205020308 Watch Time Longines Speical

RubrikLONGINES SPECIALwww.watchtime.com

PAST AND PRESENT

Pilots’ watches, chronographs and ladies’ modelsREPRESENTING THE BRAND

Ambassadors, sponsorship and thewinged hourglassINTRINSIC VALUES

Sportsmanship and elegance

180 YEARS OF

THE MAGAZINE OF F INE WATCHES

LONGINES SPECIAL WatchTime | 3

No doubt about it – Longines is one of the world’s mostsuccessful watch brands. !e brand has celebrated con-stant growth since 2003. According to our estimates thecompany now produces about one million watches peryear and its sales volume of around one billion Swissfrancs puts it among the top "ve in the industry. A goodportion of these numbers are attributed to the high de-mand from Asian markets but growth rates in Europeand America are also substantial.

Longines undoubtedly is one of the major traditionalmanufacturers that have made a decisive mark on theSwiss watch industry. Longines (among others) was aleader in the creation of chronographs and the timing ofsporting events. !e company won chronometer compe-titions and equipped early aviators with cockpit instru-ments and special wristwatches. And early on, at the beginning of the 20th century, Longines began o#eringwristwatches alongside pocket watches and accessorizedfashionable women with "ne models of their own. !ecompany has also always stood for quality of the "rstclass. Ernest Francillon, leader of the manufacture dur-ing the second half of the 19th century, had a distinctivemark engraved on his watch movements – one that wrotemarketing history. !e winged hourglass was submittedto the Swiss patent o$ce in 1889 and is the world’s oldestlogo in continuous use.

!e rise of inexpensive Japanese quartz watches in the1970s led to the downfall of many traditional watch man-ufacturers in Switzerland. Longines was not alone in"ghting for survival. Fortunately the brand became partof Swatch Group in the early 1980s (then SMH) and itsleader, Nicolas G. Hayek, determined the path that guar-anteed the company’s successful future. Longines nolonger produced movements in-house and instead reliedon the centralized production by ETA, which allowed the company to concentrate on product developmentand marketing. It was especially important to ensure the company presented a uni"ed image worldwide.Longines was set to regain its position as the embodi-ment of an elegant watch, and the strategy proved to be acomplete success. Take, for example, the “La GrandeClassique de Longines” collection. Since its introduc-tion in 1992 it has lost none of its currency and has sold

SUCCESS

EDITOR’S LETTER

more than 1 million pieces so far – all without the bene"tof advertising, as Longines president Walter von Känellikes to mention.

Longines o#ers a re"ned combination of elegance andtop performance, exempli"ed in the watches in its vari-ous collections as well as the di#erent types of sports itsupports, such as horseback riding, tennis (with theFrench Open) and rhythmic gymnastics. Equestriansports are of special interest to Nayla Hayek, chairwomanof the board of directors of !e Swatch Group.

Longines continues to write its own successful historyyear a%er year thanks to its unique and long-lasting appeal. !e brand has always trusted its intrinsic values –building beautiful and elegant watches for everyday wear.Emphasis is placed on precision and reliability as well asproviding good value. In contrast to many other watchmanufacturers the company resisted the temptation ofshi%ing to a much higher price bracket. Most Longineswatches are priced between 1,000 and 4,000 Swiss francsand the brand remains the market leader in this price segment. But even though quartz watches continue toplay an important role, especially for ladies’ models, thepercentage of mechanical watches is growing. 60 percentof current models contain a mechanical movement. In addition to the mass-produced calibers supplied by its a$liate ETA other more exclusive movements are beingo#ered. On the occasion of its 175th birthday in 2007Longines created two special movements for its “Retro-grade” model. !is was followed by a column-wheelchronograph whose development was fully "nanced byLongines. For its 180th birthday it is introducing a single-pusher chronograph and a Retrograde model that in-cludes a day/night and a moon-phase display – both withnew movements exclusively manufactured for Longines.

