Reading
There’s
a phrase in French that the English language has no equivalent for: jolie
laide. Roughly translated, it means unconventionally beautiful, with the added
subtext that the person or thing in question is made more attractive by its
unusual features. If there was ever a watch that exemplified jolie laide, this
is it: the Tissot Heritage 1948 Chronograph. It’s classically inspired (taking
inspiration from, naturally, a 1948 piece of Tissot’s back catalog) and
beautifully proportioned, but with a few twists that set it apart from the
norm. Is this enough to propel this watch above its more traditional-looking
brethren? Let’s dig in.
The
case of the Tissot Heritage 1948 Chronograph immediately draws attention with
its fantastic bombé lugs, but the full package really starts to shine on closer
inspection. The wide, sharply sloping and polished bezel catches the light at
almost any angle, visually compressing an already thin watch even flatter on
the wrist. It offers handsome contrast with the thin, lightly brushed mid-case.
Broad, flat pushers coupled with a thin pillbox crown help to keep the side
profile slim as well. The lugs themselves are still the highlight of the show,
with sharp faceting and a gorgeous, organic twist. They curve downward to hug
the wrist better than their length would suggest.
The
overall size of the piece is something else worth mentioning. It’s a rare
occurrence for a brand to put out a new chronograph in the 39-millimeter range,
and after experiencing this one I can’t help but wish that would change. The
Heritage 1948 wears brilliantly, feeling compact and vintage on the wrist while
the tapering bezel helps to give the dial more presence than one would expect.
So far, everything here is conventionally attractive (and very much so).
This
idea of jolie laide creeps in around back, however, with the ornate and
fascinating case back. I wrote when the Heritage 1948 Chronograph was first
unveiled at Baselworld 2017 that this case back didn’t read visually as
1948-esque at all, and I stand by that initial impression. If anything, this
split display window with its oversized boilerplate and ornate French-curve
filigree feels like a page out of the Old West—like a window etching on a
stagecoach, steam engine or a saloon decoration. It’s not unattractive, but
it’s certainly unusual. The split window itself, on the other hand, offers a
view of an impressively finished ETA 2894-2, a much appreciated addition.
Most
of the dial is pitch-perfect mid-century beauty. The light silver of the main
dial is surprisingly dynamic, going from a flat off-white to a sparkling
metallic texture in direct sunlight. Around the edges is a clean, simple
railroad minutes track, driving home the 1940s ethos while creating a handsome
natural boundary to the dial. The sub-dials in particular are brilliantly
executed, with subtle concentric graining punched up by a hair-thin, polished
ring around the edge of each, giving these registers immediate visual
importance and letting them glitter like jewels in changing light.
The
handset for both the main dial and sub-dials are suitably retro polished
leaves, and they are supplemented by a stick chronograph seconds hand with a
spearhead counterweight. Tissot’s ornate heritage emblem is used here at
twelve, with oversized script forming the only real dial text. Once again, it’s
not without its unconventional touches. The applied polished dots of the hours
track are capped off with a massive applied Roman twelve, dominating the top
half of the dial and creating an imposing visual counterweight to the three
sub-dials at three, six and nine o’clock..
