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Product Description
Stainless steel case with a black croco-embossed leather bracelet. Fixed stainless steel bezel. Black dial with luminous hands and stick hour markers. Arabic numerals mark the 3, 9 and 12 o’clock positions. Minute markers. Tachymeter scale around the outer rim. Date display at the 4 o’clock position. Chronograph – three sub-dials displaying: 60 seconds, 30 minutes and 1/10th of a minute. Quartz chronograph movement. Scratch resistant sapphire crystal. Screw down crown. Screw down solid case back. Case diameter: 40 mm. Case thickness: 12 mm. Tang clasp. Water resistant at 200 meters / 660 feet. Tissot PRC200 Mens Watch T17.1.526.52…. More >>
Tissot Men’s T17.1.526.52 PRC 200 Watch
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I love this watch. As subtle as it appears, it does seem to grab attention, and I enjoy the dressy-casual paradox it creates. While not pretentious, it is definitely bold, as one reviewer put it, and you should be prepared for strangers asking you what kind of watch it is. I’m not that familiar with Tissot watches, so in the way of metrics, I would say that it is nicer than a Bulova Marine Star (a solid watch in its own right) but a good step below a TAG Heuer Carrera (but the TAG has an automatic movement).
The strap and chronograph imply “working man’s watch.” No frou-frou here. But the massiveness, precision design and elegant finish tell you it’s a little nicer than a simple workhorse timepiece.
One quirk is the layout of the hands and dials. The large yellow “seconds” hand in the central dial location is not the real-time seconds hand, but rather that of the chrono; this hand remains perpetually at 12 o’clock (until you start the chronograph). All chrono functions are color-coded with yellow hands, which is a thoughtful touch. The real-time seconds are actually marked by a secondary (white) dial at the 6 o’clock position. The casual observer, seeing the large stopped hand, might think your watch battery has stopped. I have a Lucien Piccard with this setup, so I guess I will just get used to it.
The reviewer who complained about the buckle-clasp makes a valid point. In theory, these buckle-clasps should work fine. However, on my wrist, the strap is tight enough to nearly take off skin when I slide it on, yet when I clasp it shut, it is still too loose to stay in place. I will also look into after-market straps with conventional buckles. There’s no good excuse for spending more than ten seconds to put on a wristwatch, no matter how nice it looks. But straps come and go, so this isn’t a huge deal.
Pro:
- Very elegant for a casual watch
- Size, mass and depth (the depth of the watch is thicker than a Sharpie-brand marker)
- Good overall design; looks like it could have been designed by an architect
- Internal tachymeter on a beveled ring; allows for a larger crystal and a cleaner look
Con:
- The chronograph “seconds” hand, at the home position, is slightly off-center against the 12 o’clock tick mark on the watch face, indicating a quality control issue at the factory. You would have to look very closely to notice this, however.
- The fancy clasp is over-designed and should be replaced with a more effective buckle design.
As a side note, I noticed today that Amazon shows the MSRP as $425, however, the retail tag attached to the watch I received through Amazon states $395. As of February 2008, the online price is still $273 with free UPS shipping (signature required).
Rating: 4 / 5
For the money this is a great watch. Tissot are swiss made and have sapphire crystal and the design is great. It has more functions than my Omega Speedmaster that i paid 10x more for! Overall, Id say this is a great entry level watch for someone just getting into collection or just a great looking timepiece for someone on a budget.
Rating: 4 / 5
Have had the watch for about a year. Compliments do not stop. This is a bold watch, does elegant and casual equally well. Disagree re: strap issues. No problems at all with the strap, easy to operate, very comfortable(I have avg. size wrist). Best part is it looks like it costs thousands, not <$300. I Like that not everybody has one of these. Great quality, great crystal, great timepiece. Buy it if you want a watch that makes people say “wow”
Rating: 5 / 5
I’ve had mine a year and am very happy with it. It’s very accurate (to within a half second a month), looks great with casual clothes or formal wear. I get compliments on it all the time. It’s a little thicker that I thought, but that’s not a big deal. I find myself wearing this watch more often since I like it so much. The strap lock is cool, but can be a pain to operate. To get it tight enough for my wrist means my hand will barely fit through it. After a year, my strap is stretching out two holes already. Might get a nice ‘gator strap for it.
Rating: 5 / 5
Purchased as a gift for myself, at wife’s insistence. I took several weeks, certainly more than a month, to whittle my preferences down to this Tissot, along with 2 other Tissot’s. It is cherished gift from wife.
What I love about this watch:
- The face, the case; the appeal was in the quality of cleanness of the face, numberings very crisp white on black
- The band, unusual bracelet, but very nice
- The way of setting time, etc.: the post is reverse spun to unlock the mechanism, then forward spun to set the time and/or date. very well done and notches are very clear to differentiate between time and date setting
Con (pro)
- Stopwatch function is very easy to use, but since the chrono is analog, can be somewhat hard to read if timing long periods.
Rating: 5 / 5