The RockWatch or Rock Watch was a trademarked brand of
wristwatch
A watch is a portable timepiece intended to be carried or worn by a person. It is designed to keep a consistent movement despite the motions caused by the person's activities. A wristwatch is designed to be worn around the wrist, attached by ...
by
Tissot
Tissot SA () is a Swiss watchmaker. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. After several mergers and name changes, the group which Tissot SA belonged to was renam ...
with a case essentially made of stone, initially
alpine
Alpine may refer to any mountainous region. It may also refer to:
Places Europe
* Alps, a European mountain range
** Alpine states, which overlap with the European range
Australia
* Alpine, New South Wales, a Northern Village
* Alpine National Pa ...
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
from the
Grisons
The Grisons () or Graubünden,Names include:
*german: (Kanton) Graubünden ;
* Romansh:
** rm, label= Sursilvan, (Cantun) Grischun
** rm, label=Vallader, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label= Puter, (Chantun) Grischun
** rm, label=Surmiran, (Cant ...
,
Ticino
Ticino (), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino,, informally ''Canton Ticino'' ; lmo, Canton Tesin ; german: Kanton Tessin ; french: Canton du Tessin ; rm, Chantun dal Tessin . ...
, and
Valais
Valais ( , , ; frp, Valês; german: Wallis ), more formally the Canton of Valais,; german: Kanton Wallis; in other official Swiss languages outside Valais: it, (Canton) Vallese ; rm, (Chantun) Vallais. is one of the cantons of Switzerland, 26 ...
cantons of Switzerland. It was designed by
Robert Mazlo and first introduced to the U.S. market in December 1985 and in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
March 1986.
Tissot
Tissot SA () is a Swiss watchmaker. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. After several mergers and name changes, the group which Tissot SA belonged to was renam ...
claims it was the world's first wristwatch with a
case
Case or CASE may refer to:
Containers
* Case (goods), a package of related merchandise
* Cartridge case or casing, a firearm cartridge component
* Bookcase, a piece of furniture used to store books
* Briefcase or attaché case, a narrow box to c ...
made of natural stone. The cavities for the
movement
Movement may refer to:
Common uses
* Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece
* Motion, commonly referred to as movement
Arts, entertainment, and media
Literature
* "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...
and
dial face were milled from both sides, making the dial an integral part of the case. The
straps
A strap, sometimes also called strop, is an elongated flap or ribbon, usually of leather or other flexible materials.
Thin straps are used as part of clothing or baggage, or bedding such as a sleeping bag. See for example spaghetti strap, sho ...
were fixed to the back plate on both ends thus preventing mechanical stress to the stone.
Later versions of the watch used different stones from various mountainous areas around the world including
alabaster
Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...
,
aventurine
Aventurine is a form of quartz, characterised by its translucency and the presence of platy mineral inclusions that give it a shimmering or glistening effect termed ''aventurescence''.
Background
The most common color of aventurine is green, but ...
(
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
),
basalt
Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...
(
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
), blue lace
agate
Agate () is a common rock formation, consisting of chalcedony and quartz as its primary components, with a wide variety of colors. Agates are primarily formed within volcanic and metamorphic rocks. The ornamental use of agate was common in Ancie ...
, blue
sodalite
Sodalite ( ) is a tectosilicate mineral with the formula , with royal blue varieties widely used as an wikt:ornamental, ornamental gemstone. Although massive sodalite samples are opaque, crystals are usually transparent to translucent. Sodalite i ...
(
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
),
lapis lazuli
Lapis lazuli (; ), or lapis for short, is a deep-blue metamorphic rock used as a semi-precious stone that has been prized since antiquity for its intense color.
As early as the 7th millennium BC, lapis lazuli was mined in the Sar-i Sang mines, ...
(
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
),
magnesite
Magnesite is a mineral with the chemical formula (magnesium carbonate). Iron, manganese, cobalt, and nickel may occur as admixtures, but only in small amounts.
Occurrence
Magnesite occurs as veins in and an alteration product of ultramafic ro ...
