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Tissot vs Citizen

Tissot vs Citizen

Tissot tells you what a service costs; Citizen makes watches that rarely need one. Both fit sapphire more often than most brands at their prices.

By Sawyer V. · Published

The short answer

Citizen if you want a watch you never maintain: light-powered movements and a five-year warranty. Tissot if you want a mechanical watch you can plan for: 80-hour automatics, sapphire and a published $210 US service price. The Tissot Gentleman and the Citizen Garrison are the best of each here.

Tissot and Citizen sit at similar prices and answer the ownership question in opposite ways. Tissot sells mostly mechanical watches and publishes exactly what keeping them costs; Citizen sells mostly light-powered watches that need very little keeping at all, and covers them for five years.

The ownership facts, side by side

TissotCitizen
Warranty2 years5 years
Published US service pricesYes — $210 mechanical, $310 chronographNone
Main movements herePowermatic 80 automatic, Swiss quartzEco-Drive solar, 8210 automatic
Deepest rating here100m200m
SapphireOn every model hereOn the Garrison, Tsuyosa and A-T models

On prices: we publish no figure we have not verified today, so every buy button reads "Check price on Amazon". Service prices quoted here are the manufacturers' own published figures.

How we picked

We have not worn these watches. What follows is what we checked instead, on documents you can open yourself — the same criteria, in the same order, on every roundup on this site. The full method is on the methodology page.

  1. 01Warranty

    Citizen five years, excluding the power cell, case, bracelet and strap; Tissot two.

  2. 02Service

    Tissot publishes $210 for a complete mechanical service and $310 for a mechanical chronograph; Citizen publishes no service prices.

  3. 03Movements

    Tissot: 80-hour Swiss automatics and Swiss quartz. Citizen here: mostly Eco-Drive solar, plus the in-house 8210 automatic.

  4. 04Crystal

    Sapphire on every Tissot here; on the Citizen side, sapphire on the Garrison, Tsuyosa and A-T models and mineral on the Promaster Divers and Chandler.

  5. 05Water resistance

    Up to 100m from Tissot here; up to 200m from Citizen.

Disclosure · Some links below are Amazon affiliate links. If you buy through one we earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not decide what goes on this page or in what order — here is exactly how that works.

Quick picks

Ranked on the Keep Score below — six published specifications, weighted identically on every page. The last row is the one we would not buy.

#WatchBest forKeep ScorePrice
1

Tissot Gentleman Open Heart 40mm T127.407.11.041.01

80 hours, sapphire, 100m, $210 service.

The best watch of either brand here8.4/10
Check price
2

Citizen Promaster Skyhawk A-T JY8078-52L

Radio-synchronized, sapphire, 200m, five years.

Citizen's most capable watch8.3/10
Check price
3

Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 40mm T137.407.11.041.00

Sapphire, 100m, 80 hours, 10.93mm.

Tissot's best-known watch8.0/10
Check price
4

Tissot Chrono XL Classic 45mm T116.617.11.047.01

Swiss quartz, sapphire, 100m, 45mm.

Tissot's quartz chronograph7.9/10
Check price
5

Citizen Garrison BM8560-53E

Sapphire, Super Titanium, 100m, solar, five years.

Citizen's best everyday watch7.9/10
Check price
6

Citizen Tsuyosa NJ0150-56E

In-house 8210, sapphire, five years.

Citizen's automatic against Tissot's7.7/10
Check price
—

Citizen Corso AW1236-03A

A light-powered dress watch rated splash resistant only.

Skip this one

Not against a Tissot dress watch4.9/10
Check price

Keep Score is arithmetic, not opinion — six published specifications, weighted the same way on every page. The formula is on our methodology page, so you can re-run it yourself.

01

Tissot Gentleman Open Heart 40mm T127.407.11.041.01

Best for: The best watch of either brand here

8.4/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
2.5/2.5
Water resistance
1.1/1.5
Warranty
0.7/1.5
Strap standard
0.6/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
1/1
Check price on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · We publish no price we have not verified today

An 80-hour Swiss automatic with a Nivachron hairspring, sapphire and 100m on a quick-release bracelet, with Tissot's published $210 US service and 24 months on the work.

The 21mm lug width is the one strap cost.

The quick-release bracelet is the detail worth paying for: this is one of the few Swiss automatics at this level you can re-strap in thirty seconds without a tool.

