Chronographs are one of most popular complications that people loved. To be able to make your watch as a stopwatch is a great tool. Watches after all are a tool for us. But the mechanism to make a chronograph can be quite complex, which will make them costs substantially more than your normal automatic watch.
This is due to the amount of mechanism in the watch and the many subdials to record seconds, minutes and hours of the stopwatch timekeeping. Fortunately Tissot has released the Couturier Automatic Chronograph T035.627.16.051.00 which is an affordable, yet high quality and Swiss Made model of this very useful tool. Let’s take a look at Tissot Couturier review shall we.
Tissot Couturier Automatic Chronograph T035.627.16.051.00 Specification
Diameter: 43 mm
Thickness: 14.84 mm
Weight: 127 g
Case: Stainless steel case
Caseback: Solid caseback with aperture showing balance wheel
Strap: Leather strap with butterfly clasp
Dial: Black dial with silver index markers and date display
Dial Window: Sapphire crystal with non-reflective coating
Hands: Dauphine shaped hands with lume
Subdial: Chronograph subdials: 30-min subdial at top and 6-hour subdial at bottom. Running seconds hand subdial at left position.
Movement: ETA C01.211
automatic chronograph movement with 15 jewels. 21600 vibrations per hour or 6 beats per second
Power Reserve: 45 hours
Movement Features: Chronograph function, date display, hackable and manual winding
Water Resistance: 100 m or 330 feet
Other Features: Tachymeter scale at edge of dial, non-screwdown crown
Best Place To Buy: Amazon
Sharp And Elegant Looking Watch
Looking at the Tissot Couturier Automatic Chronograph and one can’t resist to comment on its good looks. The design is nothing fancy – just black dial with silver white hands, markers and signatures. It is in this very simple design and color usage that the watch looks tremendously gorgeous and elegant.
After all, black dial with silver stainless steel watch are just so cool looking right? Put that on a leather strap and you get a very sharp and dressy looking watch, the kind that every guy need to have.
The diameter of the watch is 43 mm with a rather thick 14.84 mm thickness. I honestly do not like the thickness, but it can’t be avoided as a chronograph automatic movement will be bulkier than their normal automatic sibling. The lugs are big and bulky, which shows that very masculine look. You can also notice that the crown is signed with Tissot’s “T” logo.
The chronograph pushers are at 2 and 4 o’clock positions. They are not like normal circle pushers but instead have an oval shape which will give better feel when using it.
On the back of the watch is a unique caseback. Tissot uses solid caseback with a small aperture (or opening) just to show the balance wheel. At first I think it looks nice until it hit me – why didn’t they use a full exhibition caseback?
A full exhibition caseback will be totally gorgeous to have as we can see the back of the C01.211 automatic chronograph movement in full instead of just an opening. It’s really a design decision which is not welcomed at all.
Subdials And Silver Markers/Hands
As you already notice, the Tissot Couturier Automatic Chronograph has 3 subdials on it. The top subdial is to record minutes for chronograph. The bottom subdial is for recording hours for chronograph (until 6 hours). The top subdial scale is until 30-min. Once the chronograph goes 30 minutes, the bottom subdial will move to mark half an hour.
The left subdial is a running seconds hand. This means the main second hand will not be moving at all. It will only move when using chronograph function to record seconds. It’s a shame actually to not be able to enjoy the sweeping second hand but it seems that most automatic chronograph has this sort of movement restriction. For a truly beautiful sweeping second hand with perfect chronograph function, I suggest you check out Bulova Precisionist (but it’s a quartz though..).
At the right of the dial is a circle that housed Tissot’s signatures, as well as the date window. These 4 subdial circles gives this watch a perfect symmetry design. Everything on the black dial is made of silver and white in color, giving a very nice contrast.
The markers are index shaped and bold. At the edge is the tachymeter scale. The watch uses dauphine shaped hands which have a little bit of lume on it.
A video showing the Tissot Couturier Automatic Chronograph T035.627.16.051.00 upclose. You can also see how to use the chronograph function. Notice also the running second hand is at the left subdial and not the main second hand.
How To Use Chronograph / Stopwatch Function?
For those of you that don’t know, chronograph function means the watch can be used as a stopwatch. You know the thing the used to time Olympic races etc? Yes that’s the thing. For the Tissot Couturier Automatic Chronograph, the chronograph is operated by using 2 knobs or pushers at 2 and 4 o’clock positions.
Pushing the top pusher will start the stopwatch. The main second hand will move with each passing second. Once it make one rotation, the top subdial will move by one mark signalling one minute has passed.
Unlike electronic stopwatch, this Tissot will only be able to record up to 6 hours of time. In order to stop the time, simply push the top pusher again. You can push the top pusher to continue the time. Pushing the bottom pusher will reset the chronograph to zero.
ETA C01.211 Automatic Chronograph Movement
Inside the Tissot Couturier is an ETA C01.211 automatic chrongraph movement. Words has it that this is a cheaper automatic chronograph movement designed by ETA for Tissot to use in their cheaper watches.
I’m not sure as to why Tissot don’t just use the ETA Valjoux 7750 chronograph movement (as in the Victorinox Infantry Vintage), but it seems they want a new movement for this purpose.
Even though this is a “cheap” movement, but ETA does not disappoint here. The C01.211 movement has lower jewel count at 15 jewels and 28800 vibrations per hour or 8 beats per second for that pretty sweeping motion.
