Tissot And Damian Lillard Team Up Again For A Funky PRX You Can Turn Into A Pocket Watch

A year or two ago, Tissot, which is NBA’s official timekeeper, teamed up with Damian Lillard to put out a 40mm Powermatic 80 PRX with gold PVD details. It was a fun little collaboration, but the collaboration was based on a slight color change and a new seconds hand. But this is Damian Lillard we're talking about. He's famous for tapping his wrist after he hits a last second shot, and that gesture is where the “Dame Time” nickname comes from. He needs more than just a new color. Well, Tissot agrees, because they just launched the PRX Skeleton Damian Lillard Special Edition which is unlike anything the PRX has done before. It's the biggest PRX Tissot has made, it's hand wound, it's skeletonzied AND it also comes with a kit that turns it into a pocket watch, keeping that pocket watch trend going.

The steel case keeps the tapered PRX shape but grows significantly from the 40mm the watch got known for to 44mm, with a thickness is 11.2mm. Two notes on that size. First, Damian Lillard is a basketball player, so he's larger than the average guy. While I was shocked to learn that he's only 3cm taller than me, I'm sure he can pull off a larger watch. Second, the PRX wears notoriously smaller, thanks to the integrated lugs and short lenght. On top is a sapphire crystal, while the display back has Lillard's signature. The left flank of the case is engraved with “Dame Time”. Water resistance is 100 meters.

While the dial is skeletonized, what is left is done in a nice shade of burgundy. One ring sits around the open movement and holds the inner ends of the faceted hour markers, and a second ring holds the outer ends. The small seconds gets its own burgundy ring with Dame Time text, a sloped gold-tone track and a hand shaped like Lillard’s monogram. Hands and markers are lumed. The dial is busy, and the monogram hand will naturally only appeal to fans.

The movement is a bit of an unexpected move. It's a skeletonised version of the ETA Unitas 6497, the large hand-wound calibre found in early Panerai Luminors and plenty of Hamiltons. It is simple, robust and easy to service, and its size suits a 44mm watch. Tissot says it beats at 18,800 vph and has a 46 hours of power reserve. Two burgundy straps come in the box, rubber and leather, both quick-release. The rubber strap has a crosshatch texture based on the milk-crate hoops Lillard played on as a kid. The watch also comes with a leather pouch that you can carry it in without straps, like a pocket watch on a chain.

The PRX Skeleton Damian Lillard Special Edition (ref. T137.405.17.371.00) is available now from Tissot, priced at €1,895. That is well above an automatic PRX, but this is no ordinary PRX. See more on the Tissot website.