Tissot’s PRX Powermatic 80 Goes Exotic With A Forged Carbon Case And Dial

With the PRX collection, Tissot has found a proverbial sweet spot between style, mechanics and affordability. At the height of the boom of luxury sports watches, in comes Tissot with the PRX, offering tremendous value for money! In just a couple of short years, Tissot has made the PRX the hottest-selling watch in its collection, by a country mile! It packs all the right elements; a shaped case, textured dial, integrated bracelet, and so on. Now though, Tissot ups the ante once more and goes a bit exotic with its latest PRX Powermatic 80, decked out in forged carbon!

For the first time, the collection ditches its sleek stainless steel exterior, in favour of lightweight forged carbon. It concerns not only the case but also the dial, neatly tying in the exterior with the interior. The Tissot PRX 40 Powermatic 80 Forged Carbon, as it’s officially called, retains the signature style and proportions. It has a 40mm exterior diameter and a height of 11.2mm. With a lug-to-lug size of 44mm, and worn on a black rubber strap instead of the integrated bracelet, it should fit the vast majority of people perfectly.

But the main topic is of course the material for the case! Forged carbon is about 5 times lighter and up to 10 times stronger than conventional stainless steel. That lightness paired with robustness is what makes it interesting for tons of uses, including watchmaking! It must be said, however, that the case for the Powermatic 80 Forged Carbon is not full forged carbon, but rather a steel centre container with a forged carbon shell. Nevertheless, the drop in weight is noticeable in the hand, and on the wrist!

Depending on the number of links, a stainless steel PRX Powermatic 80 in 40mm weighs about 135 grams, which drops to about 94 grams when worn on the OEM rubber strap. The use of forged carbon means this particular PRX tips the scales at only 74 grams, making it a very comfortable watch to wear. On top of the case, there’s a flat sapphire crystal covering the dial, with a blackened steel see-through caseback on the other side. Tissot has wisely opted for a forged carbon dial instead of the more common waffle texture. The applied markers and hands finished with Super-LumiNova, as well as the frame for the date window, are carried over from the other PRX models.

The Powermatic 80 movement that diligently beats away inside is well-known by now, but Tissot has opted for the Si version for this Forged Carbon PRX. That indicates it’s equipped with a silicon hairspring to provide better stability and combat magnetic forces. It can also be found in the Tissot Gentleman collection for instance. This movement, exclusive to the Swatch Group, runs at a reduced pace of 21,600vph, and delivers a very healthy 80 hours of running time, as you’re probably well aware.

As mentioned, Tissot puts the PRX 40 Powermatic 80 Forged Carbon on a black rubber strap. The textured finish of the strap evokes the waffle-like texture the dial usually has, so everything comes full circle. It’s still fitted with quick-release push pins although I wouldn’t directly know what to exchange it for. At EUR 1,075 including VAT it’s priced a touch higher than the regular PRX Powermatic 80 models, but that’s to be expected with a change in material like this and the slightly upgraded movement. It’s available for purchase as of now, and wouldn’t look out of place next to a steel PRX!

For more information, please visit TissotWatches.com.