2010 has been a year of change. The first coalition government was formed in the UK for over 50 years, a volcano closed European airspace for 6 days, and Britain apparently managed to officially emerge from the longest recession since the depression.
It has also been a year of change for Tissot watches. Tissot has built its reputation on the quality and affordability of the watches it produces. This once classic watch brand has morphed into one of the leading sports watch brands on the market. At the heart of this change is the Tissot T-Touch range of watches. The multifunctional tactile sports watch has created a niche in the market that has led to the growth of the Tissot brand in the UK and the rest of the world. New generations of the T-Touch, such as the T-Touch Expert and the Sea Touch, have emerged over the last year from the original Tissot T-Touch.
With such massive branding changes from a classic watch brand to a sports watch brand, there must be some declines in the ranges of watches that Tissot makes and this year the first casualty was announced by the watch giant. The PR50, one of the most beloved watches in the Tissot range for over 30 years, is out of production. It was announced by Tissot at the Basel watch fair, showing that the Tissot company is serious about rebranding. The PR50 has been a huge part of the Tissot watch range for an incredible number of years and over time the PR50 has had a facelift to keep up with technological advancements and fashion changes. The PR50, as a range of watches, suited everyone from those who simply wanted a simple classic watch, to others who wanted specialized analog sports watches. With 58 watches in the range, everyone was able to find the watch they were looking for. Some of Tissot’s most popular watches come from the PR50 range, such as; the PR50 Nascar and the PR50 Seven men’s analog-digital crossover watch.
But wait a moment, before you go out and try to buy the remaining supply of PR50 in the world, Tissot watches have only signaled the end of the classic PR50 or the entry-level PR50 model, the Nascar and the PR50 Seven. However, this does not mean that the rest of the Tissot PR50 series are safe from the ax, it just means that they have avoided it for the time being. So for those who are still biding their time to buy a classic PR50 starter model, you’d better hurry up because they won’t be around much longer. Despite this loss, Tissot has released a new replacement for the PR50; the new PR100, which owes much of its appearance to its predecessor, the PR50. However, the PR100 has a much higher specification than the PR50 and it is easy to see why Tissot has decided to cancel the PR50 once people see the new PR100 model. The PR100 has a much larger dial, a new 100 meter water resistance, and a heavily changed bracelet that is sure to make people want to upgrade from the old PR50 to the new PR100.
It’s sad to see the end of the PR50, but with the new PR100 it’s easy to see why it was time for Tissot to drop an old favorite and embrace the new generation of classic Tissot styling.