Where nostalgia meets technology

Deputy manager of Tissot watches, Ulrich Fischer says their new line makes a modern statement with a vintage voice.

By OMER RAVEH
Tissot store (photo credit: Wikicommons)
Tissot store
(photo credit: Wikicommons)
Ulrich Fischer, deputy manager and marketing vice president of Tissot, came to Israel with his wife to attend the launch of the Tissot Tradition Perpetual Calendar, a watch that makes a modern statement with a vintage voice.
Fischer entered the field of watches after a successful career in cosmetics and toiletries, mostly in Asia.
After receiving a BA at the University of California, Berkley, he went to study in Freiburg, Germany, where he received a doctorate in economics. He was then awarded a scholarship to study Japanese in Tokyo.
Fischer has had a wide-ranging career in sales and marketing, with a special emphasis on Asia. With his background in economics and a multicultural approach, he worked for Nivea in Tokyo, and then worked for several years as a marketing director in Japan and China for the German company Henkel. At Henkel, he had several marketing positions, as well as sales management positions in Japan, Germany and China. In 1995 he took on the position of manager at MCM, an Asia-based producer of leather products and accessories located outside Germany.
His became familiar with the watch industry in 1997, when he worked as the international sales manager of Ultime in Switzerland. Fischer, who speaks German, English and Japanese, took on his position at Tissot in 1998.
Tell us a little about Tissot.
The company has 159 years of experience in manufacturing quality watches and has the highest output in the traditional Swiss watch industry. Tissot markets its products in over 160 countries in five continents, with over 16,000 points of sale, earning approximately $900 million a year.
The heart of the company is in the central district of watchmaking in Switzerland. The company belongs to the Swatch Group, the world’s largest watch manufacturer and distributor.You obviously like the field of watches.
Yes, very much. I feel that it’s not just a job but also a pleasure. I think it’s very important to do something you love.
How many watches do you have?
I have no idea what the exact number is, but most of my watches are made by Tissot or by Swatch. I work for the company, so I have no reason to wear other watches.How do you decide which watch to wear?
It depends on my mood.How many watches did you bring with you to Israel?
This time just one.
When did Tissot enter the Chinese market?
In May 1994. It was one of the first European brands in China.
How do you feel about the commercial course of development in China?
China today is an important power that plays a central role.
Its shopping force is tremendous both in China and outside of China, since the world is filled with Chinese tourists.An up-to-date watch with a touch of vintage
Tissot’s Tradition series gives modern watchmaking a hint of nostalgia. In keeping with the retro trend of going back to the 1950s, the Tissot Tradition Perpetual Calendar model comes in three variations: a white board with a brown leather band; a black board with a black leather band; and a brown-gray board with a stainless steel band. The watch has six hands, each of which functions separately to provide the wearer with an array of information about the date and time.
Apart from the hands for hours and minutes, there is a seconds hand at the bottom of the board, under which there is a moon with a hand that points to the day of the month.
On the upper part of the board there are two watch faces -- one for the days of the week and one for the months of the year.
One of the truly unique features of the watch is that the date needs to be adjusted only once in 99 years.Price: NIS 3,135 to NIS 3,460