Tissot Gentleman Powermatic 80 Review: Still the Best Everyday Watch After 6 Years?

As it stands, Tissot remains one of the most cost-effective and dynamic points of entry into the wild world of Swiss watches. Last week, we took a deep dive into the history of Tissot, charting its journey from its beginnings all the way back in 1853 to how the brand has adapted to the watchmaking landscape of today. We are gathered here today to plunge even more granularly into the contemporary Tissot catalog with, you guessed it, the Gentleman collection, which is among the brand’s top contenders for a one-and-done watch collection, if such a thing truly exists. 

Though we’ve already taken on the subject of the Tissot Gentleman in various roundups and a couple of our videos, we, surprisingly, haven’t dedicated a standalone review to the subject. So buckle up, because all that’s about to change moving forward. 

Tissot Gentleman History

While I’ve already alluded to our more sweeping article on Tissot’s over-century-long legacy, it’s always necessary to chart some hot historical plot points first, so we can have a more holistic view of how the brand has arrived at the Gentleman as we know it today. The story begins in 1853 in Le Locle, Switzerland (one of the historical hearts of Swiss watchmaking), with father-son duo Charles-Félicien Tissot and Charles-Émile Tissot, who turned their home into a humble watch factory. At its start, the Tissot workshop began as a comptoir d’etablissage, combining the father’s skill as a gold case fitter with his son's watchmaking talent to source parts and assemble complete pocket watches for sale. 

This era was a key turning point in the history of Swiss watchmaking, where there was a massive shift from a cottage industry to embracing the innovations of the Industrial Revolution, and Tissot would produce some of the first mass-produced pocket watches with dual time zones, leaning on Le Locle’s local network of specialists in the field to further integrate production. In the early 20th Century, Tissot would jump on the Art Nouveau and Art Deco stylings, and began rolling out the relatively new craze of wristwatches for both men and women in the 1910s, and introduced watches for military use during WWI. The 1920s were crucial for the growth and expansion of the recently reorganized Tissot & Fils SA, with the brand opening a new factory and further proving its chops as a vertically integrated manufacturer. In the 1930s, Tissot would merge with Omega to form one of Switzerland’s biggest watchmaking groups, SSIH, or Société Suisse pour l’Industrie Horlogère.

Jumping further into the 20th century, another big moment in the history of Tissot is the descent of the Quartz Crisis, which, as it did for many Swiss watchmakers at the time, hit Tissot hard by way of Japan’s radical innovation. In 1938, SSIH was merged with another large Swiss conglomerate, the ASUAG (a supplier that included ETA and others), to form SMH, eventually renamed to the Swatch Group, which continues to be the world’s largest watchmaking group. There proved to be strength in numbers, allowing Tissot to weather out the storm, buoyed by the collective power of the group. Here in the 21st century, Tissot, as a brand, has positioned itself as an accessible doorway into the often luxurious world of Swiss watches, a strategy that remains strong today. 

The official launch of the first Tissot Gentleman, ref. T927, was in 2019, though the line wasn’t off to the races just yet. This model did deliver high-quality specs at a very reasonable price point, featuring a solid rose-gold bezel, contemporary 40mm dimensions, and a Swiss-made automatic movement, all for under $1,500 MSRP, but the two-toned look and simple three-hand style didn’t really generate a lot of buzz. Later that year, the brand would expand the line to offer an all-steel version with a significant drop in price, and the Gentleman Powermatic 80 Silicium started to take off. The brand would expand its affordably priced all-rounder in the following years, and it was received as a quiet success, somewhat revitalizing Tissot with some new momentum. But in 2021, the Gentleman would encounter a new competitor in the midst of its own brand’s catalog. 

Just as the Gentleman was growing used to its humble success, in 2021, the launch of Tissot’s PRX was received as an instant breakout hit. The bolder, flashier, '70s-style integrated-bracelet watch almost immediately became a darling of the watch world, offering comparable style to the Audemars Piguet Royal Oak and equipped with a Swiss-made automatic movement at a fraction of the price. For those in the watch world, the PRX has come to represent the ubiquitous "first watch" recommendation for those just getting into the hobby, and the Tissot Gentleman is still somewhat relegated to the shadow of the PRX’s success. Tissot itself often displays its own internal sense of favoritism, and on the brand’s website, the PRX is front and center, and the Gentleman collection does not even make the homepage. Still, there are a great many that loudly and proudly make their affection for the humble Gentleman known, and love it for its low-key looks, quality build, and reasonable price point. 