!e following 137 pages explain what made Longinesstrong in the past and how the brand is preparing itselftoday for the future.

Rüdiger Bucher, Project Editor

WWW.WATCHTIME.COM4 | WatchTime LONGINES SPECIAL

3 Editor’s Letter

6 STRATEGIESLongines’s New Clout

14 NEW MODELSMechanical Watches for a Special Celebration

22 LONGINES AND SPORTSHorses, Clay and Balance Beam

34 INTERVIEW WITH NAYLA HAYEKElegance, Tradition and Top Performance

36 CHRONOGRAPHSTiming Master

50 AVIATIONHeroes of the Skies

60 HISTORYAt the Forefront for 180 Years

74 HISTORICAL MILESTONESWatch Technology from the Meadow

CONTENTS


88 WATCH COLLECTIONFacets of Elegance

98 THE LONGINES LOGOWinged Messenger

104 LADIES’ WATCHESExquisite Hours

114 BRAND AMBASSADORSAmbassadors of Elegance

130 ARCHIVE800 Books, 15 Million Stories

134 LONGINES AT AUCTIONGuidelines for Collectors

138 Authors and Credits

NEW CLOUTBY JOE THOMPSON

Longines is a major player in timing and sponsorship

of equestriansports.

6 | WatchTime LONGINES SPECIAL


n September 29, 2011, Longines Watch Co. held an eventin Shanghai, China, to launch a new collection ofwatches. !e Longines Saint-Imier Collection, nameda"er the Jura Mountain village where Longines was bornin 1832 and where it remains to this day, features classi-cally styled watches for men and women in steel, steel-and-gold, or rose-gold cases. !e star of the series is a column-wheel chronograph whose retro good lookswere inspired by a Longines watch from 1945. Inside thechronograph’s tiered case is a movement that is aLongines exclusive, Caliber L688.

Adding panache to the occasion was the Oscar-win-ning British actress Kate Winslet, whom Longinessigned as an ambassador in 2010. !e Longines Saint-Imier Collection launch event was a sort of warm-up forthe festivities the company has planned for its 180th an-niversary in 2012. In fact, Longines at 180 has much tocelebrate. Recently the brand, which specializes mostlyin steel dress watches priced between 1,000 and 4,000Swiss francs, has been on a roll. Consider:• Longines has had eight consecutive years of sales

growth, unimpeded even by the worst global recessionsince the Great Depression.

• Longines today ranks among the top #ve Swiss watchbrands in total watch revenue, according to WatchTimeestimates. (!ere is no o$cial data on company rank-ings.)

• Longines is the world’s top watch brand in the 1,000-4,000 Swiss francs price category.

• Of the 18 watch brands in the Swatch Group, theworld’s largest watch company, Longines ranks amongthe top three in total sales.

It is safe to say that no one enjoyed the Shanghai gath-ering more than its host, the #rm’s CEO, Walter vonKänel. “Mr. Longines,” as he is known, joined the com-pany in 1969 and has been president since 1988. InShanghai, a beaming von Känel, who turned 71 in Sep-tember 2012, posed with the glamorous Winslet andmerrily greeted guests. Indeed, the Shanghai eventserved as a tableau highlighting many of the elements behind Longines’s resurgence: its clout in China, where itis the second strongest watch brand; its leadership in thedress watch category; and its recent push into mechani-

Strategies | LONGINES TODAYKate Winsletlaunching theLongines Saint-Imier Collectionin Shanghai

The Longines Column-Wheel Chronographcontains its exclusiveCaliber L688.2 (left).

O

Top: LonginesCEO Walter von

Känel in the ’90s,with the late

Swatch GroupChairman Nicolas

G. Hayek, Sr.

Middle: TheSwatch Group’s

chairperson,Nayla Hayek

Bottom: von Känelwith Swatch

Group CEO Nick Hayek, Jr.

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LONGINES TODAY | Strategies


cal timepieces, notably with ETA movements made justfor Longines. Winslet, a bona#de A-list celebrity, is her-self a symbol of new strength for a brand that previouslyrelied on regional ambassadors.

