Tressa
Tressa Saltomatic Blue
A blue-dial 1970s Tressa Saltomatic automatic jumping hour with a characteristic TV-shaped case.
- Movement
- AS 2072, automatic
- Year
- c. 1970s
- Case
- Stainless steel
- Condition
- Good
- Gender
- Men / Unisex
Condition
Blue dial with visible wear to the case and bracelet consistent with use. The display and dial remain quite clear.
Why I bought it
The Saltomatic is one of the watches that attracted me to the variety of 1970s jumping-hour designs. I particularly like this blue version and the way Tressa combined the digital display with the large TV-shaped case.
The Tressa Saltomatic is a good example of the mechanical digital watches that appeared during the 1970s. Instead of conventional hands, the time is displayed through rotating discs on the left side of the dial, with the hour in its own window and the minutes on a larger rotating disc.
This blue version combines that display with a broad stainless-steel TV-shaped case and matching bracelet. Most of the dial is deliberately left empty, giving the unusual time display most of the attention.
This example uses the AS 2072 automatic movement, a caliber that appeared in a number of jumping-hour watches from different brands during the period. The Saltomatic is an interesting case because closely related watches were sold under several names, illustrating how extensively movements, cases and designs were shared among Swiss brands at the time.