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Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar Sports Watch In Titanium

Side of Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar 03

Tissot unveiled the first tactile multi-functional watch in 1999, it instantly became a hit. The general public was amazed to see a sports watch The T-Touch Expert Solar Titanium with reference T091.420.44.051.00 case with amazing functions that can be activated by just touching the crystal glass.

Although the technology interests me immensely, I did not find it useful if the watch is only powered by batteries without any energy regenerative system in place. The thought of such a watch not able to fulfill its capabilities due to the lack of power is unthinkable especially in the wild and when you need that particular capability the most.   Front of Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar  Despite the improvement in solar technology for watches over the decades, it was only in 2014 that a T-Touch with solar power capability was introduced to the market. This was a defining moment and I finally took the plunge and got myself a T-Touch Expert Solar Reference T091.420.44.051.00.

The first thing one would notice was the disconnection between the size of the watch and its actual weight. At 45 mm across and a height of 13 mm coupled with a metal bracelet to fit a lug width 22 mm, it should have some heft to it. However, the use of titanium as the base material would only tip the scale at just 123 grams. Granted it is not heavy, its dimension in considerable nonetheless.

From a practical standpoint, the major issue I found was the solid titanium bracelet. If you do want to take it out into the wilderness I would recommend the fabric strap option for a real good fit. I have seen people wearing their Casio Protrek ABC watches over their sleeves so that they can access the compass function quickly. This same goes for the T-Touch if you want to use it in an adventurous setting. Do note that the rubber strap option from Tissot would require you to cut the rubber strap to size which does not allow further resizing later. If given a choice on the strap option, the fabric strap (with a tang buckle) would be more useful in the long run. Although you can use after-market straps from other makers in the 22 mm category, because the end-link is unique to the T-Touch, you will see a noticeable gap between the strap and the watch casing.Side of Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar The T-Touch Expert Solar on a bracelet looks purposeful and oozes the feeling of sophistication. The grey tone on the titanium creates the dark mystic emotion that puts it in the same league as the Omega Skywalker X-33.

The T-Touch Expert is protected with anti-reflective sapphire crystals and constructed to resist water pressure up to 100 meters (about 330 feet). Underneath the front sapphire crystal glass is a black carbon fibre-like weaved dial. There are hours and minute markers around the edge of the dial. Two types of hours markers are used that are interspersed between the odd or even hours. These markers as well as the hour and minute hands are painted with SuperLuminova luminous paint. The bottom part of the dial is also the LCD screen.Side of Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar  02The dial and the tactile sapphire crystal that gives the T-Touch its name are the stars of this watch. The dial is divided neatly in half. The top comprises the solar cells that look almost like woven carbon fibre. The bottom half of the dial is the LCD display. Note that the LCD is an inverted screen which makes it blend better with the black woven carbon fibre half of the dial. The tactile sapphire crystal is divided into six sections and denoted by the function names printed on the inner side of the bezel. By tapping the various sections on the tactile sapphire crystal will allow the user to access the core functions.

The T-Touch Expert Solar is a sports watch under the ABC category – Altimeter, Barometer & Compass capable electronic watches. Competing brands under this category are the likes of Casio‘s Protrek series, Suunto’s Kailash, Traverse and Essential series, and Seiko’s Prospex Alpinist series.

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