Reawakening The Gentleman In Us

Our times aren’t ideally characterized by the term “gentlemanliness.” It seems most of us are more concerned with fighting for what we think the world owes us than with standing for dignified, gentlemanly conduct. This week, I am proposing a return of the gentleman in us all. I secretly, subliminally started last week with the Singer Reimagined Caballero (Spanish for “gentleman”). Today, I am ramping it up with the new Tissot Gentleman 38mm.

The new Tissot Gentleman 38mm comes in four colors. I got the chance to go hands-on with the black and green models. Regardless of which color you choose, you will have to part ways with €795. Let’s see if it performs beyond that rather modest price tag!

A still from Tissot’s new Gentleman campaign

The modern gentleman

Okay, first things first. My introduction was, of course, tongue in cheek. But it isn’t entirely beside the point. After all, Tissot builds its campaign for this watch around the concept of modern gentlemanliness. Its ads show an actor being mentored by a somehow animated wristwatch. When he fails, his Tissot Gentleman whispers what to do and how to be a gentleman.

But what even is gentlemanliness these days? Cowardly, and not wanting to get burned, I decided to ask my friendly neighborhood large language model. “Gentlemanly behavior in a modern context isn’t about chivalry rooted in the idea that women are fragile or inferior — it’s about respect, consideration, and character applied universally.” Similarly, Tissot’s ad shows the watch telling the actor to shed self-doubt and impulsiveness, as well as to choose patience, even in chaos.

There you go. Here’s something to aspire to for you today. Jokes aside, how much can we really ask of a watch when it comes to a concept as elusive and lofty as gentlemanliness? I would want the watch to be versatile, stylish, subtle, and quietly confident. I won’t hold the new Tissot Gentleman to any higher standards than that, but this is the bar. Let’s see if it meets it!

The new Tissot Gentleman 38mm

If you had to look twice to see what is actually new here, don’t worry. Your eyes are fine, and so is your watch knowledge. In essence, these are just shrunken-down versions of the existing Tissot Gentleman 40mm, so if they look comfortably familiar, that’s because they are.

Still, small changes can make a big difference. Allow me to start with the new size. The smaller 38mm case has a 45.7mm lug-to-lug length and a 12mm thickness. Let me refrain from kicking around the bush: that’s spot on, even if it reads a bit thick on paper. The original’s 40mm case suits many wrists, but with quite a few gentlemen having developed a taste for humbler sizings, a smaller version makes a ton of sense. Now, Tissot put a 35mm PRX beside its 40mm original before, which left us longing for something in between (until the Le Locle-based outfit fixed that). Luckily, this time, the smaller version hits the sweet spot straight away.

On my 18cm wrist, the Tissot Gentleman 38mm wears like a dream. Its sleek, pebble-like shape melts over the wrist and slips under the cuff as smoothly as a groundhog slips into its burrow when it spots an eagle overhead. If someone had told me the watch was 10mm thick, I would have believed it. The following is subjective, but 37–38mm watches in this style always feel neutral to me. They don’t appear particularly small or large. I like that, as I feel it is most likely to age well, being less sensitive to trends.

A new and rather appealing dial finish

Since the new Tissot Gentleman 38mm is technically identical to its existing, bigger brethren, I will refrain from regurgitating all its specifications. You will find them in the spec sheet below if you want to check the details. Instead, let me focus on what’s new here.

Beyond the proportions, Tissot equips the 38mm Gentleman with a new dial finish — pyramidal sunburst. That sounds awesome, doesn’t it? Crucially, it looks rather dashing as well. We’re no strangers to sunburst dials in Tissot Gentlemen models, and we’ve also seen crosshairs on them. This new finish, however, combines the best of those two ideas. It looks as if subtle crease lines run across the dial’s horizontal and vertical axes. The sunburst is cut into four pizza slices. As you angle the watch, the light reflects from each quarter slightly differently.

Crucially, the effect remains subdued under all conditions. It adds visual interest and breaks up the dial more subtly than painted crosshairs do. Equally crucially, the dial doesn’t appear overly compartmentalized or fragmented. It all remains nicely cohesive while adding a distinguishing touch.

So, should you get the new Tissot Gentleman 38mm?

Well, you wouldn’t let me tell you what to do now, would you? That wouldn’t be very gentlemanly of either of us. Still, I wouldn’t go out of my way to stop you if you were planning on acquiring a Tissot Gentleman 38mm. I think these watches are very easy to recommend.

In fact, I often find Tissot and Longines watches simultaneously the easiest and the hardest watches to review. Why? Well, because they tend to be exactly as you expect. The build, finishing, and feel almost always align exactly with how we know these brands to perform. That’s a compliment because it hints at great consistency. It makes writing about them hard, however, because predictability doesn’t inspire fun angles for articles. Luckily for me, a name like Gentleman does!

So, does the new Tissot Gentleman 38mm meet my criteria? Is it versatile, stylish, subtle, and quietly confident? I’d say so, yes. Pair that with a decent build and finishing, a good Powermatic 80 caliber, and a very sharp price point, and we have another winner from Tissot on our hands. Now all that you have to do is carry yourself with respect, consideration, and character applied universally…if you want to meet AI’s view of gentlemanliness, that is.

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

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