tissot’s intentional details, you are transformed into a symbol of nostalgia. Slip the steel but flexible bracelet and simple but sturdy clasp on your wrist, glance down at the pixelated dial pattern, and instantly you are taken back to a time before the smart watch, and into a time of movie posters, boomboxes, and VHS.

Tissot knows they got the look of the watch right based on the reception of the PRX, but what sets the Powermatic apart from its predecessor is its use of mechanics.  Tissot did not just give us a watch designed for those with an eye for vintage design. They ensured the Powermatic functions as pretty as it wears. Equipped with the innovating Nivachron hairspring, made of a titanium-based alloy instead of the classic silicon, this technology is completely magnetic resistant, thus having a positive effect on the oscillation. This is how the self-winding Powermatic 80 can deliver reliability and precision with every single flick of the wrist.

It’s going to be extremely hard to find another watch for less than a thousand that wears like twenty thousand, but we think the Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 has the staying power to be that watch. We are excited to see how its influence grows and extends beyond the world of luxury watches, a bit of past creeping back into the future.

Explore Tissot watches at Schiffman's Jewelers Friendly Center location.