From 1853 to the present day, Tissot has continually surprised and delighted customers with its product innovation. A relentless pioneering spirit led the company from its foundation in the small Swiss Jura town of Le Locle, to a presence in 150 countries. From its first pocket watch with two time zones in 1853 to its revolutionary touch-screen technology T-Touch watch, Tissot has presented a series of firsts in terms of technology, materials, and design, going as far as creating watches made of rock, wood, and pearl.



From day one, Tissot was also dedicated to taking its innovations to destinations well beyond the Swiss borders. In 1858, the founder's son, Charles-Emile Tissot, left Le Locle for Russia and successfully sold Tissot savonnette pocket watches across this huge and influential empire.

International expansion went from strength to strength and Tissot is today the leading producer of the traditional Swiss watch industry in number of units. Being sold by 16,000 Points of Sale across five continents, Tissot products offer a wide selection of watches to suit diverse functional needs and tastes.

Over the years many key figures have owned Tissot watches. In the world of pop culture there have been many big names to own a Tissot watch, including actress Sarah Bernhardt, singer Carmen Miranda, Elvis Presley, Grace Kelly, and Nelson Mandela. Football (Soccer) hero Michael Owen, pioneering female IndyCar driver Danica Patrick, and world champion MotoGP racer Nicky Hayden are just a few of the big sports icons around the world to have "sported" Tissot watches.

And as representative timekeeper and partner of MotoGP, NASCAR, and the World Championships of fencing, cycling, and hockey, Tissot clearly expresses its firmly held values of performance, precision, and pushing the boundaries of watch making to new limits.

Today, with four main ambassadors, Tissot has become "More than a watch," as their slogan would suggest. International football player Michael Owen has been a Tissot Ambassador since 1998. As Tissot says, he personifies the Tissot values of performance, innovation and excellence in both his personal and professional life.

Indy Car driver Danica Patrick is another Tissot Ambassador, who competes in a sport where performance is what truly matters and timing is the key, just like Tissot. 2006 MotoGP champion Nicky Hayden competes in a sport where new technologies are advancing it all the time, also like Tissot in the world of watches.

The fourth current Ambassador for Tissot is Barbie Xu, a star of the Chinese artistic scene. Along with her huge impact in the Asian region, Barbie Xu is a growing phenomenon and the Chinese face of Tissot worldwide.