Recently WatchTime met with von Känel in his spa-cious, computer-free o$ce at Longines’s factory andheadquarters in Saint-Imier to discuss Longines at 180.“People don’t realize the strength of this brand,” he says.“!is is not a small company. In the Swiss watch industry,we see once in a while statistics from banks and else-where – nobody thinks we are so big.” But they are. Swisssources estimate that in 2011 Longines entered the extremely exclusive club of Swiss watch brands that sell1 million watches per year for almost a billion Swissfrancs. (Longines, in keeping with Swatch Group policy,does not disclose sales #gures.)

Longines’s growth, von Känel says, is the result of“consistency, continuity, and staying in our league,” thatis, the mid-price range. And, adds the man who is a re-tired colonel in the Swiss Army, by “being stubborn likeinfantry.” Stubbornness is certainly a factor in Lon -gines’s recent rise. Policies put in place long ago are nowpaying o%.

!e policies were the brainchild of the late Nicolas G.Hayek, Sr., who gained international fame as the manwho rescued the Swiss watch industry during the quartzcrisis of the early 1980s. Hayek’s solution to the Swiss in-dustry’s woes was to restructure the industry and createwhat is now the world’s largest watch company, theSwatch Group. Hayek was #rst chairman and CEO of thegroup. His radical plan was to centralize production ofquartz and mechanical movements within the group under the movement-making company, ETA, and toshi" the focus of group brands from manufacturing toproduct development and marketing. Moreover, Hayekforced Longines to become a global brand. He put an endto the lucrative licensing deals that resulted in wildly dif-ferent products designed to suit local market tastes.Hayek insisted that Longines (and every Swatch Groupbrand) have a clear product identity and a clear market-ing message on global markets. !e identity should be inkeeping with the brand’s history and heritage. !at strat-egy led directly to the “Elegance is an attitude” campaigndeveloped by von Känel and his team in the 1990s.

Hayek also established Swatch Group subsidiaries inmajor watch markets around the globe, giving Longinesand other Swatch Group brands a strong foothold andpresence in the world’s top markets.

!ose marketing and distribution policies have beenreinforced and strengthened by Nick Hayek, Jr., who be-came CEO of the Swatch Group in 2003. Longines con-tinues to bene#t from the attention of the Swatch Group’stop management, not only Hayek, Jr., but Swatch GroupChairperson Nayla Hayek, who succeeded her father inthe post in 2010. A member of the World Arabian Horse

Organization and a former international Arabian horsejudge, she has used her extensive contacts in the #eld toLongines’s advantage. “I give thanks to our chairwoman,Madame Hayek, who heavily reinforced our presence inequestrian activities, not only jumping but racing,” vonKänel says.

‘NON-STOP SALES GROWTH’You see the biggest payo% from the Hayek policies todayin China. “Since 2003 we have had non-stop salesgrowth,” von Känel says, and China is the reason. Main-land China is Longines’s top market by far. Longines isthe second-best selling Swiss watch in mainland China,according to a survey by a Chinese magazine. (Omegawas number one in the survey, Rolex number three.)Longines’s strong position there gives it clout through-out the region and around the world. “We cannot talkabout China alone. We have to talk about GreaterChina,” von Känel says, which he de#nes as mainlandChina, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Duty Free Shoppers, as wellas Chinese tourists and overseas workers. “Chinese


tourists have to bring gi"s back. Anda nice gi" to put in their pocket is awatch.” (Recent data gives an idea ofthe enormous buying power of Chi-nese tourists. Chinese tourism o$-cials estimate that Chinese took 70million overseas trips in 2011 andspent a total of 69 billion dollars, anincrease of 25 percent over 2010.) VonKänel says that Chinese consumersaround the globe account for a signi#-cant portion of Longines sales.

