Watchbi

Switzerland · Founded 1832

Longines

Its winged hourglass of 1889 is the oldest logo at WIPO still in its original form.

Longines is a Saint-Imier watchmaker founded in 1832 and part of the Swatch Group since 1983. It is known for its winged-hourglass logo, a long record in aviation watches and sports timekeeping, and classically styled mechanical watches positioned below Omega. Most new watches list between about €1,500 and €4,000.

History

Auguste Agassiz joined a watch trading office in Saint-Imier in 1832, a business first known as Raiguel Jeune & Cie, and later ran it as Agassiz & Co. His nephew Ernest Francillon took over in 1852. Francillon bought land on the right bank of the river Suze, at a spot locally called Les Longines, the long meadows, and in 1867 opened a factory there that brought under one roof work previously spread across home workshops. Its first in-house movement, the calibre 20A, won an award at the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1867.

Francillon's engineer Jacques David visited the 1876 Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia and wrote a 108-page report on American mechanised watch factories, arguing that Swiss watchmaking had to industrialise. The single-pusher chronograph calibre 20H of 1878 took Longines into sports timing, beginning with horse racing. Counterfeiting prompted Francillon to register the Longines name in 1880 and the winged hourglass in 1889. By 1911 the factory employed more than 1,100 people, and Longines had collected ten Grand Prix awards at world exhibitions by 1929.

Aviation shaped the next decades. Longines produced a navigation watch with US Navy officer Philip Van Horn Weems in 1927 and in 1931 the Hour Angle watch, developed with Charles Lindbergh, which Longines describes as the first wristwatch with an engraved rotating bezel. A wrist chronograph with two independent pushers and flyback followed in 1937. Longines's timekeeping extended to motor racing from 1933, the first Formula One season in 1950 and the Tour de France from 1951. The Conquest collection was registered in 1954, and a diver with an internal rotating bezel appeared in 1959.

Longines moved early into electronics with the Ultra-Quartz of 1969 and in 1979 made the Feuille d'Or, less than 2 mm thick. In 1983 its owner ASUAG merged with SSIH, Omega's parent, in the group that became the Swatch Group, which later positioned Longines below Omega with an emphasis on classical design. The DolceVita of 1997, the Master Collection of 2005 and the Spirit pilot's line of 2020 anchor today's range. Longines is official timekeeper for events including FEI show jumping and the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup.

Founders

Auguste Agassiz
Founder · 1809–1877
Brother of the naturalist Louis Agassiz. He joined a watch trading office in Saint-Imier in 1832 and later ran it as Agassiz & Co., the business that became Longines.
Ernest Francillon
Nephew of the founder, builder of the Longines factory · 1834–1900
Took over from his uncle in 1852 and opened the Longines factory on the Suze in 1867. He registered the Longines name in 1880 and the winged hourglass in 1889.

Milestones

  1. 1832

    Agassiz joins a Saint-Imier trading office

    Auguste Agassiz enters the watch trade in Saint-Imier, the origin of Longines.

  2. 1867

    Factory at Les Longines

    Ernest Francillon opens a factory on the Suze; its first in-house calibre, the 20A, wins an award in Paris.

  3. 1878

    First chronograph calibre

    The calibre 20H, a single-pusher chronograph, starts Longines's work in sports timing.

  4. 1889

    Winged hourglass registered

    The Longines name and winged-hourglass emblem are filed with the Swiss Federal Office of Intellectual Property.

  5. 1912

    Show jumping partnership

    Longines begins its first official partnership with a show jumping event, in Lisbon.

  6. 1931

    Lindbergh Hour Angle watch

    Longines produces a navigation watch developed with Charles Lindbergh, with an engraved rotating bezel.

  7. 1954

    Conquest

    The Conquest collection is registered on 3 April 1954.

  8. 1959

    Diver with inner bezel

    Longines launches a diver with a rotating inner disc, the model reissued as the Legend Diver.

  9. 1969

    Ultra-Quartz

    Longines presents the Ultra-Quartz, a quartz-controlled wristwatch.

  10. 1983

    Swatch Group predecessor formed

    Owner ASUAG merges with SSIH, creating the group that becomes the Swatch Group.

Three things collectors know

Einstein's Longines

Albert Einstein's gold Longines wristwatch, given to him by Rabbi Edgar Magnin in 1931, sold at Antiquorum in New York on 16 October 2008 for US$596,000. His Longines pocket watch is in the Bern Historical Museum.

A bezel designed with Lindbergh

Charles Lindbergh worked with Longines on a navigation watch four years after his 1927 transatlantic flight. The resulting Hour Angle watch of 1931 had what Longines calls the first engraved rotating bezel on a wristwatch.

A 108-page wake-up call

After the 1876 Philadelphia exhibition, Longines engineer Jacques David wrote a 108-page report on American watch factories, from raw materials to quality control, warning that Swiss makers had to industrialise to keep up.

Signature models

  • Classical automatic line with complications such as moon phase, chronograph and annual calendar.

  • Registered in 1954; today Longines's sports-leaning everyday line.

  • Reissue of Longines's 1959 diver with a rotating inner disc set by a second crown.

  • Rectangular watch line with Art Deco-influenced cases.

  • Spirit2020

    Pilot's watch collection drawing on the brand's aviation instruments of the 1920s and 1930s.

Questions

Is Longines part of the Swatch Group?
Yes. Longines has belonged to the Swatch Group and its predecessors since 1983, when its owner ASUAG merged with SSIH, the parent of Omega.
Where are Longines watches made?
In Saint-Imier, in the Bernese Jura, where the company was founded in 1832 and has had its factory on the river Suze since 1867. The site also houses the Longines Museum.
How do you pronounce Longines?
The French pronunciation is [lɔ̃ʒin], roughly 'lon-ZHEEN', with a soft g and a silent final s.
Is Longines a luxury brand?
Longines sits in the Swatch Group's middle-upper tier, positioned below Omega and Breguet. Most of its range is automatic, with list prices mostly between about €1,500 and €4,000.

Sources

  1. History of Longines (Longines)
  2. The Company (Longines Media Center)
  3. Longines – Wikipedia
  4. Ernest Francillon – Wikipedia
  5. Omega SA – Wikipedia

Most listed references

All references