Mathey-Tissot is a

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

watch A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

maker of prestige watches, originally established in 1886 by Edmond Mathey-Tissot at Les Ponts-de-Martel in the canton of

Neuchâtel Neuchâtel (, ; ; ) is a list of towns in Switzerland, town, a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality, and the capital (political), capital of the cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Neuchâtel (canton), Neuchâtel on Lake Neuchâtel ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. Mathey-Tissot is an independent watchmaker, with its headquarters in Geneva. It is not associated with

Tissot Tissot SA () is a Swiss luxury watch brand owned by the Swatch Group. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. Tissot is not associated with Mathey-Tissot, anoth ...

, another Swiss watchmaking firm.

History

Edmond Mathey-Tissot established his

watchmaking A watchmaker is an artisan who makes and repairs watches. Since a majority of watches are now factory-made, most modern watchmakers only repair watches. However, originally they were master craftsmen who built watches, including all their par ...

business in the village of Les Ponts-de-Martel in 1886. He began by specializing in complications, and especially

repeater In telecommunications, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it. Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances or be received on the other side of an obstruction. Some ...

pocket watches, that is, watches which chime the hour or the hour and quarter-hour (quarter-repeater) or the hour, quarter-hour and minute (minute-repeater). The firm soon proceeded to make

chronograph A chronograph is a specific type of watch that is used as a stopwatch combined with a display watch. A basic chronograph has hour and minute hands on the main dial to tell the time, a small seconds hand to tell that the watch is running, and ...

s and won a number of prizes.Mathey-Tissot Switzerland
History
at mathey-tissot.net Mathey-tissot calamatic 1947

In 1899, the outbreak of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War (, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, Transvaal War, Anglo–Boer War, or South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer republics (the South African Republic and ...

led to such an expansion in demand for Mathey-Tissot watches that a new factory was built. Among the orders received was one from a nobleman in Scotland, who commissioned 2,500 watches, having decided to present every man in his son's

regiment A regiment is a military unit. Its role and size varies markedly, depending on the country, military service, service, or administrative corps, specialisation. In Middle Ages, Medieval Europe, the term "regiment" denoted any large body of l ...

with a repeater watch: in gold for officers, silver for other ranks. In 1914, Mathey-Tissot was represented at the

Kew Observatory The King's Observatory (called for many years the Kew Observatory) is a Grade I listed building in Richmond, London. Now a private dwelling, it formerly housed an astronomical observatory, astronomical and Terrestrial magnetism, terrestrial mag ...

Competition by six Observatory Chronometers capable of split-second timing, all six being rated 'Class A' with the comment 'specially good'. The same year, Mathey-Tissot gained the Grand Prix at the Swiss National Exhibition. During the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, the company supplied the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

's Corps of Engineers with precision chronographs in large quantities, while General Pershing, commanding the United States Expeditionary Force, chose the watch to award to members of his own staff. Both before and after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the company continued to supply the U. S. Army and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. The name 'E. Mathey-Tissot & Co.' was protected by

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...

in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

in 1937. The firm at one time had good relations with

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

and made watches of Chinese designs for that market which have been described as "complicated and painstaking pieces... in the realm of superior watchmaking". In 1969 and 1970,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977) was an American singer and actor. Referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one of the most significant cultural figures of the ...

bought several dozen customized Mathey-Tissot

automatic watch An automatic watch, also known as a self-winding watch or simply an automatic, is a mechanical watch where the natural motion of the wearer provides energy to wind the mainspring, making manual winding unnecessary if worn enough. It is disting ...

es for giving to family, friends and staff; the purpose being to identify the wearers as having a privileged right of access to Presley's concerts and tours. The bezel settings of these the name ELVIS PRESLEY in raised letters and four stars.

Present-day

Mathey-Tissot no longer produces its own

watch movement A watch is a timepiece carried or worn by a person. It is designed to maintain a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is worn around the wrist, attached by a watch strap or another type of ...

s in house. Instead, the company customizes

mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations o ...

and

quartz Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The Atom, atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon–oxygen Tetrahedral molecular geometry, tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tet ...

watches with movements sourced from others. Its

logo A logo (abbreviation of logotype; ) is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol used to aid and promote public identification and recognition. It may be of an abstract or figurative design or include the text of the name that it represents, as in ...

is similar to the "peace symbol" of the

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is an organisation that advocates unilateral nuclear disarmament by the United Kingdom, international nuclear disarmament and tighter international arms regulation through agreements such as the Nucl ...

, but turned upside-down, with the words ''Mathey-Tissot'' in manuscript, above the printed words "since 1886". The name of Mathey-Tissot is registered with the

World Intellectual Property Organization The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization, WIPO was created to pr ...

, under the company name E. Mathey-Tissot & Co. SA, of Boulevard de Pérolle,

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

, Switzerland.(273710) Mathey-Tissot
wipo.int

References

External links

Official website

Elvis Presley watch by Mathey-Tissot, 1969
(illustrated) Watch brands Companies based in the canton of Neuchâtel Manufacturing companies established in 1886 Swiss companies established in 1886 Swiss watch brands Watch manufacturing companies of Switzerland

History

Present-day

See also

References

External links