Tissot Gentleman Case And Bracelet

While Tissot has expanded other lines to feature multiple sizing options, the Gentleman line keeps it simple, sticking staunchly with 40mm sizing across the collection, with a thickness of 11.6mm for the classic Powermatic 80 Silicium models. This, in my view, is philosophically aligned with what the Gentleman is at its core, which is a versatile watch free of any pomp or pretension, made to be a reliable yet humble companion on the day-to-day. 

That being said, the Gentleman does tend to wear slightly larger than its 48.6mm lug-to-lug dimensions initially suggest, so as with all watches, it’s best to try this one on in person before you buy if possible, to see if this piece suits what you’re looking for. Additionally, the rounded bezel does work in this watch’s favor, preventing the dial from looking too big and saucer-like on the wrist, and making the overall impression quite visually harmonious. The sharp angles of the lugs and end links of the bracelet also help the Gentleman to meld with the wrist nicely, a subtle but impactful detail that adds to the overall wearing comfort. 

The Tissot Gentleman is most often paired with a matching, milled-steel three-link bracelet, which tapers from the 21mm lug width to 19mm. The bracelet is the element of this piece that people most often have some gripes with, since the end links do contribute to the perceived larger wearing experience of the watch, and the tapering is quite slight. The bracelet does have a butterfly clasp, but not the ability to micro-adjust, so you have to be okay with taking out full links to adjust to your size. However, the bracelet does have a quick-release mechanism to easily swap to a strap. I personally like how the Gentleman looks paired with a leather bracelet, which makes it feel a bit more formal, but this is another case of "to each their own." Since the bracelet is the point of contention when it comes to the Gentleman collection, again, I would recommend trying it out for yourself before making any big commitment, if possible. 

Tissot Gentleman Dial 

As is the case with many watches out there, in my opinion, the strength of the Gentleman’s dial doesn’t really translate into much of its photography, especially in the case of the brand’s own product images on its website. I’ve found that in many of the photos out there, the impact of the subtle sunray finish and the alternating finishing on the indices is somewhat lost, particularly when it comes to the lighter dial color variations. 

As for the dial design language of the Gentleman, all the elements are relatively streamlined, leaning on simplicity, which is ultimately the core of the Gentleman’s DNA. With the silver-toned trapezoidal applied indices, we have a set of complementary dauphine hands, which are filled with Super-LumiNova in a shade of green, and a white date window at three o’clock. The text elements across the collection are also minimal (thankfully, Tissot has resisted smacking the collection name on the dial), simply detailing the brand logo and founding date below the twelve o’clock position and the movement details and small “Swiss Made” text around the 6 o’clock position.

On several models, there is an additional pair of white crosshair lines that bisect the dial, including on the deep emerald green model, which is among my favorites. It seems like the brand does this when it's channeling a more mid-century-inspired touch in distinct models, but the collection on the whole largely goes without this detail. Across the collection, luminous pips sit above each hour marker to help with reading the time in low-light conditions. 

Powermatic 80 Movement

Aside from its aesthetic versatility, one of the main keys to the Gentleman’s success is the movement within. The Powermatic 80 Caliber. Using a modified ETA 2824 as a base, the Powermatic 80 caliber is an example of Tissot’s ability to democratize Swiss-made movement quality while staying comfortably under $1,000 mark. The addition of the Silicium silicon balance spring, a move that in earlier years was only seen in higher-tier watchmaking, boosts the watch’s overall accuracy, antimagnetism, and overall value proposition. Additionally, the Powermatic 80 movement has a 3-Hz frequency, a more than weekend-proof power reserve of 80 hours, and is on display through the sapphire crystal caseback, though the finishing techniques are quite utilitarian. 

Price and Final Thoughts 

Six years after it hit the scene, there are still relatively few watches out there that offer a comparable bang-for-your-buck value to Tissot’s Gentleman — and many of those are in the brand’s own catalog. It might not be the flashiest watch out there, and sure, you’re not wont for choice in the overall landscape of three-hander watches with simple time and date functionality, but the real charm of the collection is that, like a true gentleman, the watches remain humble and steadfast, for the price of $875, no less. For those wanting a no-frills watch with Swiss-made chops that is game for just about any occasion, the Gentleman more than fits the bill. You can learn more at tissotwatches.com