Von Känel acknowledges thatLongines’s power surge has reliedgreatly on Chinese consumers. Howdoes he feel about riding the dragon?“As the grandson of farmers,” he says,“I don’t like to put all my eggs in onebasket. We have to accept that thereis some risk. But I have a good feelingabout China for the next couple ofyears. I don’t think there will be aslowdown.” Moreover, he says, “!eUnited States is getting bigger and

One reason for Longines’s strength in China is its

140!YEAR HISTORY there.

bigger for us and Europe is enjoyingvery positive additional sales.”

One reason for Longines’sstrength in China is its long historythere. Chinese consumers know andrespect the Longines brand. Longineshas superb archives dating back to1867, and the record shows thatwatches were shipped to China eventhen. In 2009, Longines underlinedthe point by sponsoring a contest to#nd the oldest watch in China. (It hasheld similar contests in Russia andJapan.) Over the years, Longines’sfortunes in China waxed and waned,depending on the political situationin the country. Von Känel himselfwas instrumental in opening modernChina. His #rst trip to Beijing was in1971, where he dealt with a govern-ment agency called Beijing Watch &Spectacles. “I got my #rst order in1974,” he remembers. “It was not a bigorder. But I was very proud.”

Top: China is byfar Longines’smost importantmarket.

Bottom: A Chinese advertisement for Longinespocket watchesfrom the 1920s


Another reason for Longines’sstrength in mainland China, vonKänel says, is that its watches are notsubject to the steep luxury tax thatexists on higher priced watches.(!e tax can make luxury watches inChina up to 50 percent more expen-sive than in Europe or the UnitedStates.)

But the biggest reason thatLongines is hot in China is itsstyling. In a market that famouslyfavors classic dress watches oversporty looks, Longines is a big hit.

CLASSIC LINESIn 1996, von Känel and his team madea key strategic decision. “We said wewant to stay in classic watches,” he explains. Since then, through goodtimes and bad, Longines has made elegance the hallmark of its product

Mechanical watches now account for more than 60 PERCENT of Longines’s watch production.

development and marketing plans.Even when global design trends fa-vored avant-garde experimentation,jumbo sports looks or bulky blingthings, Longines maintained an ele-gant approach in keeping with its fa-mous advertising slogan (“Elegance isan attitude.”) Ironically the upheavalscaused by the Great Recession of 2009helped Longines. !e hard timesbrought a new, more sensible aes-thetic in watch styling. !e pendulumswung dramatically toward clean, un-derstated, elegant looks. !e marketreturned to Longines.

Longines today has four productfamilies: Elegance, WatchmakingTradition, Sport and Heritage. !e#rst and foremost family is Elegance.Within the Elegance family, there areseven di%erent collections in two cat-egories, Classic Elegance or Contem-

Above: TheLongines MasterCollection MoonPhases Chrono-graph

Left: The LonginesMaster CollectionRetrograde of 2007contained CaliberL698.2, Longines’sfirst proprietarymovement indecades.


porary Elegance. “!e king of our classic watches,” vonKänel says, “is de#nitely La Grande Classique deLongines,” the leader of the Classic Elegance group. !eking has reigned for two decades. It was launched in 1992as a line of ultra-thin, round, men’s and ladies’ steel quartzwatches with clean lines and simple dials featuring Roman numerals or thin hour markers. Two years later,with no advertising behind it, La Grande Classique deLongines became Longines’s best-selling collection, a position it held until 2007. Its popularity has not waned.Today it is the most copied Longines watch.

Also in the Classic Elegance category are what vonKänel calls “the bread-and-butter models” that are verypopular in China, like Presence and Flagship. Flagship isthe star right now. Why? Because the design matches Chi-nese tastes for simplicity. And the size matches Chinesewrists. You have to give the Chinese the size they want.” Foryears, Longines has o%ered models in a range of sizes in allits markets. La Grande Classique de Longines, for exam-ple, has cases in #ve di%erent diameters (24, 29, 33, 35 and37 mm). !e Longines Master Collection of round me-chanical watches comes in nine di%erent case sizes.

