Another Weekend Find - Tissot PRC200 GTS Automatic Chronograph

Well it has been a few weeks again and last weekend was a good score weekend.  Well it was a good one in my books.  I picked up 3 pocket watches, 1 vintage wrist watch, and then there was this one.  It was at my last stop on Saturday, in an antique mall none the less that I found this modern beauty.

I may love vintage more but some deals are too good to pass up on a good modern vintage.  I have my other post about the Omega Aqua Terra Chrono and now this is the 2nd automatic chronograph I have added to my collection.  We are almost on 2 ends of the spectrum when it comes to Swiss made auto chrono movements.

The watch was sitting in a case up front and apparently there was a flea market earlier in the day so most dealers had 20% off all their items.  This one was not excluded from that sale.  Once I had a closer look there was only seconds that passed for the decision to be made.  After looking at the tag, there were extras with the watch an box.  A Tissot travel case and what appears to be an unused watch winder.

The watch is a Tissot PRC200 GTS.  The full number is a T0554271705700.  I guess makers are needing extremely long item numbers these days or that breaks down to something like T055.4271.  But that is for the experts to figure out, I just like the watch  and am happy to add it to the collection.

These watches are not cheap by my thinking but then I don't spend $1000 on a new watch.  I know there are those out there that spend way way more but I am a self sufficient collector.  While no where near the cost of my Omega the watch does have a certain level of quality. The box is nice, not a solid wood with felt lining but still nice.

It has plenty of room for all the books and cards that comes with a new watch.  There are a few in the bottom on the back as well as the cards and such on each side on the inside.  The watch does have a pillow but I don't see how it would fit on it better.  Seems small for any band.

The dial is nice, clean and attractive.  I tend to like the little bits of red against the black background.  The sapphire crystal has no imperfections from the previous owner.  The case does have a few dings and fine scratches but nothing distracting.  It is an all stainless case with a Tissot marked rubber band.

The movement though is something different.  The decoration of the rotor looks more like something from a Swatch.  But then these movements were used in a automatic Swatch chronograph as well.  It is more utilitarian looking then the Omega 3313C in the Aqua Terra.  This movement is an ETA C01.211.  It has 15 Jewels and interestingly a plastic looking escapement wheel and pallet fork.

The movement is based on a Lemania 5100 and has a beat of 28,800bph.  So far it has given me me no issues unlike what some people have seen with this movement.  It seems that some have an issue resetting correctly so far, this one is great.