Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Tissot Navigator T12 24-Hours Compressor Watch, early 1970s
- Maker / attribution
- Tissot (maker)
- Date
- early 1970s
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Dimensions
- Case 44 mm
- Stock no.
- W-1519
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Bulang & Sons (W-1519)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Tissot Navigator T12 24-Hours Compressor Watch (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Bulang & Sons (dealer), Copenhagen (stock number W-1519), this is a wristwatch by Tissot, made in Switzerland, dated early 1970s. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. Recorded dimensions: Case 44 mm. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.
Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.
Catalogue description
Dealer description — Bulang & Sons
A 24-hour inner ring... This is a very funky flying saucer-esque early 1970s watch by Tissot. Housed in a 44mm steel compressor case, the watch features two crowns - one crown winds the movement and sets the time and the other adjusts the inner 24-hour bezel. The case is in great all original condition. The grey soleil dial has blue tones in certain lights and features applied bold hour markers and a striking yellow seconds hand. The dial has a date aperture and the 24-hour bezel’s markings are in an aqua blue/green hue. This is an interesting and very cool looking watch that is perfect for 70s sci-fi fans! The watch is fitted with its original Tissot bracelet that is stamped ‘2 70’. The automatic movement has been fully checked and regulated by our watchmaker. Specifications: - T12 Navigator 24-Hours - Serial 446xx dates to the early 1970s - 44mm steel compressor case - Grey soleil dial with blue tones - Rotating inner 24-hour bezel - Tissot 788 automatic movement - Original Tissot steel bracelet - Fully checked by our watchmaker - Includes a handmade leather watch pouch
Historical context
Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.
Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.
Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology
Atlas type guide
Military, pilot and travel watches
The wristwatch owes much of its adoption by men to warfare and aviation. Wristlets — small pocket watches soldered with lugs and worn on a strap — were used in colonial campaigns and became standard equipment in the First World War, with protective grilles over the crystal ('shrapnel guards'). Louis Cartier's Santos (1904), designed for the aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont, is often cited as an early purpose-made pilot's watch.
In the Second World War governments specified watches in detail: the German B-Uhr observation watches, the American A-11, and the British 'W.W.W.' (the 'Dirty Dozen' set of 1945). After the war, jet travel brought GMT and world-time watches, which show two or more time zones at once — Louis Cottier's world-time mechanism and the Rolex GMT-Master (1955) are examples.
What to look for
- Military markings on the case back: broad arrow, issue numbers, 'W.W.W.', 'A.T.P.'
- High-legibility black dials with luminous Arabic numerals; oversized crowns for gloved hands.
- 24-hour hands and rotating 24-hour bezels or city rings on GMT/world-time watches.
- Wire lugs on early wristlets converted from pocket watches.
Dating clues
- Wire-lug wristlets: c. 1900–1925.
- Military specifications of the Second World War: 1939–1945.
- GMT and world-time wristwatches: mainly after 1950.
General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.
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