Description
Tissot just did the thing collectors have been begging them to do for years: they shrunk the Gentleman. The new 38mm version arrives with a cleaner face, a clever new dial texture, and the same 80-hour Powermatic 80 under the hood — and crucially, at the same sub-$1,000 price point that made the original a cult favourite. At $850 on bracelet, this is arguably the most compelling entry-level Swiss automatic on the market right now.
The recipe is simple on paper but ruthlessly executed. Take the beloved Gentleman formula — applied markers, integrated three-link bracelet, Swiss automatic with a proper power reserve — and tune it for the wrists that the 40mm version ignored. The result is a watch that wears dressier, sits flatter under a cuff, and looks like it was designed in 2026 rather than scaled down from a decade ago.
Design
The biggest visual change is the dial. Tissot ditched the crosshair that split the 40mm Gentleman into quadrants and replaced it with a pyramidal sunray finish — four triangular sections of brushing that meet at the centre and reflect light in different directions depending on the angle. It's subtle in photos and genuinely clever in the metal: the dial looks calm and monochrome at a glance, but tilt it and the quadrants flare up one at a time. It's the kind of detail you expect at three times the price.
Four dial colours at launch: silver, black, blue, and green. Applied baton markers, Super-LumiNova on the hands and indices, a framed date window at 3 o'clock. The 316L stainless steel case measures 38mm in diameter, 11.53mm thick, with a 45.7mm lug-to-lug — a touch tall for a dress-adjacent piece, but that's the price of the 80-hour movement. The case gets brushed flanks with a polished sloped bezel, and the three-link bracelet carries brushed outer links with polished centre links and quick-release spring bars.
Specs
| Brand | Tissot |
| Model | Gentleman 38mm |
| Movement | Powermatic 80 (ETA C07.611), automatic |
| Power Reserve | 80 hours |
| Frequency | 21,600 vph |
| Hairspring | Nivachron (antimagnetic) |
| Case | 316L stainless steel, brushed with polished bezel |
| Diameter | 38 mm |
| Thickness | 11.53 mm |
| Lug-to-Lug | 45.7 mm |
| Crystal | Domed sapphire, anti-reflective |
| Caseback | Screw-down, exhibition (sapphire) |
| Water Resistance | 100 metres |
| Dial Colours | Silver, black, blue, green — pyramidal sunray finish |
| Bracelet | Three-link stainless steel, brushed/polished, quick-release |
| Price | $850 USD / CHF 695 |
| Availability | Available now at Tissot retailers (April 2026) |
What's Exciting
This is the configuration the Gentleman always should have been. At 38mm with a domed sapphire, a screw-down exhibition caseback, 100m of water resistance, and an 80-hour Powermatic 80 running on a Nivachron hairspring — you're getting genuine antimagnetic protection, three-day weekend power reserve, and proper Swiss finishing for $850. There is nothing else at this price that touches it. Omega doesn't sell you a Co-Axial for under a grand. Longines wants more money for similar specs. And the microbrand world can't match Tissot's dealer network or servicing footprint. The fact that the crosshair is gone and the pyramidal brushing takes its place is just the cherry on top — it gives the watch a modern identity without straying from what makes the Gentleman work.
Sources
- Monochrome Watches — First Look: Tissot Sizes Down its Gentleman Collection to 38mm
- Time+Tide — Tissot Gentleman 38mm Hands On
- Tissot Official — The New Tissot Gentleman
- Fratello Watches — Reawakening The Gentleman In Us: The New Tissot Gentleman 38mm
History
Tissot has been making watches in Le Locle, Switzerland since 1853, and has spent the last two decades as the Swatch Group's entry point into proper Swiss mechanical watchmaking. The Gentleman line launched in 2018 as a deliberately versatile everyday dress-sport hybrid — applied markers, integrated-style bracelet, and the 80-hour Powermatic 80 movement that became the brand's calling card. The original 40mm case won the line a loyal following but always felt a size too large for the proportions the design was chasing. The 38mm version, launched in April 2026, corrects that single miscalculation without touching anything else that made the watch great. It's a rare thing: a product update that listens.
Gallery
Images to be added — wrist shot of the blue dial, pyramidal brushing macro, exhibition caseback, three-link bracelet detail, lume shot.
