Tissot’s new watch rocks. Literally: the Swiss watchmaker is bringing back a cult-favorite timepiece, which is made out of granite. The story starts in 1985 when Swiss watchmaker Tissot cut against the horological (and physical) grain by making a watch out of granite. It wasn’t easy: Sourcing the stuff from the side of an alpine peak is no mean feat, while slicing it up is another thing entirely, requiring special tooling and processes. However, much like the Chia Pet, the Rock Watch proved strangely popular. 40 years later, when stone-dial pieces starring exotic jasper, jade, and lapis lazuli are hotter than ever, the Tissot folks are bringing back their take on the trend.
Meet the new Rock Watch. Upsized to 38 mm and given nickel-plated hands, it looks even more Brutalist than the original, which featured a yellow and red handset inspired by alpine trail markers. Cut from granite sourced from the Jungfrau—a 4,158-meter summit of the Bernese Alps—it features an upgraded sapphire crystal (as opposed to the original’s mineral crystal) and comes paired to a black leather strap via two steel T-bar lugs that extend via the watch’s steel caseback and baseplate. (This design helps dissipate stress from the strap to the stone.) Powering the Rock Watch is a quartz movement, which helps keep the case depth fairly thin at 8.7 mm.
Don’t dismiss the Rock Watch as a gimmick or passing fad, though. Zoom in on the unique watch and suddenly you’ll find a kaleidoscope of color and striations within the stone, making for a genuinely beautiful design. Furthermore, as we’re talking about a piece of naturally occurring rock, each of the $1,225 999 limited-edition examples is unique, meaning no two buyers will end up with the same exact watch. And if you happen to be old enough to remember the ‘80s well, it’ll bring a wave of comforting nostalgia.
In today’s climate of stone-dial watches and models made from advanced materials such as titanium, ceramic, and more, a relatively simple timepiece carved out of a piece of rock might not seem like such a big deal. But it’s difficult to put into perspective how much of a risk the original Rock Watch presented to Tissot in the mid-1980s: The company invested millions and millions of Swiss francs into not only the tooling, but also the advertising of this strange little watch—and this was in the midst of the Quartz Crisis. Had the project been a commercial flop, we might not be having this—or any—conversation about Tissot at the moment. Alas, the gambit paid off, and Tissot sold roughly half a million of ‘em.