The lower jewel count might be one of the improvements done by ETA to reduce cost. It also has a huge 45 hours power reserve, hack-able and can be manual wind. One trade off might be its thickness which is quite thick resulting in big watches.
I was not able to get a published accuracy data, but knowing ETA, we can safely assume the accuracy of the movement to fall within 10 seconds deviation per day since it is not a COSC certified chronometer.
Tachymeter Scale For Measuring Speed
On the edge of the dial is a tachymeter scale to measure speed. The numbers on the scale will show the speed of any object in km per hour or mile per hour, provided the distance that object travels is known. For more example, you can visit Wikipedia.com for the examples.
In real life, I don’t think it has any significant usage as we have to know the distance that object traveled which is quite hard to know. But I can see that this can be real nifty for a sports event when you already know the distance of any runners or swimmers for example.
Thus it is quite easy to do the simple calculation to get the speed of that particular athlete. Another usage might be in a racing event.
Tissot Couturier Automatic Chronograph T035.627.16.051.00 Pros And Cons
I’ve listed the pros and cons of this watch below for your easy reference:
Pros:
1- Beautiful, sharp and elegant looking watch with its black dial and silver markers/hands
2- Automatic chronograph movement at an affordable price
Cons:
1- Very thick at almost 15 mm
2- Will look substantial and big unless you have a big wrist
3- A full exhibition caseback is better than an aperture on the back
Conclusion
Tissot Couturier Automatic Chronograph is a beautiful looking watch. With its stainless steel case and chronograph subdials, it looks sophisticated and elegant at the same time. Having a chronograph function is a big plus as now your watch is one step closer to the functionality most electronic watches have.
Manufactured by Tissot, the trusted Swiss watchmaker with one century of experience should give an assurance on the quality of the craftsmanship of this watch. All in all, this is a watch those looking for a dressy automatic chronograph should buy.
Hope you guys enjoy this Tissot Couturier review. Drop your comments or question on this watch below. Hope to see you guys soon.
Cheers!
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Hi ,I have paid for an automatic Couturier chronograph online. From the photos, the hands are set at 10:12 ,but the date number is not centre in the date display window.
my question is, does the date begin to move before 12pm ,or does it begin to move slowly and not exactly before 12pm exactly ?
very good and informative page, thank you.
D.
Hi David. Based on my experience, ETA movements usually have a rapid click type of date & day change, that is the date & day will change at exactly 12:00 am (there’s no slow movement, it’s a rapid change). Once you’ve get your watch, you can confirm that =)
Please note the movement is 21600, 3Hz
Hi Gonzalo. Thanks for pointing that out! I’ve edited the article to state the correct specification.
Cheers =)
I have just bought the watch, yet this review made me feel so bad about the watch. I thought it had 25 jewels when I bough it not 15 plus even though it is a 100 meter water resistant I’m still afraid to go swimming with it.
Was the watch a bad choice?
Hi Amr. I don’t think you need to worry too much about the jewel count. It’s very dependent on how the movement is being designed, i.e a higher jewel count doesn’t mean the watch is superior.
On the swimming part, I highly suggest that you rethink on wanting to use the Tissot Couturier under water. Sure, it has 100 m water resistance but the lack of screw down crown on its pushers means those are the points where water can get inside the watch. Some people will trust the water resistance rating but I surely am not that brave.
I feel bad for causing you to feel this way buddy. Let me ask you this: do you like the watch? do you feel good wearing it? do you like its cool dial with that chronograph function?
If you say yes to all these, then I can say that you made the right choice of buying this watch. In the end, it depends on the individual whether he like the watch or not =)
Cheers!
I like the design but for a year where i had the watch. It keeps stopping every day. I must look at my other watch to set the time. Overall ,not a practical watch
Hi Mustafa. It seems that your Tissot Couturier stopped working because it does not have enough power reserve. Do you wind your watch manually? If not, then that could be the reason (read my guide on the common problems with automatic watches here).
Unfortunately, the arm movement while wearing an automatic watch must be able to rotate its rotor hundreds of times to get the power reserve to full capacity. This is usually not achievable since we don’t really move our hands a lot.
My suggestion is to try to manual wind it a few times ( 20-30 rotations are good enough for most watches) and see if the watch drop dead less than the 45 hours power reserve. If it still drop dead in just one day, you might want to bring it to a Tissot shop and have them look at it for you.
Let me know how it works out Mustafa.
This Tissot Chrono looks absolutely gorgeous. Its like the stunning beauty I came across when I walk down the streets when I see this watch on your website! I simply loved the design!
However, I think there isn’t much people who uses a Chrono as a stopwatch anymore as there exist all sorts of sports watch out there now, garmin, gshock, casio, and so, so, much more and I definitely won’t wanna bring this beauty for a jog. But it could be handy during emergency time!
You are absolutely right Leo. A chronograph watch has been displaced by more accurate and tool-like electronic watches (garmin, gshock etc.) that have lots of function in it. I also suspect nobody is using it for any outdoor activities lol
But in my opinion and based on my observation, people are still buying chronograph watches simply because its unique, especially if its an automatic chronograph like this Tissot Couturier. The subdials make the watch look more complicated which can be very attractive if done the right way. Not to mention you can play with the stopwatch whenever you’re bored =)