In Review: Tissot Carson Powermatic 80

Goal Worthy: Tissot T-Classic Carson Powermatic 80 – $410.87

Fulfilled by Amazon at post time for the reduced price above. Currently $595 – $725 full retail.

In the arms race for men’s wrists, the trend of the last few years has been bigger = better. But despite many of us taking a measured enjoyment of the trend, that’s only been the last few years. For the vast majority of time since watches moved from men’s pockets to their wrists, diameters have hovered in the mid 30mm to very low 40mm range. And if it was a dress watch, you could expect it to be on the smaller side. Tissot’s newest dress watch walks this line perfectly. At 40mm, it’s slightly larger for a traditionally sized dress watch, but it won’t look minuscule next to today’s beasts. Add in a nice power train and all sorts of wins on the looks side, and you’ve got a watch worth saving up for.

Tissot & Swiss Movement Maker ETA have produced a movement that delivers double the power reserve compared to other automatic/mechanical watches in this price range. While others can run for 40ish hours on a full wind, the Powermatic 80 series can go for, you guessed it, 80 hours. That means you wear it a couple of times to work and maybe once on the weekend when out on the town, and you don’t have to worry about this thing coming to a stop on you. Impressive for the relative investment, even if $400 – $600 is no small investment for most of us.

The more traditional 40mm size. Wears a bit smaller.

The design on the Roman Dial version is so classic, it’s almost unique in today’s market. Sort of odd that a lack of bells & whistles can make a watch stand out, but it falls in line with the new Orient Bambino vintage series. Less = more. A lot more.

Instead of a stark printer-paper white, the dial on these is more like a bone. Not quite eggshell. It’s a small detail, but many dress watches have either a bright white or silver dial. The almost-but-not-quite white knocks the contrast down a little. The  hands are a dark grey instead of matching the silver case. That decision to have the hands stand out in a different shade helps the look quite a bit. No day window on the dial, just a date, and that was another good decision by the designers since it keeps the dial extra simple.

Sapphire crystal, exhibition case back, 30m water resistance, and a 20mm wide leather band. The case itself is 9.6mm thick, so despite being not very large across the dial, there’s still the familiar (and welcome) automatic/mechanical substantial feel to the piece once you put it on.

This is a rare one. Totally classic style, a newly developed movement, and a case size that won’t look clunky in the future. There are plenty of less expensive dress-watch options (quartz & automatic alike), but this new option from Tissot is going to be all kinds of perfect looking for years (or decades) to come.