【F】 Channeling Don Draper With The New Tissot Visodate

I know, I know; Don Draper wore Omega, Jaeger-LeCoultre, and Rolex in the vibey hit series Mad Men. Still, this new Tissot Visodate gives me a lot of that pizzazz on a much more wallet-friendly budget. I got a chance to go hands-on with this latest reiteration of Tissot’s Visodate lineup. Here’s how we fared.

The new Tissot Visodate comes in three versions — the blue-dial model you see here, a black-dial variant, and a silver-dial version with gold-tone indexes and hands and a brown leather strap. The models on the bracelet cost €875, while the leather-strap-equipped version costs €795. Let’s have a closer look!

Mid-century vibes

I am a complete sucker for mid-century design. Put an Eames chair in a Frank Lloyd Wright villa, park a Porsche 901 in the driveway, and hang a couple of Telecasters and Stratocasters on the wall, and you will never hear from me again.

Plenty of watches, vintage and new, suit this aesthetic. After all, it is easy to make a case for the 1940s–1970s as the (or, rather, a) golden age of watch design. Tissot played its part, introducing the Visodate in 1954. The house had already dabbled in date complications for a decade prior, with the pointer-date Calendrier and a special 100th-anniversary model, the Centenary.

By 1954, Tissot had settled on an instantly changing date behind an aperture at 3 o’clock on the dial. The Visodate was born. Many iterations would follow over the next decades. What remains, however, is a clear mid-century design that, in my humble opinion, aged rather gracefully.

The new Tissot Visodate

The new Tissot Visodate debuts with a 39mm diameter, a 45mm lug-to-lug, and a 10.5mm thickness. Tissot rates the stainless case water resistant to 50 meters. It also comes equipped with a sapphire crystal up top and a screw-in display case back.

Inside ticks the Swatch Group’s Powermatic 80 caliber. As its name suggests, this ETA 2824-2-based automatic movement provides an 80-hour power reserve. In part, this is achieved by slowing down its pace from 28,800 to 21,600 vibrations per hour. Tissot uses a Nivachron hairspring for optimal resistance to magnetism.

As mentioned, you can have your choice of three dials. The blue and black dials feature silver-tone applied indexes and hands. The silver-dial version, meanwhile, ups the vintage vibes with contrasting gold-tone features. All three models use Super-LumiNova for nighttime readability. However, don’t expect much due to the low volumes of the luminescent material. After all, we should consider these dress watches.

Handling and wearing the new Tissot Visodate

The new Tissot Visodate does not surprise in terms of how it feels in the hand. If you know what a typical Tissot feels like, quality-wise, this is exactly like that. And that’s a good thing because the quality is good for the money. There is no reason why you could not make this last if you looked after it.

Two things jumped out at me when I first saw the watch. The first was the dial. Only the center is flat, with a broad sloping section surrounding it. Moving outwards, the soft downward slope breaks into the rehaut, sloping back up. Paired with alternated finishes, this makes for a very dynamic and handsome dial. The second thing I noticed was the watch’s overall profile, which looks and feels flat, almost like a dinner plate. This is a result of a relatively large diameter (for the style), modest thickness, and flat design.

On the wrist, this perception persists. While the watch is nice and slender, I would have loved a slightly smaller diameter and/or a stronger curve to the case for my fairly average 18cm wrist. As is, the Tissot Visodate feels like a mid-century watch copied at 110%. That’s no criticism. Whether you like it depends on whether you appreciate the more modern proportions and on how it sits on your wrist. Overall, the watch feels balanced and looks well proportioned, not ballooned like many other upscaled vintage designs.

Closing thoughts

I can see this new Visodate doing well for Tissot. It offers a lot of charm, decent quality, and versatile styling for the money. The bracelet looks neat and features quick-release spring bars but no micro-adjustment. The watch itself pairs mid-century charm with modern clarity. Crucially, the Visodate nods at its past without appearing overly sentimental. Kudos, Tissot, for not going down the faux-patina route here.

All in all, I have an easy time recommending this latest effort from Tissot. You get the Don Draper vibes under €1k. The quality is as expected, and the looks are on point. The Powermatic 80 caliber inside will serve you well. Sometimes reviewing watches is an easy job, especially when the watch does exactly as it says on the tin. And this Tissot does exactly that!

What do you think of the new Tissot Visodate? Let us know in the comments section below!

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