Written By: Catherine Wolinski

Tissot, a Swiss luxury watchmaker that is part of the Swatch group, has been selected to be the Official Watch Partner of the Jungfrau Railway’s Centenary, happening this year.

Jungfrau Railway in Switzerland

Jungfraubahn, the 5.8-mile mountain railway in Switzerland, was inaguarated on August 1, 1912, after 16 years of construction. This year, it will celebrate it’s 100th year in service, with Tissot as its official watch partner.

The reason for such a partnership is the significant need for timing and precision on this, Europe’s highest-altitude railway. Climbing to over 3,000 meters above sea level, the ability to keep track of precise engineering is key to the Jungfrau Railway’s functionality. The company decided Tissot will be the perfect partner, so two of the Swiss watchmaker’s clocks will count down in the Jungfrau Region to the zero hour on Aug. 1 2012 to mark the railway’s 100th birthday.

The partnership between the two companies is not unlikely; both are part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Moreso, despite its cold temperatures and frequent snowstorms, the railway station is a common attraction for tourists. Referred to as the top of Europe, Junfraujoch is a tourist melting pot, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors from all over the world each year. Tissot and the Jungfrau Railway share roots of location as well as in values, such as unparalleled innovation and success in challenging climates (both literal and figurative). Unfavorable geographical settings and weather conditions are difficult landscapes for any conglomerate to prosper, but each stayed committed to producing a product for people that kept them at the top of their class.

Tissot Watches

Some of Tissot’s innovations include introducing the first mass’produced pocket watch, as well as the first pocket watch with more than one time zone, in 1853. The manufacturer is also pioneer for the production of the first anti-magnetic watch in 1929. In terms of materials used in manufacturing, Tissot was the first to use plastic, stone, mother of pearl, and wood, all created throughout the 1970s and 1980s. The company’s partnership with the first railway to pioneer such high altitudes is certainly appropriate, as Tissot, too, has proven the ability to exceed expectations by reaching and surpassing people-pleasing limits.