Manufacturer specifications for the Tissot Gentleman Open Heart 40mm T127.407.11.041.01
MovementSwiss automatic, Nivachron balance spring
Power reserve80 hours
Case40mm 316l stainless steel
Lug-to-lugNot published
Thickness11.5mm
Lug width21mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance100m
Warranty2 years

Specifications read from Tissot product page, T127.407.11.041.01.

02

Citizen Promaster Skyhawk A-T JY8078-52L

Best for: Citizen's most capable watch

8.3/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
1.4/2.5
Water resistance
1.5/1.5
Warranty
1.5/1.5
Strap standard
1/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
0.4/1
Check price on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · We publish no price we have not verified today

Radio-synchronized time, a chronograph, a perpetual calendar and a second time zone on light power, behind sapphire and rated 200m.

45mm, and a module whose life depends on Citizen continuing to supply it.

It sets itself by radio, runs on light and is rated to 200m behind sapphire — and it is a module, not a movement. When the module stops being made, the watch is finished, however good the case still is.

Manufacturer specifications for the Citizen Promaster Skyhawk A-T JY8078-52L
MovementCitizen U680 Eco-Drive, light-powered, radio-synchronized to 43 cities, chronograph, perpetual calendar, dual time
Power reserveNot published
Case45mm stainless steel
Lug-to-lugNot published
ThicknessNot published
Lug width22mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance200m
Warranty5 years

Citizen's five-year limited warranty excludes the power cell, case, bracelet and strap.

Specifications read from Citizen Watch product page, JY8078-52L.

03

Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 40mm T137.407.11.041.00

Best for: Tissot's best-known watch

8.0/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
2.5/2.5
Water resistance
1.1/1.5
Warranty
0.7/1.5
Strap standard
0.2/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
1/1
Check price on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · We publish no price we have not verified today

Thin, sapphire, 100m and 80 hours, with the same published $210 service.

The integrated bracelet's 12mm fitting is not a strap size — the [full PRX verdict](/brands/is-the-tissot-prx-worth-it) covers it.

Tissot publishes a US complete-service price of $210 for a mechanical two-or-three-hand watch, which makes this the most predictable Swiss automatic here to own. The 12mm lug width is not a strap size — the bracelet is part of the case.

Manufacturer specifications for the Tissot PRX Powermatic 80 40mm T137.407.11.041.00
MovementSwiss automatic, Powermatic 80
Power reserve80 hours
Case40mm 316l stainless steel
Lug-to-lugNot published
Thickness10.93mm
Lug width12mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance100m
Warranty2 years

Specifications read from Tissot product page, T137.407.11.041.00.

04

Tissot Chrono XL Classic 45mm T116.617.11.047.01

Best for: Tissot's quartz chronograph

7.9/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
1.6/2.5
Water resistance
1.1/1.5
Warranty
0.7/1.5
Strap standard
1/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
1/1
Check price on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · We publish no price we have not verified today

Sapphire, 100m and an end-of-life battery indicator in an 11.02mm case.

Against Citizen's light-powered chronographs it needs a battery; against a mechanical chronograph, it costs far less to keep.

Tissot publishes a US service price list, which almost no chronograph maker at this level does, and PowerDrive drives the hands back to zero electronically instead of through a column wheel. Cheap to keep, and 45mm across.

Manufacturer specifications for the Tissot Chrono XL Classic 45mm T116.617.11.047.01
MovementSwiss quartz chronograph, PowerDrive, with end-of-life battery indicator
Power reserveNot applicable
Case45mm 316l stainless steel
Lug-to-lugNot published
Thickness11.02mm
Lug width22mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance100m
Warranty2 years

Specifications read from Tissot product page, T116.617.11.047.01.

05

Citizen Garrison BM8560-53E

Best for: Citizen's best everyday watch

7.9/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
1.4/2.5
Water resistance
1.1/1.5
Warranty
1.5/1.5
Strap standard
1/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
0.4/1
Check price on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · We publish no price we have not verified today

Sapphire on a Super Titanium case, light-powered, with five years of warranty — the Citizen case in its simplest form.

Citizen publishes neither the thickness nor the lug-to-lug.

Sapphire is the upgrade the 37mm Chandler never got, on a Super Titanium case with Citizen's five years of cover. Citizen publishes neither the thickness nor the lug-to-lug, so try it on before you commit to 42mm.

Manufacturer specifications for the Citizen Garrison BM8560-53E
MovementCitizen E101 Eco-Drive, light-powered
Power reserveNot published
Case42mm super titanium
Lug-to-lugNot published
ThicknessNot published
Lug width22mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance100m
Warranty5 years

Citizen's five-year limited warranty excludes the power cell, case, bracelet and strap.

