Tissot and Seiko are both popular watch brands in society and are both known to be relatively affordable and have similarities in price, experience, and vision. If you’re thinking about buying a new, relatively low-priced watch, it’s good to look at which one fits your needs. Therefore, we have put the 2 brands side by side to give you the best idea of what the best choice is for you, Tissot vs Seiko.
Tissot is known for selling quality watches at entry-level prices, with a large bag of experience. The same characteristics are known for Seiko watches. Which brand is better for you comes down to what they radiate and what the brands stand for, which is a personal preference.
Where the differences lie comes down to different characteristics. But it comes down to how the brands want to profile themselves to the consumers where you see the real differences. Both brands want to develop their own image and identity, which means that there are indeed differences. In the following paragraphs, we reviewed those differences.
Brand identities – Tissot vs Seiko
Even though some companies are similar in terms of products. And may attract the same target audience, the differences that the brands have can mainly be found in the identity of the brands. This concerns the general impression they leave on the consumer. Also, the recognizable brand attributes distinguish the brands from each other. It provides the direction and focuses that allow the Seiko and Tissot brands to compete.
Tissot and Seiko have similarities all over. They do have differences in the way the brand is seen from the point of view of the consumers. Seiko is known for offering many different watch models all over the place. Tissot is rather known for offering budget luxury timepieces. Seiko offers many different movements, like Solar, Kinetic, Mechanical, and quartz movements, each owning its own price range.
Tissot is known for offering watches that have different innovative designs. The brand managed to produce a lot of different watches and managed to create an image of special inventions in their timekeeping devices. This is making them one of the largest Swiss watch brands in today’s watch world.
Brand identity is all about the general impression that the brands leave to their consumers. It is a big attribute of creating your own image. So, there are differences between Tissot’s and Seiko’s brand identities.
Tissot vs Seiko
To tell you exactly which brand suits you the best, it is best to look at the character traits you are looking for, for example, the quality, the image, but also the ease of use. Other irrational factors can also play a role, such as feelings. All of these factors make the brand and Tissot and Seiko have differences in these characteristics. There are a few characteristics that make a brand good and diminish it from the rest:
- History
- Quality (Materials, Accuracy)
- Ease of use
- Investment opportunities
- Price
In the following paragraphs, we will put Tissot and Seiko next to each other and discuss these points for both brands.
Tissot vs Seiko’s history
History is a big part of a brand’s image and where they come from. The fact is that both brands have an incredible history and bag of experience in timekeeping history and managed to conquer the hearts of many different consumers along the way. But they both led their own different routes.
Tissot’s history
Tissot is a brand that has been around for a while. Ever since 1853, they have been manufacturing and selling watches and started their book of history about innovative designs and becoming one of the largest brands in the history of timepieces. In 1853, when the brand started innovating watches. The brand already started implementing mass-produced watches. This was a big innovation in watch history and was one of many more to come at the time.
Another one of Tissot’s innovative ideas was the manufacturing of woman’s watches. This was seen as an incredible principle for the evolution of fashion.
Later in their journey, In 1930, Tissot came with another huge announcement in the watch industry by creating the world’s first non-magnetic wristwatch. This was huge because the (then) magnetic timepieces came into conflict with a large amount of electricity that was being used and increasingly used within households. This conflict would greatly reduce the precision of the timepieces back then.
These innovations were not only good for the watch industry, but also for the entire fashion industry. These innovations made Tissot huge and set the foundation of the brand.
Seiko’s history
Seiko started their journey in 1881 when they started manufacturing timekeeping devices, a little later than Tissot. It all started in a local shop where Kintaro Hattori was selling and servicing watches and found out he wanted to evolve. Seikosha became the name of a newborn company in 1892. This later became one of the world’s largest manufacturers of watches.
Seiko came into existence when Seikosha filed for bankruptcy and the brand couldn’t continue under the name Seikosha. But the founders did not stop there. Shortly afterward, in 1924, they made the first watch under the name Seiko.
Seiko is also known for producing watches with innovative designs and later became one of the largest manufacturers of wristwatches with a huge assortment of timepieces for every human’s needs. This included divers watches, Grand Seiko line, which is standing for more luxurious timepieces. But also wristwatches with stopwatches, automatic chronographs, TV watches, Kinetic watches, and many more innovations in the industry.
All of these innovations combined made for a huge assortment of watches that anyone can benefit from. With affordable prices, luxurious timepieces, and one of the biggest brands in the world.
Tissot vs Seiko Quality (materials, accuracy)
An important factor for people that are intending to buy a new watch is the quality of the watch. This includes the quality of the materials. But also the accuracy of the watch, and the longevity of the overall piece. The fact is that Seiko and Tissot are both known for producing quality watches and materials. And are known to have a good price-to-quality ratio. Which ensures that the watch offers quality at the price that it costs.
Seiko is known to manufacture very durable watches and make everything they make in-house. This makes the brand having ensures that the brand knows what it is putting in its products and therefore has full control over the quality of its timepieces. Tissot on the other hand often uses different movements from external companies which could be an interesting factor.
Tissot vs Seiko Materials
Seiko’s materials are very diverse as they make a lot of different watches and materials in their watches. These materials are made in-house and usually exist of Stainless Steel, Aluminum, and Titanium. But they also use gold in some of their expensive models. The quality of their materials is widely known to be very good and have an amazing price to quality ratio.