Complementing the Classical series are the two Con-temporary Elegance collections of ladies’ watches, mostlyquartz, the rectangular Longines DolceVita and the roundLongines PrimaLuna. Longines DolceVita was born in1997 as a rectangular alternative to La Grande Classique. Itwas an instant hit. For nine consecutive years a ladies’bracelet Longines DolceVita watch was the brand’s best-selling single model. Von Känel boasts that since its debut,Longines DolceVita has sold more than 1 million pieces.

How important is the elegance positioning toLongines? !e seven collections in the Elegance familyaccount for nearly 50 percent of Longines’s total sales.

Longines’s Flagship Heritagewatch is a big hit in China.

Longines has soldmore than 1 millionLongines DolceVitawatches over thepast 15 years.

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Certainly, Longines’s decidedly classic styling is a majorfactor in the brand’s popularity with Chinese consumers.But the appeal spreads far beyond China. Longines salesin 2011 increased by a double-digit percentage over2010, von Känel says. Sales were up in every market.

Without question, the watch market’s shi" to more elegant styling is a factor in Longines’s rising fortunes.But another, less noted factor is a corresponding movethat Longines made to match market tastes. Over thepast #ve years, Longines has dramatically increased itsproduction of mechanical watches, particularly in the2,500 to 4,000 Swiss francs price range. In 2007, me-chanical watches accounted for less than 40 percent ofits production. In 2011, they amounted to more than 60percent of its output.

!e build-up has come in the #rm’s WatchmakingTradition family of (almost) all mechanical watches, allclassically styled. It started in 2004 with the tonneau-shaped Longines evidenza collection, priced at 2,850Swiss francs. “Longines evidenza was a breakthrough forus over 2,000 Swiss francs,” von Känel says. But he knewthat for the China and Russia markets, he needed a roundwatch to supplement the tonneau shape. !e solutionwas the Longines Master Collection of automaticwatches with a variety of features, and case sizes rangingfrom 25.5 mm to 47.5 mm diameters. !e series was aknockout. It toppled La Grande Classique from its perchas Longines’s best-selling collection. !e hero products

were a Moonphase Chronograph (3,000 Swiss francs),which sells well in China even in the 40-mm version; various steel-and-gold models that Longines promotedheavily; and the highly touted Longines Master Collec-tion Retrograde of 2007, powered by the #rst Longinesproprietary movement in decades, Caliber L697.2.

Longines expects that the new all-mechanicalLongines Saint-Imier Collection, which joins Masterand evidenza in the Watchmaking Tradition family, willpropel mechanical watch sales.

Longines’s third product family, the all-mechanicalHeritage, consists of the brand’s legendary historicalwatches like the Lindbergh Hour Angle Watch and theLongines Weems Second-Setting Watch, as well as the new Longines Column-Wheel Chronograph containingLongines’s second proprietary movement, Caliber L688.2.

Finally, there is the Sport family consisting of the HydroConquest aluminum bezel watch and the Con-quest collection.

Longines’s balanced product lineup (53 percent of salesare men’s models, 47 percent women’s) has proven to be awinning formula. “We are the king between 1,000 and4,000 Swiss francs,” von Känel says. “!at is our duty. !atis our mission within the Swatch Group. We are numberone in this price segment. I think we satisfy the group.”

One sure sign that the group is satis#ed is that for the#rst time since the creation of the Swatch Group in 1984,the group has taken the unusual step of providingLongines with its own exclusive supply of original move-ments.

CALIBERS OF ITS OWNFor most of Longines’s 180 years, the company – whichhas produced more than 38 million watches since itsfounding – made its own movements. In-house move-ment manufacturing ceased in 1984 during Switzer-land’s quartz crisis. Switzerland’s urgent need to masterquartz technology led to the creation of the SwatchGroup. Under the reorganization plan devised by the

Assemblingwatches at

Longines inSaint-Imier


late Swatch Group founder and chairman Nicolas G.Hayek, Sr., manufacturing was transferred from the in-dividual brands to ETA S.A. in Grenchen, Switzerland,which became the production center for the entiregroup. Von Känel, then the number two man atLongines, opposed the move. “I fought it,” he says. He acknowledges he was wrong. “We are what we are todaythanks to that decision.”

