By choosing to cover the new Tissot Sideral watch, we are courting a bit of trouble because the watch will no doubt be the focus of a coming issue. By trouble here, we only mean that we are taking a chance on potentially repeating ourselves. Well, the Summer issue happens to be focused on composite materials so this new Sideral, a reinterpretation of the 1970s Tissot Sideral S, cannot be shunted off to another issue.

The original was cased in fibreglass, and the 2023 Sideral features a case in forged carbon. Both materials were firsts for Tissot (the brand claims to have premiered fibreglass for watch cases and we can find nothing to contest this view) in their respective eras, with forged carbon being unusual for Swatch Group brands. Perhaps Tissot preferred a bit more conventional approach for strength here because there is an inner steel case in the 2023 Sideral.

The other reason we have pushed forward with this news is that we were looking for a Tissot watch to cover, and we closed our composite section before the Sideral was unveiled. If you know anything about the editors behind this magazine, you know we cannot resist a chance to benefit from synchronicity. This is also a Tissot watch and thus will be appealing to a bigger audience, and it goes long on the sort of colourful aesthetic touches that might well mark the contemporary era in watchmaking. There are three colourways here: yellow, red and blue, with straps to match. The straps look to be fast-changing, but more on that another time.

For those wondering if the brand would lean further into its 1970s narrative, the Sideral provides a resounding answer, although the forged carbon case is clearly a hallmark of 21st century watchmaking (see our special section for more details). We are taking our chances on this tonneau shaped gem (lug to lug it is 46.5mm) because it is now the preeminent example of an accessible composite material cased Swiss Made watch from a legacy brand (more on the price below as usual). Take note that the blue model has blue highlights mixed into the case itself, but the other models do not have this feature. Happily, the new Sideral is powered by the Powermatic 80 automatic movement, which means one gets a lot of value out of this.

So what is the Tissot Sideral watch anyway? Take a look at the dial and the boating regatta feature on the bezel, and it will give you some clues, which ought to deal with any confusion arising from the name. There is an important historical note about the strap, but we do not have the space to get into that now, and the unique fastening system. The movement, which is shared with a variety of Swatch Group brands means that one should not expect more than hours, minutes, seconds and date indications, alongside the usual generous power reserve. Tissot notes that the rotor design here has changed for this model, which collectors should take note of.

Movement: Automatic Powermatic 80 Nivachron with date; 80-hour power reserve
Case: 41mm in forged carbon and steel with unidirectional bezel; water-resistant to 300m
Strap: Perforated rubber with buckle 
Price: Just above CHF1,000

This article was first seen on WOW’s Summer #69 Issue. 

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