New Tissot PR516 is a retro chronograph reborn and I’m here for it

Watches and motorsport have always enjoyed a close relationship, and now Tissot is the latest watchmaker to rekindle the decades-old love affair, with a 1970s inspired chronograph.

It’s called the PR516 and the collection is made up of four models and two movements. The headline act is a mechanical, manually-wound chronograph with a 41mm stainless steel case and a glassbox-style sapphire crystal that gives the timepiece a wonderfully retro design.

A large crystal on the case back gives a great view of the Valjoux A05 chronograph movement within. Instead of being automatically wound when the wearer moves their wrist, the watch has a manual mechanism that needs winding every day or so to keep accurate time – another 70s throwback that I’m sure horology fans will appreciate.

The manual chronograph features a black sunburst dial with striking orange second hand and subdials.

This watch is joined by three quartz versions of the Tissot PR516. These all feature a very similar design, albeit with a fractionally smaller 40mm case and a regular sapphire crystal that lacks the pronounced glassbox-style shape of the mechanical timepiece. All four watches are water resistant to 100 metres (10 ATM), so are safe to shower and swim with.

They also all feature a tachymeter on their bezel, which is used in conjunction with the second hand of the chronograph movement to measure the average speed of an object travelling a known distance. Often found on motorsport- and driving-inspired watches, the tachymeter is most commonly used as a way to quickly calculate the average speed of a car over a known distance, such as when taking part in a road rally, lapping a circuit or crossing a flying mile.

While the mechanical chronograph is only available with a black dial, Tissot is producing the quartz model in black, blue and black with gold. As well as gold details on its dial and bezel the latter also has a partially gold bracelet. The beans-style steel bracelets of every model have a quick-release interchangeable mechanism for swapping to a different strap.

Available now, the Tissot PR516 with mechanical movement is priced at £1,720, while the silver and black quartz models land at £475 and the gold quartz variant is £515.