Tissot, Wilson and the WNBA Collaborate to Launch the First Official Watch of the WNBA
Women’s basketball has finally gotten its moment, after many years of turbulence and a lot of challenges.
The WNBA has been on a roll in recent years, recording historic revenue, attendance and viewership figures, while the NCAA finals game between the University of South Carolina and the University of Iowa drew more viewers than the men’s final. The 2024 WNBA Draft taking place Monday at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York City is likely to mark another milestone for the sport.
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The draft event will also mark the launch of the first official watch of the WNBA, a collaboration between Tissot, Wilson and the WNBA.
Tissot, a member of the Swatch Group, counts itself as the first official timekeeper for the NBA, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) and the NBA Development League, as part of a multiyear global partnership that was signed in 2015.
For the Swiss traditional watchmaker, it also marked the first timekeeping partnership with a major North American sports league and the largest partnership in the company’s history of more than 160 years, adding to an already robust portfolio of international sports and sporting event partnerships.
The partnership also gives Tissot the rights to produce timepieces with any of the NBA team logos on it, as well as clocks, and other accessories.
“We were so excited that this partnership actually came around at the 2023 NBA Paris game. We were there with Wilson celebrating the global nature of basketball, and really talking about how we can celebrate the incredible growth and trajectory of our league,” said Colie Edison, the WNBA’s chief growth officer.
Tissot is bringing courtside flair with the two new WNBA models — the Tissot Seastar Wilson WNBA Powermatic 80 and Tissot Seastar Wilson WNBA Quartz.
While the two models share similarities, such as their 40mm case size, the Powermatic 80 is distinguished by its black circular brushed dial and mineral bezel, in contrast to the quartz model, which features these elements in white, all while complementing the white and orange details that are part of the brand identity of the WNBA.
The timepieces come equipped with interchangeable orange and white straps, produced from the same leather utilized in Wilson’s official basketball of the WNBA, an Evo-NXT premium composite material. Other key features are the watch’s rotating bezel that incorporates the 24-second basketball shot clock time and its see-through case back that features a graphic of the WNBA Wilson basketball on the sapphire glass that surrounds the watch’s movement, as well as all three partners’ brand names.
The watches are water resistant up to 30 bar (300 meters/1,000 feet), and include enhanced visibility in low-light conditions provided by Super-LumiNova on the hands and hour markers.
“We are very happy because it was a fast-paced collaboration between all three entities. Sometimes you think that being three brands could make it complicated, but it was just fun. The best ideas always arise in good mood parties like the Paris game that we had last year. But this counts as the first time we do a collaboration with WNBA and Wilson and I’m sure there will be some more in the future,” stated Sylvain Dolla, Tissot’s chief executive officer.
The watch will be premiered and gifted to this year’s draftees and will be showcased by celebrities, supporters and champions of the league on draft day. The watch will have exclusive distribution in North America first as well as Tissot’s New York City boutiques, with the European and Asian markets to follow as the timepieces embark on a world tour.
“Stay tuned for some exciting announcements around future endorsers of this watch,” added Edison.
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