Tissot ROCKWATCH, ca. 1985

While they are ROCK solid, they do not survive a smash with a Tennis Racket!

Here is how it went: I "stormed" to the net trying to smash that volley right down and make the winning stroke. Somehow I managed to swing my racket down on my left wrist. I was pointing to the ball with my left hand, as the school book says, but obviously did not move my left arm away quick enough ... A sudden pain and a crack... and I looked at my wrist, there was the green band and the "naked" movement still ticking! But where had the rocky case gone?
I checked the red sand and found the splinters of green Granite. Green Granite is a quite rare and in Switzerland normally from from Andeer, a small village in my home state - or canton how we Swiss call our federation's members. The green Granite from Andeer was the reason I bought the watch in the first place. As a sentimental token of my home state that I had left to study in Zurich. Another reason to buy this watch was the fact that all ROCKWATCHES were unique as the rocks from which they were turned. I was also quite surprised to see how thin the Sapphire crystal was. I always thought they were thicker. In the case of the ROCKWATCH, material experts might have chosen a thinner crystal then usual in order to let the crystal crack before the case. My tennis racket went right through crystal and case. The racket was one of the first Graphite Donnay rackets.
I was very lucky, Tissot was able to replace the case for CHF 50 a couple of years later. That was in the mid 80ies. And I am of course not as foolish anymore and do not wear ROCKWATCHES or mechanical watches on tennis courts anymore. Actually I do not wear any watch for tennis anymore, only exception if I have appointments after the game, I will wear a really inexpensive digital beater. And this digital beater will normally watch the game from the bench ... to keep it in good shape.