Revered Swiss watchmaker, Longines has been synonymous with elegance and functionality since it was first founded in 1832. Auguste Agassiz built a small independent business from the ground up, first operating as a middleman between craftsmen and retailers but soon evolving into a pioneer in reliable, elegant wristwatches after that. Nephew to Agassiz took over the company in 1852 with a strong vision in mind – to get the Longines name recognised overseas, particularly in the US where Agassiz had travelled. Fifteen years after this, the brand’s first St Imier based facilities was opened. Not only had Longines started to take route as an established manufacturer of luxury watches, supplying to connoisseurs with a passion for authenticity and style, but this transition also marked another important milestone for Longines. The year of its first in house movement. The 20A, together with its chronograph sibling, powered timepieces belonging to Longines’ Equestrian line, each one stamped with the legendary company name and logo, which has remained unchanged since 1889.
Longines has a very rich and detailed history. The company has gone from strength to strength, not only in the filed of mechanical movement manufacture, but also in establishing an identity that is now associated with accuracy, reliability and high performance. It began specialising in navigational wristwatches during the 1920s. In addition to Longines creating its first rotor winding mechanism for an automatic movement around 30 years later, it also launched a beloved collection named the Conquest. The Longines Conquest collection remains a cornerstone to the brand’s entire catalogue and built the foundations to the Flagship series which followed later.
Longines watches are also associated with iconic moments in sporting history, particularly when it supplied record breaking Sir Malcolm Campbell with a timepiece when he sat inside his high speed Bluebird II car as it raced across Lake Eyre in Australia to set a world record. After this, Longines went on to develop the Calibre L340, which powered watches within the Ultra Chron collection. It also specialised in the development of quartz movements during a time where the Swiss wristwatch industry was under great pressure to survive. Moving with the times is what Longines has always done best, and creating luxury quartz watches during the crushing quartz crisis proved to be a decision that, no doubt, saved the company and protected its future. That said, Longines remained firm in its develop of automatic movements, never shutting the door on this specialised field and endeavouring to innovate alongside the more popular quartz models during this time. For example, the first Longines lady’s quartz watch was created in 1969, followed by the La Grande Classiques de Longines series. Alongside its development of luxury watches, the brand became the Official timekeeper for the F1 industry. Synonymous with precision already, Longines cemented this reputation with the development of its V. H. P quartz movements.
During the 1990s, Longines began focusing on creating timepieces for ladies. Designs that adorned the female wrist with lavish materials and glistening diamonds made the wearer feel special and opulent. Watches from collections like the DolceVita are examples of such designs. In 2003 the barrel shaped case came to the forefront of Longines’ innovative offerings, yet round wristwatches like the Longines Master remained popular collector’s pieces.
Longines went on to introduce the Sport collection in 2007, which housed four sub-categories named the HydroConquest, the Conquest, the Grande Vitesse and the Admiral. As partner and Official Timekeeper for the French Open Tennis Championships in Roland Gardos and Alpine skiing competitions, the Sport collection fully equipped collectors passionate about the sports industry with everything needed for outdoor exploration, diving, sailing, mountaineering, hiking swimming and much more. Two years later and the PrimeLuna and St Imier collections followed, each with their own identity.
Today Longines offer a superb range of dive watches called the Hydroconquest, which boast a selection of superior materials, cutting edge precision and a robust, appealing and remarkably masculine aesthetic. These models are equipped with impressive water resistant capably and feature screw-down crowns, sealed casebacks and rotating bezels to assist with a safe diving experience. The Swiss brand continues to build upon its core collections whilst extending on its inextricable links with the Equestrian world, with timepiece after timepiece of elegant, superior timekeeping instruments for men and women of the 21st century.
