About Tissot
Tissot was founded in 1853 and has a legacy of building attractive watches at reasonable prices. They are part of the Swatch Group and are headquartered in Le Locle, Switzerland. Tissot has extensive history in sports, including cycling, fencing, ice hockey, formula one, and more.
Tissot is a reputable Swiss manufacturer and is generally well-regarded.
HOW WE REVIEW WATCHES
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Review Summary
I’ve never been a fan of dive watches, but the looks of this Tissot are bested only by the automatic movement’s immense power reserve and accuracy. With this Seastar on your wrist you’ll enjoy 300m of water resistance, a screw down crown to keep everything air tight, and the usual appointments you’ve come to expect from a Tissot of this calibre.
Tissot Seastar Powermatic 80 Technical Specifications
- Model Number: T066.407.17.057.02
- MSRP: $975
- Case Diameter: 42mm
- Alternate Models: Other options (including quartz models) available on Amazon
- Movement: Powermatic 80 automatic
- Complications: Date display, screw down crown
- Power Reserve: Approximately 80 hours
- Water Resistance: 300m/990ft
- Crystal Material: Sapphire
Operating the Watch
The Seastar is a fairly simple watch to operate due to its single movement-based complication, the date display. Note that the screw-down crown should always be screwed down whenever it is worn. This ensures the case remains watertight.
How To set the time:
- Pull crown to the furthest position (position 3). Turn the crown clockwise to set the time. Note that the date display will roll over at midnight, indicating AM time.
How To set the date:
- Pull the crown to the middle position (position 2) and turn clockwise to set the date.
Tissot Powermatic 80 Aesthetics & Design
Tissot has had a very-nearly identical version of the Seastar on the market for a while, with the last refresh taking place in 2011. Aesthetically, the new model features larger bezel teeth and a slight difference in how the lume on the hour markers has been handled. Other than that they are nearly identical.
Despite the changes being somewhat trivial, the new version of the watch is markedly more aggressive by virtue of the teeth rimming the bezel. That extra half millimeter really does the job.
The movement is nicely designed, with the deep blue rotor adorned with white decoration and text. It’s a fine balance to the rather purposeful face.
Tissot Seastar Powermatic 80 Build Quality
At the $1,000 price point that the Seastar Powermatic 80 plays in, you’d be right to expect excellent build quality and overall finish. Fortunately, the Seastar delivers in spades. This watch feels solid and very well built- it gives the impression that it could take quite the beating.
Crystal, Case, and Dial
The sapphire crystal has a nice coat of anti-glare material, making it easy to see in almost all situations. The night-time visibility is excellent (I forgot to take a picture of the lume). In dark environments, such as 50m underwater, you’ll have no problem reading the dial.
The case is stainless steel and feels rugged. It has considerable weight, but not enough to become tiresome when worn- just enough that you are reminded of the mechanical timepiece you’re wearing.
Strap and Clasp
The integrated rubber strap is attractive enough and will handle its intended purpose quite well. Like all rubber straps, it likes to catch on skin and hair.
The clasp is solid and is also done in stainless steel. Giving it a solid tug yields plenty of flex in the strap, very little in the buckle. That’s exactly the way you want it.
More About the Tissot Seastar Powermatic 80
Movement
Tissot is using its all-new Powermatic 80 automatic movement, which features a massive – you guessed it – 80 hour power reserve.
In reality, the Powermatic 80 is actually a considerably beefed up ETA 2824. Accuracy is pretty typical of an ETA movement, and I saw a deviation of +3 seconds per day. Searching the web shows that other users tend to report deviation in the +/- 5 second per day range (which is pretty good). At that rate you’ll likely be adjusting the time after 14 days of continuous wear.
Value for Money
There’s no denying the strong value proposition that the Seastar Powermatic 80 brings to the table. For under $1,000 you get a Tissot-derived automatic movement (with its massive 80 hour power reserve), excellent build quality, 300m/990ft of water resistance, and excellent low-light visibility.
Its value as a dive watch is obvious, offering specs similar to dive watches costing hundreds or thousands of dollars more.
That you can now get a beefy dive watch with a shiny in-house automatic movement for under $1,000 is great. The fact that you can easily find it for under $600 on Amazon is even better.
Photo Gallery
not owning a dive watch at the present time,this would be a great addition for me,looks good ,not a flashy watch which is good
That’s really a fantastic watch value, though on the new version I don’t like how much knobbier the bezel is.
When you look at them side by side like that the differences are very obvious, but in person I didn’t really see it until I had seen that image. Then it made a world of difference.
This was a great review! I am in the early stages of my watch addiction and have found this site to be an essential resource. It’s refreshing to read watch reviews for pieces that are reasonably affordable and financially accessible. I also am not a huge fan of dive watches but I am intrigued by the seastar
I love this watch. I wear a Tissot Couturier auto chrono with Valjoux 7750 for my every day watch. I think this new Seastar would be perfect for my outdoor activities. The red version is similar to the Tudor Black Day.
I like dive watches for.. well – diving – and even then it’s just a backup to my dive computer (and to look the shiz’ when there are flippin’ dolphins about). But when submerged I want a simple face for easy readability. This watch face is pretty minimalst, perhaps not so much compared to something like a Helson Shark Diver which I like for diving, but it’s not crazy busy and difficult to read at a glance like others. And out of the water this watch seems elegant enough that it doesn’t lose street aesthetics. It has nice angles, good lines, and I really like the 12 and 6. The larger bezel teeth is worth the extra; nicer gripability and looks sturdier being parapetted like that.
I actually really like this one, I think Tissot has a win. Definitely good enough to make some dolphins jealous.
Also: “never been a fan of dive watches.” Say wha? But they go UNDER WATER. That is so cool.
Ha but where I’m from (Canada), the water is frigid and uninviting :(. Perhaps if I lived in Australia, or anywhere else that enjoys warmer water temperatures, I’d be more inclined to hop in ;).
I can see you have great taste in watches- I hope you come by again! 🙂
Hy,
I own a Seastar 1000, 2014 model. Mine came with the steel bracelet.
Great watch for outdoors and indoors
helium valve, wet suit extension, unidirectional bezel, screwed down crown and case back. this is an all rounder for a dive watch at a very good price
very accurate movement.
Great watch, albeit a little too heavy, but than again, I have small wrists, so probably not a problem for most people.
Dissapointed with my SeaStar, one of the illumination markers has fallen off, the 11 round marker, and the watch gains minutes probably about 1 per day, as the watch is under warranty I will send back this week to get these 2 issues sorted, I wish now I bought the Tag Heuer Aquaracer Calibre 5 Automatic 41mm, yes a bit more expensive but probably would not be going in for repair so soon.
SEASTAR powermatic 80 red.