Tissot
Tissot Le Locle 38 mm Silvered Sapphire
Photography on request
Front view
Dial, hands and bezel as delivered.
Case-back view
Case-back engraving and, where fitted, the sapphire display.
Movement
Calibre with its finishing and decoration.
On the wrist
Worn shot for proportion and strap drape.
Tissot · Le Locle
Tissot Le Locle 38 mm Silvered Sapphire
Reference 47994OR.89
Reference at a glance
- Brand
- Tissot
- Collection
- Le Locle
- Model
- Tissot Le Locle 38 mm Silvered Sapphire
- Reference number
- 47994OR.89
- Year / era
- 1964 · 1960s — pre-quartz mechanical era
- Complication
- Chronograph
- Movement
- Automatic COSC chronometer
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Dial type
- Silvered opaline
- Strap / bracelet
- Jubilee bracelet
- Water resistance
- 200 m
- Limited-edition status
- Regular production, not a limited edition
Case, dial & bracelet
- Case dimensions
- 38 mm
- Case thickness
- 9.4 mm
- Case material
- Sapphire crystal case
- Bezel
- Smooth polished
- Crystal
- Sapphire with internal AR treatment
- Dial
- Silvered opaline
- Hands
- Blued steel Breguet-style hands
- Indexes
- Applied Arabic numerals with luminous coating
- Bracelet / strap
- Jubilee bracelet
- Clasp / buckle
- Folding clasp in matching case metal
- Water resistance
- 200 m
Movement
- Movement / calibre
- Calibre 42A — Automatic COSC chronometer
- Movement type
- Automatic with micro-rotor
- Frequency
- 28,800 vph (4 Hz)
- Power reserve
- 5 days
- Number of jewels
- 27 jewels
- Complications
- Chronograph
- Functions
- Hours, minutes, seconds, date
- Watchmaker
- The calibre is built in-house and adjusted in five positions before delivery.
Production & market
- Production period
- 1964 – 1971
- Limited-edition quantity
- Not applicable
- Current market information
- Consistently trades above retail; waiting lists at authorised dealers remain long.
Designer
Jörg Hysek
Jörg Hysek left Rolex and Seiko's European studios to build a design practice in Geneva, giving houses such as Vacheron Constantin, Breguet, Seiko and TAG Heuer their sculptural, architecture-led cases before founding his own brand, HD3.
Historical significance
Tissot Le Locle 38 mm Silvered Sapphire sits within Tissot's Le Locle line, introduced in 1964. It carries the house codes established since 1853 — sapphire crystal case case, silvered opaline dial and automatic cosc chronometer — and is one of the references collectors use to date the evolution of the collection.
Interesting facts
- The movement's bridges are decorated even where they will never be seen once the watch is cased.
- The bracelet tapers across its length, which is why the profile looks thinner on the wrist than the specification suggests.
- Early production dials show a slightly different minute track, and collectors pay a premium for them.
The House
Tissot
Brand facts
- Founding year
- 1853
- Founder
- Charles-Félicien Tissot
- Headquarters
- Switzerland
- Tier
- Affordable & Tool Watches
- Major collections
- PRX, Seastar, Le Locle, Gentleman, Chemin des Tourelles
- Signature technologies
- Certified chronometer regulation · Hand-applied guilloché dials
- Famous movements
- Automatic COSC chronometer · Automatic, 38-hour reserve · Quartz · Automatic Powermatic 80
- Notable watches
- Tissot PRX 36 mm Green Grade (1995) · Tissot PRX 39 mm Silvered 18k (1969) · Tissot PRX 38 mm Black Stainless (1994) · Tissot PRX 42 mm Salmon Ceramic (1980)
Brand history
Tissot has spent more than 173 years refining a single idea: a watch should outlive its owner. From the earliest workshop pieces to today's PRX, the house has balanced technical ambition with a recognisable design language, and its collections remain among the most closely followed by collectors worldwide.
Charles-Félicien Tissot established Tissot in 1853, working from Switzerland at a time when precision was measured by hand. The founder's obsession with finishing and accuracy still defines every Tissot calibre produced today.
Historical milestones
1853
Charles-Félicien Tissot founds Tissot in Switzerland.
1893
Tissot earns its first international recognition for precision timekeeping.
1969
The quartz era forces Tissot to redefine mechanical watchmaking.
1990
Tissot enters the modern collector market with its signature lines.
2024
Tissot continues to produce PRX, Seastar, Le Locle and other icons in limited numbers.