1971 Tissot Astrolon - First Complete Plastic Watch

Tissot Astrolon Cal. 2250 Plastic Watch & Movement

1971 Tissot 'Astrolon - Synthetic Idea 2001' Wristwatch, the first complete plastic watch. Intended to reduce components needed to assemble a mechanical watch. Successfully cutting the parts from 91 to 52, shortening the assembly by 40 time-consuming operations, the Astrolon or "Sytal", (an acronym for "Systeme Total d'Autolubrification") paved the way for a little start-up known as Swatch. Tissot researched plastic mechanical watchmaking for nearly 20 years before introducing this innovator and ultimate failure.