A few tools are needed before you can identify your Tissot watch. The Tissot logo is stamped on the dial of each unit. If the watch you are trying to identify was made in the 1930s, be aware that Tissot merged with Omega Watch Company in that decade, after which a series of the watches was identified as "Omega Watch Co./Tissot." The movement, which is the spring mechanism used to run and regulate the watch, is engraved as "Tissot." Some older Tissot watches can be confused with an unrelated Swiss watch manufacturer, Mathey-Tissot.
Inspect the top of the watch's dial with a jeweler's loupe. Note that the watch is from the late 1950s to early 1960s if you see a slanted "Tissot" script. Tissots displayed an upright "Tissot" script in bold letters, often with a "T" above the title, from the early to mid-1960s on.
Look at the bottom of the dial. The Tissot is a self-winding watch if you see the word "automatic." If there is no "automatic," the watch is wound manually. Some Tissots, particularly those from the 1950s to the 1970s, have "17 Jewels" or another number of jewels sketched in the bottom of the dial. A minimum of 15 jewels are featured on a good-quality Tissot.
Introduce a case blade underneath the lip of a Tissot watch that snaps back and requires prying to open. If the Tissot has a screw-down case, take the palm of your hand and a watchmaker's sticky ball or a ball of duct tape and move it counterclockwise to remove the back case.
Use your loupe to view the inside of the back case. "Tissot" should be engraved directly above the script, "Swiss Made." The dial font should match the "Tissot" writing on the back. Inspect the type of metal that was used to make the case, such as "9K," "10K," "14K" or "18K" for gold, or "999" for silver. An independent case maker's name could be engraved instead of "Tissot."
Examine the movement with the loupe. The bridge, which is a smooth and flat piece of metal that covers a portion of the movement, should have "Tissot" engraved on it. A serial number will be near the name, such as 2943525, dating the Tissot to 1953. Tissot dealers can match your serial number to its date.
