Longines was established in 1832 by Ernest Francillon. The first location of the manufacturer of luxury watches was in Saint-Imier in Switzerland. The history of Longines started already back in 1830. Longines has a well-known logo, one of the oldest logos for a watchmaker. At this time, Longines is part of the Swatch Group. As a watch brand, Longines is very famous for its’ Aviators’ watches. These watches are born from a personal friendship between a director of Longines and Charles Lindbergh. Lindbergh had ideas on a special watch for pilots after his trans-Atlantic flight. This watch had to help the pilots to navigate. The watches designed by the specifications by Lindbergh are still produced as of today.
History for the Longines Watches
The existence of the brand Longines
After the watch maker was founded in 1847 by Ernest, it was Agassiz who was the owner of the organization. To emphasize the ownership of the company Agassiz decided to define a new name: Agassiz & Compagnie. Francillon took over the company in 1850. At that moment of time he changed the directions for the organization. Francillon wanted to put more emphasis on expanding and improving the production of standard clock designs. As a result for the company growth and the high demand, the expansion for the plant was needed. Back in 1856 Francillon bought two pieces of land to on which he wanted the company to expand. This piece of land was popular known as “Les Longines”. This extension was a risky undertaking. But despite some setbacks, it was the continuation of Francillon that turned the expansion into a success.
The growth of the brand Longines
Back in 1867 the first internal clock works for a Longines watch were produced in the Longines factory. It was Francillon (then owner) who was the first person to introduce the wind up watch with a “wind rotary” of its own . Up to that time it was only possible to wind up the watches by means of a specific key. Partly as a result of this invention the Longines organization established a steady growth from 1870 onwards. At the beginning of 1900 Longines already had more than 1,100 employees and the watches were sold all over the world.
Many recognition and appreciation of Longines
With its watches Longines has won several prizes and became greatly appreciated in the watch market. Longines banter will be the title of the “best winner”.
Longines the sports watch brand
Already in the early days of the brand, Longines established as strong relationship with the world of sport. Building on the strong technology and knowledge available the brand established a unique relationship with the Olympic Games. Since the games in Oslo (1952) was the Longines brand that is responsible for identifying, registering and showing the times. But Longines did not stop there. Also at other sports events the brand Longines is present. The company established relationships with various sports in the gym, skiing and horseback riding. Longines provides various time observations on the various equestrian sports events such as World Championships, European Championships, Olympic Games but also the CSIO and Concours Hippique events worldwide. Recently we also see a prominent for the Longines brand at the Formula 1 and the Tour de France.
Developments in the collection
Longines is continuously looking for further development of watch technology and for ways to improve the precision and durability of the watch. It has an eye for new designs and is daring to even go the extra mile in the design ambitions. In 1960 Longines has grabbed the world record of the electromagnetic thinnest watch. In 1982, the watchmaker introduced a special Ferrari collection. This collection was designed to support the partnership that Longines signed with the Ferrari Formula 1 team.
Milestones Longines
On February 19, 2001 Longines brand reached the milestone of 30 million watches produced. And a year later there was another celebration. In 2002, the 170th anniversary of the Longines logo, the flying watch glass. In 2007 the watch brand celebrated its 175th birthday.
Longines Belle ArtiAn example from the Belle Arti collection of Longines watches. This model has the number L2 501 0 83 8 |
Longines Belle ArtiAn example from the Belle Arti collection of Longines watches. This model has the number L2 501 9 83 4 |
Longines Dolce VitaAn example from the Dolce Vita collection of Longines watches. This model has the number L5 155 0 51 2 |
Longines Dolce VitaAn example from the Dolce Vita collection of Longines watches. This model has the number L2 502 4 16 |
Longines Hydro ConquestAn example from the Hydro Conquest collection of Longines watches. This model has the number L3 640 4 96 6 |
Longines Hydro ConquestAn example from the Hydro Conquest collection of Longines watches. This model has the number L3 644 56 2 |
Longines Master CollectionAn example from the Master Collection of Longines Watches. This model has the number L1 673 4 78 5 |
Longines watch for sale or Replica
Please be aware for replicas for the Longines Watches. Is the Longines watch for sale or is it a cheaper imitation. ?
Andre Agassi
The tennis legend Andre Agassi joined the the family of Longines Ambassadors of Elegance
More on Longines watches
Below an overview for more resources on Longines Watches:
The information on this page on the Longines watches is constructed with care. We try to have the data as accurate as possible. Please let us know when information listed on this page is incorrect or outdated. So we can correct it. You can’t obtain legal rights from the information provided on this page.
(Page last modified on: march 27 , 2015)
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