Following on from Two-register Tissot 40508 from the ā60s I fell into something of a rabbit hole with 2-register Tissots from the 60s.
That first watch was bought unseen in an auction and looked a bit sorry for itselfā¦
⦠but after a good clean it has proved surprisingly accurate and wearable. This one has 40508-6X on the inside case back. Doing a little digging unearthed Rich Askhamās excellent article – Tissot Seastar Chronograph (Lemania Cal. 1277)… – The Watch Spot ā which made the assertion that the movement was only made in 1969 so this must be quite a rare little watch.
Please sir, may I have another
As is the way with these things, when you see one you start to see them everywhere. A few months after picking up this first 40508, I came across another, this time with black subdials rather than the āPandaā white ones.
This one came to me on a strap but I had a spare ā608ā bracelet (19mm lug width) which is used on a load of the Seastar and PR-516 ranges of the late 60s and early 70s.
Whatās interesting in looking at the black watch is that its reference is 40508-1X; presumably the model evolved rapidly and maybe different features (the colour of the subdials for example) made a different sub-reference.
Looking at the two compared, though; the chrono hand in the ā1X is quite different, looking almost like the second hand as used on the PR-516 range (see āBought for the Braceletā- part I) and the crown is unsigned whereas on the ā6X it has a Tissot T logo. Thereās always a chance the crown had been replaced, but doing some sniffing around online it looks like it might well be original.
Threeās a crowd
A few months down the line, and yet another one cropped up and I couldnāt help myself.
This one actually came on a horrible aftermarket bracelet too. Looking more closely, itās got a different chrono hand again … this one has a tail like the top pictured 40508-6X, but the tail bit is painted black. I wondered if it had been refinished but there are others photographed out there with the same design. Itās also very similar to the later Tissot PR516 Chronograph 3-register chrono, so Iām sure itās correct. This latest one is a reference 40508-10X.
The acrylic crystal might be a bit scuffed but itās got a frickinā DOT OVER NINETY BEZEL, Speedmaster fansā¦
Bracelet options
I spent a while looking for a different bracelet, since some of the 40508s came on what a German catalogue described as āGT-Bandā (also note that the catalogue said it was PR 516ā¦)
This ābrickā type bracelet is stamped ā2000ā on the clasp, and has 554 endlinks. I got one which was a big broken, but then bought a similar looking 520-2102 bracelet and transplanted the 554 endlinks onto itā¦
Here is that bracelet adorning the first 40508-6X:
Serial-number-wise, the 40508-1X is 2081xxx, the 40508-6X is 2451xxx and the 40508-10X is 2451xxx, only 923 later than the ā6X.
Iād wager the ā1X is an early production model, and that all the black dials are ā1Xs, out whereas all the other references are Panda? Hereās a black ā1X with serial number 2080550 and a Panda ā1X with serial 20807??.
Iāve seen photos of other references (ā9X with serial 2419063, ā8X with serial 2419602 , ratty-looking ā7X with serial 2350910 maybe?, an unknown-serial ā7X ā¦) which suggests that the serial numbers overlapped between references.
Since Tissot would have bought a job lot of these movements from Lemania, itās possible they were sitting on a shelf and being picked up to stuff into the watches being produced ā in other words a later movement serial number doesnāt necessarily mean a later watch production date. I guess weāll never really know.