Today we are going to talk about two old Swiss watch brands that can sometimes be mixed up: Tissot and Mathey-Tissot. In short, they are two completely unrelated companies. The names of the companies are derived from their founders, Charles Tissot and Edmond Mathey-Tissot, respectively.
Both companies are originally from the canton of Neuchâtel: Tissot from the town of Le Locle and Mathey-Tissot from Les Ponts-de-Martel. Both companies have a long history of watch making, but Tissot is a slightly older company, with Tissot having been founded in 1853 and Mathey-Tissot 33 years later in 1886. This pretty much sums up what these two brands have in common. Further development of the companies was quite divergent.
Tissot's first largest market was the Russian Empire. In fact, Charles
Tissot even moved to Russia. Up until the Russian Revolution in 1917, Tissot
watches were very popular there.
On the other hand, the first large success of Mathey-Tissot was during Second Boer War when its watches became very popular among
British Army personnel.
Today, Mathey-Tissot is still an independent watch maker while Tissot is part of the first Swiss watchmaking group that was established in 1930 when Tissot merged with Omega. This group is known as "The Swatch Group" since 1998.
Mathey-Tissot is a slightly more affordable brand compare to Tissot, but they both use reliable inhouse watch movements and offer high quality Swiss craftmanship and a rich watch making heritage. Both companies are worth considering if you are looking to buy a Swiss-made watch without spending thousands of dollars.
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