T.O.T HISTORY

At the end of the 1990's, the French GIGN unit wants to equip its team members with a specific traditional watch; a watch reflecting its spirit. At the time, famous watch brands were contacted but the desires of each party never aligned.

Two watch aficionados of the unit: a captain and a non-commissioned officer, challenged themselves to find the right watchmaker. A common friend of theirs introduced them to a watchmaker from the renowned market of Saint-Ouen.

The first meeting of the team took place around a small oak table, in the armory of the GIGN barracks with smells of gun powder and oil filling the room.

Spending a productive evening full of debates and creative ideas, smoking cigars in the courtyard of the unit, and sharing a good bottle of French red wine, the group envisioned the complete concept.

At the end of this initial meeting, the watchmaker asked for a name for this special watch. Captain Franck C. having just returned from a one-week counter maritime training in the English Channel with his brothers-in-arms, the navy "Commando Hubert" and the navy choppers' unit from the "32 F" flotilla, proposed quot;T.O.T TIME ON TARGET".

From the Special Ops vocabulary's perspective, T.O.T means the precise time and place when and where units gather to launch a rescue on a hostage taking operation. In fact T.O.T represents much more ...

"The acronym T.O.T, meaning "Time On Target", is commonly used during Special Ops briefings and represents more than just an exact time; it represents the accurate time when each man reaches back to the ancestral spirit of the Samurai. A modern age samurai pushing his fears to the side, concentrates on the action at hand, repeats each motion and then fully commits to the fight ... aware that this T.O.T can lead to the ultimate sacrifice ... The action only ends when the mission is accomplished. The man catches his breath, looks at his timepiece and remembers every single minute of his action … The debrief will be chronological … suddenly time resumes its course." Captain Franck C.

This was the genesis of a wonderful human adventure and friendship.

As a result, the core team created and delivered sets of personalised, limited edition timepieces to more than 30 European special units like the Navy, Army, police, helicopter and warplane units: Commando Hubert, Air and sea pilots, escadrille de chasse Normandie Niemen (Normandy-Niemen fighter pilot squadron), Groupe des plongeurs démineurs (demining divers group), Brigade du Tigre, BRI from the special police units, Breachers from 32 Counter Terrorist units in Europe ... These timepieces were designed in partnership with the men of these units. These watches were field-tested and approved during several successful large-scale operations all around the world.

Most of the "Time On Target" watches are worn by the humble heroes who are at the forefront of our countries' defense. As in many endeavors, an unexpected and terrible event took place: their watchmaker and friend died of a stroke.

After a period of transition T.O.T TIME ON TARGET launches a new model in the same spirit as in the beginning, a one-of-a kind timepiece which carries in its heart the DNA of Special Forces and Special Units, with a new challenge: offer the brand to all watch enthusiasts with unique, exclusive, luxurious and personalised timepieces!