Wristwatches · Wristwatch
Tissot Seastar Automatic, TwoTone Dial, ref. 44669-2, circa 1972
- Maker / attribution
- Tissot (maker)
- Date
- c. 1972
- Historical period
- Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)
- Country of origin
- Switzerland
- Object type
- Wristwatch
- Stock no.
- vws2898
- Credit line
- Dealer listing, Vintage Watch Specialist (vws2898)
- Catalogue title (original)
- Tissot Seastar Automatic - TwoTone Dial - Reference: 44669-2 - c.1972 (English)
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Record summary
Catalogued by Vintage Watch Specialist (dealer), United Kingdom (stock number vws2898), this is a wristwatch by Tissot, made in Switzerland, dated c. 1972. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. 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 — Vintage Watch Specialist
A Very Retro Tissot Seastar Automatic with a Unique Two-Tone Dial in Blue and Silver and Cushion Shaped Case, c.1974 Tissot was founded in 1853 by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son Charles-Émile Tissot in the Swiss city of Le Locle. The Seastar collection first surfaced a century later in Tissot's 1954 catalogue and was airtight thanks to a double caseback, with additional protection against moisture and dust. What’s On Offer A very retro offering here in the shape of this c.1974 Tissot Seastar with a two-tone dial in blue and silver with elliptical-shaped silver sectors. The dial boasts applied polished indexes with stepped surfaces and white inserts with luminescent pips, elongated white markers for seconds/minutes, and corresponding luminescent baton hands. There is a subtle date aperture at 3 o'clock with a quick date change function, a signed crown and a screwed-down satin finished caseback. The watch is in fantastic condition and wears beautifully on the wrist with its nice proportions, unique case shape and striking dial, it definitely has a presence on the wrist.
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
Automatic (self-winding) watches
Self-winding watches use the wearer's motion to wind the mainspring. Abraham-Louis Perrelet and Breguet made 'perpétuelle' pocket watches with oscillating weights in the late eighteenth century, but the principle only became practical in the wristwatch. John Harwood patented a bumper automatic in 1923; Rolex's Perpetual rotor (1931) winding in one direction, and later bidirectional rotors (Eterna, Felsa Bidynator), established the modern form. Micro-rotors (Universal Genève, Buren) and peripheral rotors made automatic watches thinner.
What to look for
- A semicircular rotor turning 360° over the movement, or a 'bumper' weight that rebounds between springs.
- 'Automatic', 'Perpetual' or 'Self-winding' on the dial.
- A sealed screw-back case, since automatic watches are wound less often by the crown.
Dating clues
- Bumper automatics: 1923–c. 1955.
- Full rotors: from 1931 (Rolex); widespread after c. 1950.
- Micro-rotors: from 1954–1958.
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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