Meet the “UFO Robot Grendizer” special edition Tissot PRX

Tissot is back with another PRX tie-in, this time for the 50th year of Go Nagai’s Grendizer. It is a full black PVD PRX in 40 mm, limited to 1,975 pieces, with the robot front and center on the dial. If you loved the 2024 run, this is the sequel. If you did not, this will not sway you.

It’s priced at a heady $950 so you’d really better love you some Grendizer.

The case and bracelet are classic PRX, flat surfaces, sharp lines, good wrist presence. Water resistance is 100 meters. The top crystal is sapphire. The caseback window is mineral. That choice saves cost, it also scratches more easily. The bracelet uses Tissot’s quick-swap system and a folding clasp. Fit and finish on the PRX line is usually solid for the price, so I expect the same here.

The dial is the pitch. Grendizer is raised and traced in Super-LumiNova, with yellow eyes that glow at night. The seconds hand is shaped like the Double Harken and is said to be 18K gold. If it is solid gold, that is rare at this tier. If it is a gold part fixed to a steel pinion, that is fine, but marketing should be clear. Either way, it looks bold against the black treatment. There is also a special Grendizer engraving inside the bezel. At night the lume outline reads like a poster from 1975.

Inside is the Powermatic 80. That means 80 hours of reserve, a Nivachron balance spring for better magnetic resistance, and the usual smooth beat. You can see the rotor through the back, with Grendizer engraved on it. Tissot keeps leaning on this movement for a reason. It is proven, it is easy to live with, and it runs.

The presentation is pure fan service. The watch ships in a Spazer UFO-style capsule in a gold and black box. There are fresh drawings inside, signed by Go Nagai. Each piece is numbered, “Limited Edition 1 of 1975,” a direct nod to the year the show hit screens. If you grew up with the series, unboxing will do more for you than any spec sheet.

Now the part that matters. Will you wear a cartoon robot on your wrist next year, or will this sit in a display case? The black PVD case looks cool on day one, but PVD can show wear if you are rough on watches. The mineral back is a miss. The rest is standard PRX strength, which is to say reliable and well made. As for the dial, it is not shy. You either want to see Grendizer every time you check the time, or you do not.

I like that Tissot kept it mechanical and did not phone it in with a quartz tie-in. I like the lume art. I have questions about the gold hand. I wish the caseback were sapphire. If the price lands close to other PRX Powermatic special editions, it will sell through to fans. If it climbs too high on the strength of the license, think twice.

Reference is T137.407.33.051.01. Diameter is 40 mm. Water resistance is 10 bar. Sapphire up top, mineral on the back. Powermatic 80 inside with Nivachron. Steel bracelet with quick release and a triple-blade clasp. Limited to 1,975 pieces.

If you are a PRX person and a Grendizer person, this hits the target. If you are only one of those, try it on first, then decide. I personally love cool robot watches and this one kind of hits the spot. That said, I’ve literally never heard of Grendizer so maybe it’s not for me.