Tissot have put themselves between a rock and a hard place over the past few years. The PRX is still killing it as an entry-level beater with a Genta-esque design, to the point where Tissot’s other collections are being stonewalled. It makes sense; when you have a modern success story like that, you don’t want to rock the boat. But eventually, you’re squeezing blood from a stone and you need a new vein of inspiration to mine. If that vein reveals a flawlessly 1980s vintage gem, then you’re hitting two birds with one stone. Yes, I’m talking about the Tissot Rock Watch. And I’m not sorry for the puns.
The ‘80s were an odd time for watches. Most traditional brands were still reeling from the quartz crisis and everyone else was trying to find some way of carving themselves out a niche. Tissot were actually very ahead of the curve there. As early as the ‘70s, they were dabbling in plastic as a watchmaking material, with the Idea2001 as the precursor to Swatch’s industry-shattering success. But after the synthetic, they decided to go au naturel with 1985’s Rock Watch.
Tissot RockWatch 1985
A few of you probably remember that launch. But I’m going to assume for the sake of everyone my age and under that you don’t mind a bit of a refresher. Needless to say, never before has a name been so blunt. The Rock Watch was indeed a timepiece with a case made entirely from rock, milled from a single piece of stone. It was initially launched with Alpine rocks from various Swiss cantons, but as it took hold as an idea, it quickly became an unstoppable juggernaut for Tissot.
They began offering the diminutive, 28mm – 33mm watch in various coloured, if distinctly non-precious stones. They introduced ladder bracelets made from rocks and even tried the concept (worryingly successfully) with mother-of-pearl and wood. Yes, there was a Wood Watch, too.
Tissot RockWatch 1987 Advert
By the mid-90s, over 800,000 Rock Watches were sold, leveraging quartz movements to keep them as accessible and style-forward as possible. That’s before Tissot decided to phase the collection out. Why they did so we can only speculate, but I imagine the tooling for working with rocks for a single collection wasn’t something that big daddy Swatch Group particularly wanted to invest in. It’s not like any of their other brands could use them, given how iconic Tissot’s had become.
But fortunately, the story of the Rock Watch doesn’t stop there, as 40 years on, Tissot has revived the cult classic. Even more fortunately, it’s awesome.
The new 2025 Rock Watch is incredibly faithful to the original. The monobloc case is milled from a single piece of rock, once again sourced from the Swiss Alps, specifically the internationally adored ski resort of Jungfrau. Incidentally, the stone used was waste material that came from a recent tunnel renovation on the way up to Europe’s highest train station. Personally, that doesn’t matter too much to me, but it’s nice to know.
Otherwise, the new Rock Watch has the same flat crystal (albeit using modern manufacturing methods for anti-reflectivity). It has the same tiny crown and the same unusual lugs attached to the metal caseback rather than the case itself. It’s lost the original red and yellow hands that were meant to reflect mountain markers, but I prefer the new, straight-up silver hands. There’s already a lot going on with that stone backdrop and monochrome keeps things streamlined and readable.
The new watch is also equipped with an ETA quartz number, which isn’t faithful to the original, but keeps it nice and accessible. Given there’s no second hand, there’s also no obvious sign of the battery-powered movement. You just don’t need to keep setting it. If you’re into funky designs, there’s a lot to love here.
My main issue with the new design is the size. The original had an upper men’s diameter of 33mm, with the majority of Rock Watches measuring in at a 30mm ‘unisex’ size. That’s absolutely tiny and I love them. Hell, when I heard tell of a new Rock Watch on the proverbial horological grapevine, I opted to grab one myself. That wasn’t because I expected it to go up in value or anything. Even if I doubled what I paid for it, it’s too cool to let go for £100. What I loved was that there was nothing else like it. Hell, 40 years on there still isn’t. And after a couple of weeks of wear, it’s also converted me to those genuinely small vintage sizes.
I can see why Tissot upsized to 38mm. If you’ve not dabbled in the diminutive before, the original will seem far too small and Tissot is a mass-market watch brand. They’re going to hit the popular sweet spot. And it’s not like 38mm is actually small, even if the 2025 Rock Watch does feel surprisingly large.
That feeling is more due to proportions than actual dimensions. The case construction is incredibly faithful to the original, with the same smooth sides and flat crystal bonded to the stone. It’s just that with the upsize, the sides seem to curve more dramatically, more like a disc than the pebble of the original.
That bonding is likely (though admittedly not confirmed) the reasoning for the 30m water resistance, the only other problem I have with the new watch. It’s not like vintage pieces have professional dive watch specs, but with modern technology, I’d have liked a touch more of a depth rating than a complicated dress watch.
Both those gripes, however, pale in comparison to the positives here. The watch itself feels fantastic on the wrist. It’s not as heavy as you expect from Alpine granite. The grain varies from watch to watch (although very slightly) so each is unique and it’s just one of the most instantly recognisable watches of any era.
If you want something different from the current grey grain, then you might have a bit of a wait. There’s been no confirmation from Tissot whether they’ll release more versions in the future. Hopefully, these first 999 are just a toe in the water rather than the endgame; it’s not hard to imagine country-specific editions erupting across the world.
Worst case, however, this re-edition has reignited the reputation of the original Rock Watch. They’re not rare. Far from it, in fact, hence my grabbing one for less than a cheap night out in London. You too can just grab one of those in any of its insane variants, from the original granite to black mother-of-pearl. But I’d love to see Tissot get fully on board with the new era of Rock Watch, stone ladder bracelets and all. Because if the Rock Watch does well, we may yet get the Wood Watch. And I have even more puns lined up for that bad boy.
Price and Specs:
More details at Tissot.