Specifications read from Citizen Watch product page, BM8560-53E.

06

Citizen Tsuyosa NJ0150-56E

Best for: Citizen's automatic against Tissot's

7.7/10

Keep Score

Crystal
2.5/2.5
Serviceability
2.5/2.5
Water resistance
0.6/1.5
Warranty
1.5/1.5
Strap standard
0.2/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
0.4/1
Check price on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · We publish no price we have not verified today

Citizen's in-house 8210 behind sapphire, with five years of warranty against Tissot's two.

42 hours of reserve against Tissot's 80, a 9.1mm integrated lug width, and 50m.

Sapphire and an in-house automatic for the money is genuinely rare. The catch is structural: Citizen lists the lug width as 9.1mm, which means the bracelet is the watch. When it wears out, no strap shop can help you.

Manufacturer specifications for the Citizen Tsuyosa NJ0150-56E
MovementCitizen 8210 automatic, hacking, 42-hour power reserve
Power reserve42 hours
Case40mm stainless steel
Lug-to-lugNot published
ThicknessNot published
Lug width9.1mm
Crystalsapphire
Water resistance50m
Warranty5 years

Citizen's five-year limited warranty excludes the power cell, case, bracelet and strap.

Specifications read from Citizen Watch product page, NJ0150-56E.

Skip this one

Citizen Corso AW1236-03A

Best for: Not against a Tissot dress watch

4.9/10

Keep Score

Crystal
1/2.5
Serviceability
1.4/2.5
Water resistance
0/1.5
Warranty
1.5/1.5
Strap standard
0.6/1
Cost-to-keep transparency
0.4/1
Check price on Amazon

#ad Affiliate link · We publish no price we have not verified today

The Corso is the Citizen most likely to be cross-shopped against a Tissot dress watch: clean, light-powered and covered for five years.

Citizen publishes no meter rating for it — its own page reads "Splash Resistant" — and it has a mineral crystal. Every Tissot on this page has sapphire and 100m.

Citizen publishes no meter rating for this one — the field on its own product page reads “Splash Resistant”. For a watch you intend to keep and wear daily, that is a hard stop, not a footnote.

Manufacturer specifications for the Citizen Corso AW1236-03A
MovementCitizen J810 Eco-Drive, light-powered
Power reserveNot published
Case40mm stainless steel
Lug-to-lugNot published
ThicknessNot published
Lug width21mm
Crystalmineral
Water resistanceSplash resistant only — no meter rating published
Warranty5 years

Citizen lists this model's water resistance as splash resistant, with no meter rating.

Specifications read from Citizen Watch product page, AW1236-03A.

Which to buy

If you wantBuy
A watch you never maintainCitizen — Eco-Drive, five years
A mechanical watch with a known service costTissot — $210, published
The most water resistanceCitizen — 200m on the Skyhawk and A-T models
Sapphire across the rangeTissot

Each brand on its own: Tissot and Citizen. Tissot against Seiko is here, and Citizen against Seiko here.

Questions people actually ask

Is Tissot better than Citizen?

They are better at different things. Tissot publishes a $210 US service price for its 80-hour automatics; Citizen's light-powered watches need very little service and carry five years of warranty against Tissot's two.

Which has the better warranty?

Citizen, at five years against Tissot's two. Citizen's excludes the power cell, case, bracelet and strap.

Are Citizen watches as good as Tissot?

On durability specifications, often yes — sapphire and 200m on several models, plus light power. Tissot's advantage is the Swiss automatic with a published service price.

Which is cheaper to own?

Citizen's Eco-Drive: our cost of ownership arithmetic puts twenty years of solar quartz at a few hundred dollars at most. Tissot publishes $210 per mechanical service.

Sources

Every specification and figure on this page came from one of these documents. Where a manufacturer does not publish something, the page says so rather than filling the gap.

Read next

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Tissot PRX vs Citizen Tsuyosa

Tissot's integrated-bracelet automatic against Citizen's, specification by specification.

A steel bracelet and case photographed close up

Tissot

Published US service prices, a 24-month work warranty, and three watches ranked.

A diver's wristwatch resting on a wet dark surface

Citizen

Five-year warranty, Eco-Drive economics, and five Citizen watches ranked.

A steel bracelet and case photographed close up

Tissot vs Seiko

The only two brands here with published service prices, compared properly.