As palatable as the five Tissot NBA Special Edition Watches are, they leave me unsatisfied. So much more could have been done to brand these Tissot NBA Special Edition watches up to the hilt. Why go half-baked? If I was going to buy an NBA watch, I’d want the away fans to be able to see it from across the boards. As it is, if anyone cared to look at my wrist, they’d think I’d done nothing more than coordinate my NATO with my jersey. That’s not the kind of razzle-dazzle I expect from the NBA. On the plus side, this somewhat soft launch does pave the way for more adventurous models. I’m hoping they bring out a special LA Clippers Dive Watch in time for their play-off hopes to be sunk in heart-breaking fashion once more (apologies to the Clips, but if you’re going to capsize, you might as well do so in style).

In addition to the team-themed range of five, Tissot has also released league-branded timepieces to celebrate this new partnership. The familiar Jerry West logo is engraved on the case back of the Tissot T-Touch Expert Solar and the Tissot PRC 200, while the Tissot PR100 features a decal medallion in the same style as the team watches. I find the engraving far more satisfying, but would have liked to see a bit more depth to it. There is a little more branding on the PRC200. Firstly, the 6 o’clock sub-dial sports a basketball image in grey. Additionally, the pushers are edged with red (top) and blue (bottom), which is, to me, the coolest thing about the watch.

As with all watches of this nature, the price is the most important factor. The team watches will all be priced at a reasonable $450. I’m still not going wild for this quartz chronograph even at that price, but at least it is low enough to avoid a full-on outcry. The rest of the Tissot NBA Special Edition range will be priced between $500-$1,000 with more details available soon. tissot.ch