Tissot was founded in 1853 by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot in Le Locle. The father and son team initially worked out of their house, finding early success with selling pocket watches in the Russian Empire which led to relocating to Moscow.

Alliance with Omega

Tissot formed an alliance with Omega in 1930 in response to the global financial collapse, resulting in an era of Tissot-Omega watches that bore both companies’ names. Additional mergers were formed in the 1980’s, and was eventually renamed the Swatch Group which remains the parent company of both Tissot and Omega to this day.

Early Involvement in F1

While most motorsport fans may associate Tissot as the long time official timekeeper of MotoGP, the brand has previously enjoyed a rich history in Formula One. The 1965 release of the Tissot PR 516 served as a prelude, featuring a bracelet with holes styled after race car steering wheels at the time. After several years of sponsorships in the World Rally Championship, Tissot made their first appearance in Formula One with Loris Kessel in 1976, who competed in five races that season with RAM Racing. Tissot would continue their involvement in Formula One with Team Renault Alpine and Lotus Team until 1982. During that time, the Tissot F1 collection was launched in 1978. Tissot would eventually return to the Formula One grid in 1994 with the Sauber Mercedes Team.

Official Timekeeper of MotoGP

Tissot made the switch to two-wheeled Grand Prix racing in 2001 when it became the Official Timekeeper of MotoGP, a partnership that continues to this day. In addition to providing an exclusive watch for pole position in each class at each race, Tissot have also since taken on sponsorship of select Grand Prix events as well as MotoGP sprint races. This partnership has also included a plethora of MotoGP edition watches in both automatic and quartz.

MotoGP Rider Editions

Tissot also began creating rider edition quartz chronographs starting with the late Nicky Hayden in 2006. They generally had the same design as the standard MotoGP quartz versions with a different color scheme. Other riders to have T-Race models include Jorge Lorenzo, Marc Marquez, Thomas Luthi, Tito Rabat, Bradley Smith, and Stefan Bradl. Enea Bastianini was also announced as a Tissot ambassador in 2023. In the same year, Tissot as became the title sponsor for MotoGP sprint races.

Kessel Racing

Kessel Classics and the Kessel Racing team are owned by the family of Loris Kessel, and Tissot established a partnership with the family operation in 2018. The Swiss brand worked with Loris’s son and brand ambassador Ronnie Kessel to release the Tissot Heritage 1973 Chronograph Limited Edition in 2019. Inspired by the 1973 Tissot Navigator, the Heritage 1973 had a limited run of 1,973 pieces and retains much of the original design. Major updates include a sapphire crystal, a third subdial and relocated date window, and a larger case size.

Following the success of the Heritage 1973, Tissot released a non-limited version in different dial options. While neither models are outright affiliated with Kessel, the strong ties make them worth a mention.

References

https://wornandwound.com/history-tissot/
https://www.tissotwatches.com/media/downloadable/pocket_book_en.pdf
https://wornandwound.com/watches-and-f1-tissot-lotus-f1/
https://www.tissotwatches.com/en-us/history-carracing.html
https://www.tissotwatches.com/en-en/tissot-world-sport-partnerships
https://www.ablogtowatch.com/tissot-t-race-motogp-2012-automatic-chronograph-watch-review/
https://sponsorship.org/tissot-to-continue-as-official-timekeeper-of-motogp/
https://www.professionaljeweller.com/tissot-welcomes-new-uk-brand-ambassador/
https://nationaljeweler.com/articles/6494-motorcyclist-lorenzo-joins-tissot-team-of-ambassadors
https://www.se-check.com/tito-rabat-becomes-tissot-ambassador/
https://de.watchpro.com/motogp-wunderkind-enea-bastianini-als-neuer-tissot-botschafter-vorgestellt/
https://www.sportcal.com/sponsorship/tissot-and-dorna-sports-renew-long-standing-motogp-partnership/
https://monochrome-watches.com/tissot-heritage-1973-chronograph-limited-edition-introducing-price/
https://www.fratellowatches.com/hands-on-tissot-heritage-1973-chronograph-review/
https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/tissot-heritage-1973-chronograph-hands-on
https://monochrome-watches.com/tissot-heritage-1973-chronograph-review-price/

The post Tissot first appeared on Grand Prix Watches.

Sector No Limits is an Italian watch brand that was founded in 1973 by Filippo Giardiello. It was previously owned by BVLGARI’s Opera Group starting in 2001, and has been owned by the Morellato Group since 2006. The brand is geared towards athletes.

Jorge Lorenzo

Three-time MotoGP champion Jorge Lorenzo was announced as an ambassador of Sector No Limits in 2013. Lorenzo’s early appearances for the brand include the humorous “big seducer” ad. A fan meet and greet event was also held on April 10 of that year at the Sector Store in Milan, Italy. A fairly extensive Jorge Lorenzo Collection was also developed to commemorate the partnership.

Sector No Limits announced the end of their relationship with Lorenzo in 2015, stating that the brand “does not identify with the events that have occurred in recent weeks in the context of the MotoGP world championship”. The statement was made in reference to Valentino Rossi‘s upheld grid penalty at the season finale, which stemmed from his earlier clash with Marc Marquez. The timing also coincided with the end of the existing three-year contract.

Franco Morbidelli

Sector No Limits announced a return to MotoGP in February 2021 with Franco Morbidelli as their global brand ambassador. Later in the same year, the ADV 2500 Franco Morbidelli Limited Edition (ref. R3271643003) was unveiled. The second hand is in the Italian-Brazilian rider’s signature green color, with his autograph featuring on the case back. The chronograph was also shipped with a “21 Morbidelli” bandana.

References

https://www.ansa.it/sito/notizie/sport/moto/2015/11/05/moto-sponsor-sector-molla-lorenzo_59bff518-7b33-4f9f-a60c-28cd3046c06d.html
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sector-Jorge-Lorenzo-Watchen-Chronograph/dp/B00JOVD59E
https://motograndprix.motorionline.com/en/motogp-jorge-lorenzo-new-testimonial-sector-no-limits-video/
https://www.gqitalia.it/moda/trend/new/2014/09/25/jorge-lorenzo-milano-per-nuova-campagna-sector-limits
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3yf8UUyZY8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G5xjYrL-tNs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5fNMG5wQvg
https://www.motorsport.com/motogp/news/lorenzo-hits-out-at-former-sponsor-sector/664407/
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/news/motorcycling-lorenzos-italian-sponsor-quits-rossi-furore-145257867–spt.html
https://morellatogroup.com/en/news/franco-morbidelli-sector-no-limitss-new-global-brand-ambassador
https://www.chronoline.gr/sector-no-limits-franky/
https://www.quotidianomotori.com/lifestyle/sector-adv-2500-franco-morbidelli/
https://kosmima1.gr/en/product/mens-watch-sector-adv2500-chronograph-special-motogp-r3271643003/
https://www.nss-sports.com/en/lifestyle/27507/morbidelli-sector-cronografo

The post Sector No Limits first appeared on Grand Prix Watches.