FORGING AHEAD

Tissot drops all-new PRX models, including a first in forged carbon. We also take a closer look at the Grendizer model and outside the PRX range the PR516 chronograph

- ASHOK SOMAN

As we have written more than a few times, it is difficult to find exciting watchmaking content that is also accessible. All too often, as novelty value increases, so too do price points – this is not unexpected given that watchmaking also operates on economies of scale. Take the forged carbon material, which was used exclusively by high-end watchmakers who charged a premium for it. The Tissot Sideral – subject of our cover story exactly a year ago – changed all that in dramatic fashion. It turns out that this was not a one-off for the brand, as part of this issue’s cover story examines.

As always, our cover stories require a bit of a primer, tiresome though that might be for longtime readers. Skip past this paragraph if that sounds like you. On that cover watch, the PRX Forged Carbon, look for our specific thoughts on it in the Cover Watch section. That is also where we get into the specifications of this model.

This year, instead of revisiting the history of material experimentation at Tissot, we thought we would check in once again with CEO Sylvain Dolla for his thoughts. As it happens, Dolla is now into his 20th year at Swatch Group – he originally worked on the Swatch Paparazzi watch – and is, by his own admission, a true watch afficionado. Prior to taking charge at Tissot, Dolla spent 15 productive years at Hamilton and we are tempted to lay the credit for that brand’s successes at his feet too. That kind of thinking is complicated by the fact that Swatch Group is, well, a group, meaning there is more than one chef responsible for any given dish.