Tissot PRS 516 Retrograde

It is no secret that I really like cars, but did you know that I am also keen on watches? You likely did not as I have yet to write on the subject or elude to my timepiece aficionado status. Let's go ahead and change that with a full review of the Tissot PRS 516 Retrograde after the jump.
 
I feel that a watch, much like driving shoes, is a personal and subjective endeavour. Sure a watch needs to tell time, but it also tells others about you. It need not be flashy or even expensive to convey feelings of style and function.

I personally am partial to chronographs, being a product of the digital age I like the extra dials and movement. I enjoy timing the duration a boring professor's lecture (last night it was 2 hours and 43 minutes) or how long it takes a State Trooper to write me a speeding ticket (13 minutes flat).

I own about a dozen watches and wear very few of them. The majority of my "higher end" collection were gifts and thusly hold sentimental value so they are relegated to the dark confines of my safety deposit box. This makes me a fan of pieces that retail for less than 1k. It is not hard to find watches at this price point on sale as they often have an already artificially inflated MSRP.

The beauty of this price range is that there are a ton of good manufactures making watches at this price level, there are but only a handful of watch makers in the 20k+ range. A watch priced around 350-1k is desirable as it hovers around the outermost ring of pretentiousness while not inviting street thugs to roll you in a dark alley or unlit parking ramp.

This brings us to the subject of this review, the Tissot PRS 516 Retrograde. The PRS 516 has a stainless case and bracelet, quartz movement, water resistance to fifty meters and has a scratch resistant sapphire crystal. The piece also boasts 3 sub-dials used to track hours, minutes and seconds in addition to a date-calender window.

The look of the face of the PRS 516 is pure race-car inspired with checkered flag accents and bold chrono features. The automotive styling cues are anything but subtle.

Tissot also make a Nascar watch, a timepiece so hideous I doubt it will grace a wrist connected to even the reddest of necks. Also, Tissot is part of Swatch group. You recall Swatch don't you? I still hold Swatch in contempt for making those awful day-glow watches on the wrist of every teenybopper mallrat. Both of these factors dimish and hinder the PRS 516 potential for greatness.

All that being said, the PRS 516 looks nice on my wrist, I have received many compliments on it and it is now part of my watch rotation. It is often commented on by strangers and I welcome the attention of others being drawn to my skinny wrist rather than my multiple chins.