,
picture jasper (
Kalahari desert
The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa.
It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal de ...
), pink
rhodonite
Rhodonite is a manganese silicate minerals, inosilicate, (Mn, Fe, Mg, Ca)SiO3 and member of the pyroxenoid group of minerals, crystallizing in the triclinic system. It commonly occurs as cleavable to compact masses with a rose-red color (the name ...
(
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
),
quartz
Quartz is a hard, crystalline mineral composed of silica (silicon dioxide). The atoms are linked in a continuous framework of SiO4 silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, with each oxygen being shared between two tetrahedra, giving an overall chemical form ...
, and
thulite
Thulite (sometimes called rosaline) is a translucent, crystalline or massive pink manganese-bearing variety of the mineral zoisite. Manganese substitutes for calcium in the structure with up to two percent Mn2+. Thulite is often mottled with white ...
. Some pieces received decorative dial inserts such as sectors from prehistoric clamophyllia
coral
Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and sec ...
(
Jura mountains) as a premium option.
Back plate lettering was originally embossed and "RockWatch" written in capitalized form (see Fig.2); some laser-engraved pieces were sold at some point later on. The final batches were fitted with a slightly redesigned embossed plate with a modernized T-logo and "rockwatch" in lower case letters (see Fig.5).
The original stone design was followed up by a similar watch with
mother-of-pearl
Nacre ( , ), also known as mother of pearl, is an organicinorganic composite material produced by some molluscs as an inner shell layer; it is also the material of which pearls are composed. It is strong, resilient, and iridescent.
Nacre is f ...
cases commonly nicknamed PearlWatch, while the back plates continued to carry the RockWatch name.
It was ultimately succeeded by the WoodWatch made from exotic timbers and in larger case sizes (33 mm / 38.5 mm).
Early pieces have red (minute) and yellow (hour)
hands
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...
, the colors of Swiss
hiking trails
A trail, also known as a path or track, is an unpaved lane or small road usually passing through a natural area. In the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, a path or footpath is the preferred term for a pedestrian or hiking trail. The ...
markers. Later issues of the R150 size have green and black
hands
A hand is a prehensile, multi-fingered appendage located at the end of the forearm or forelimb of primates such as humans, chimpanzees, monkeys, and lemurs. A few other vertebrates such as the koala (which has two opposable thumbs on each " ...
, and many different combinations followed suit. Towards the end of production gold/gold was used regularly.
The R150/R151's smooth rounded
crown
A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...
has a matte
stainless steel
Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...
finish on standard
granite
Granite () is a coarse-grained (phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies undergro ...
pieces, with a single distinctive groove (see Fig.1) whereas the small R140's flat crown is knurled for ease of use. Late issues feature a variety of different crown finishes while the shapes were kept throughout.
Leather
Leather is a strong, flexible and durable material obtained from the tanning, or chemical treatment, of animal skins and hides to prevent decay. The most common leathers come from cattle, sheep, goats, equine animals, buffalo, pigs and hogs, ...
straps with Tissot-marked buckles were standard (see Fig.4) while
bracelet
A bracelet is an article of jewellery that is worn around the wrist. Bracelets may serve different uses, such as being worn as an ornament. When worn as ornaments, bracelets may have a wikt:supportive, supportive function to hold other items of ...
-style straps made from the same stone as the case were later introduced as a premium option. The straps are held by proprietary pins.
When introduced, the standard granite/leather versions of the intermediate size retailed for $195 in the U.S. and CHF 350 in Switzerland. Over 500,000 were sold. Giant clocks sculpted authentically after the watch case by contract artist Felice Bottinelli could be seen in jewellers' shop windows all over Switzerland, adding to the recognition of this product.
[{{Cite web, url=http://www.bottinellisculpt.ch/werke/spezialauftraege/tissot-rockwatch, title=TISSOT ROCKWATCH {{! Bottinelli Sculpt, last=, first=, date=, website=www.bottinellisculpt.ch, language=de-DE]
Product support was terminated around 2006.
References and external links
Watch models
The Swatch Group