Tissot doesn’t disappoint either, with their large bag of experience in watchmaking and innovating the best designs. They carry an unbelievable suitcase of experience in the quality of the materials. This is also reflected in the quality of the materials and the overall watch. For example, they use 18K gold. But also Super-LumiNova, which is a relatively new material that is used in the dials and hands of the watch. Tissot is also known for producing fine materials that have great longevity and come with the best possible quality for the price you pay.
Tissot vs Seiko Accuracy
The accuracy of a watch could also be an important factor for watches to be good. The fact is that the movement is responsible for the accuracy of a watch. For example, mechanical watches are moved by a spring and will always be less accurate than quartz movements. This is because quartz movements are battery-powered.
The differences in accuracy are seen in the movements. Although Tissot and Seiko are both known to produce good watches in terms of the accuracy of the overall brand. Tissots’ fastest watches are their quartz movements and are stated to be accurate to -0.5 to +0.7 seconds per day, which is very accurate if we look at the competition.
Seiko’s quartz movements are also accurate to -0.5 seconds per day, which comes down to an average of ±15 seconds per month. These quartz movements are above average and are both compared to its competitors, very accurate.
Automatic watches have different movements and are known to be significantly less accurate than battery-powered movements. This is due to the fact that mechanical watches are made of metals that exert an effect on the accuracy of the watches.
Seiko’s automatic watches are known to be accurate to +/- 5 to 6 seconds per day. While Tissot watches have a stated accuracy of -10/+30 seconds per day. But this average will always depend on the model and the state of the movement.
The ease of use
The ease of use could also be a deciding factor when choosing a watch, or any product that you are intending to buy. It leads to more conversions and ensures trust and interaction with the customer. Watches are not complicated, but some are easier to use than others, So how do Tissot and Seiko score in this field?
The use of a watch also depends on the movement as the movement needs to be wound based on different movement types. Automatic watches, for example, are wound automatically by wearing the watch and normal wrist movements. Battery-powered watches are a little different and need wounding through the battery, which needs to be replaced once in a while.
Seiko watches are known to be very easy to use, this is because they are easy to read, use, and service. The fact is that Seiko watches have their own in-house movements and are therefore not being made complicated at all. This means that the watch can be fixed when broken by yourself and doesn’t need any extraordinary products or servicing. Also, modern Seiko watches are easy to read, serial numbers are always 6 digits and have a clear meaning. Also, the the date is easily readable with on the case and dials of a watch.
Tissot watches are also known to be easy to use. You can easily read the watch and Tissot offers watches with an interchangeable strap system. You can change your watch’s style by changing the bracelet with this easy-to-use system.
Investment opportunities
For people who are looking for investment opportunities, Seiko and Tissot are not the best options for you. The fact is that most watches are not great investment opportunities. While many people think that you can just buy a watch as an investment, you’ll need to look at specific brands and watches to have a good potential investment.
Seiko and Tissot have assortments that are both focussing on the mass production of watches. This means that they produce their watches in big quantities and their models are not particularly special or rare in the watch market. This is one of the biggest factors of potential investments in the industry. Watches are potential investments when they have a rather large demand compared to the supply of the specific model.
This is why luxury watches and investment watches are usually handmade. This provides much more expertise and time to produce a good model, making it way rarer to have one of those watches and therefore making it more valuable in the future.
Seiko and Tissot are both brands that are focussed on the mass production of their models and will therefore not provide a good investment opportunity. The only reasonable investment opportunity lies in Seiko’s side brand which is called Grand Seiko. Grand Seiko is one of the luxury watch brands that have the same manufacturer as Seiko and the brand puts way more effort into one particular timepiece. Although most Grand Seiko watches will depreciate about 30-40 % in value in the first few years, buying the right model could lead to a nice potential investment opportunity.
Price
The price of both brands is obviously also a great factor in which brand you would like to buy. Because it is one of the first things you look at when buying a new watch. The fact is that the brands have similar price ranges for their models, only Seiko has more watches and a bigger assortment.
Both brands have an incredible price-to-quality ratio and will therefore not disappoint in terms of the price you pay and what you get back for it.
So, Tissot vs Seiko, which one is best?
If we compare the two brands, we can tell that it really is a personal preference which brand you choose to buy. The fact is that their price ranges are similar and they both use mass production for their products. The brands are both easy to use, although Tissot uses an interchangeable strap system for strap replacements. Seiko uses its own in-house materials and movements which make the case and movement less complicated to use and easier for replacement when necessary.
The accuracy of the watches is pretty much the same and their quartz movements are just as accurate as each other. Other than the accuracy of their mechanical movements, the watches both have their own identities. Tissot is known for providing value to the watch world with its new inventions and innovations, whilst Seiko owns a large assortment of different watches, movements, and price ranges for every humans needs.
The way you can look at Tissot is “affordable luxury” which is one of the main factors that they want to radiate with their beautiful luxurious timepieces for relatively affordable prices compared to its competitors. Seiko rather wants to radiate the principle of “watches for everyone”, which they show in their large assortment. Seiko offers watches for all needs and options. The brand you choose should depend on what vision, experience, or terms of use you set for yourself. Because both brands are very good in their field and won’t disappoint.
For more articles on every single watch query, check out our website over here for all of your questions about the different watch brands in the industry.