Longines still does not make its own movements.More and more, however, in a signi#cant shi", ETA isproducing mechanical movements for Longines that arenot available to any other brand within or outside of theSwatch Group. By the end of 2014, #ve ETA-made move-ments exclusive to Longines will be in production, with asixth in the pipeline. !e development, which requiresheavy investment from Longines, is yet another sign ofits new clout. Says von Känel with a smile, “We are begin-ning to be a major factor in this business.”

!e policy shi" began a few years ago when Longineswanted a watch with four retrograde hands for itsWatchmaking Tradition family. Nothing like that wasavailable from ETA. So Longines applied for a specialmovement through the Swatch Group’s standard proce-dures. To von Känel’s delight, the application was approved. “It was an important decision,” he says. “Itmeant the door was open within the group to have ex-clusive Longines movements.” When the door opened,von Känel and company charged through, #nancing thedevelopment of the Calibers L697 and L698, whichpower the Longines Master Collection Retrograde

power reserve and moonphase watches respectively.!e base movements were ETA’s A07.L11 and L21. !eretrograde watch was introduced in 2007.

Soon a"erwards, the Swatch Group decided that ETA’s#rst ever column-wheel chronograph movement shouldbe a Longines exclusive, in recognition of the columnwheel’s place in Longines’s history. (“We started makingcolumn-wheel chronograph movements in 1878,” vonKänel says.) !e Longines Column-Wheel Chrono-graph, containing Caliber L688.2 (ETA A08.231) waspresented in 2009.

Longines’s third exclusive movement, Caliber L707(A07.L31), arrived in the Longines Master CollectionRetrograde Moon Phases watch of 2011. Longines un-veiled the fourth exclusive movement in its 180th an-niversary year in the Longines Column-Wheel SinglePush-Piece Chronograph 180th Anniversary, with allthe functions controlled by the crown.

So far, Longines’s exclusive movements have been re-stricted to the top tier of Longines’ mechanical watches.Says von Känel, “Retrograde and column wheel are pres-tige and pleasure. !ey are not volume.” But that willchange. !e latest Longines-ETA collaboration on exclu-sive mechanical movements involves movements forLongines’s high-volume mechanical models. Today,Longines is ETA’s top customer for the ETA 2000, athree-hand ladies’ automatic movement with calendarthat Longines uses, under the designation L595, in itsladies’ mechanical watches. Longines is also a heavy userof the ETA 2892 (L619), a men’s version of the three-hand automatic with calendar. Longines will soon unveilnew ETA base movements, one for ladies’ watches, theother for gents, that will be exclusive to the #rm and, overtime, replace the two standard ETA movements thatLongines uses for the bulk of its business. !e ladies’movement, which does not yet have a Longines caliberdesignation, could come as early as 2013. !e men’smovement is expected one year later. !e shi" givesLongines signi#cant advantages. One is that it will secureits supply of ETA movements since it will be the sole userof the base movements. Another is that, since Longines is#nancing the development of the movement, it can besure that the movement is state of the art.

“We will have a more up-to-date and even more reli-able movement, according to today’s technology,” vonKänel says. “Because even in mechanical technology a fewthings have changed. And we will have a very competitiveprice. So it means that, while always using an ETA move-ment, we will have our own exclusive baby.” !

Elegant look: Indian actress and

Longines ambas-sador Aishwarya

Rai-Bachchan

By the end of 2014, five mechanical movements EXCLUSIVE TOLONGINES will be in production.


MECHANICAL

To celebrate its 180th anniversary this year, Longinesis presenting two completely NEW COLLECTIONS:the special edition 180th Anniversary models and the

new Longines Saint-Imier Collection. Models withexclusive ETA movements that were specially created

for Longines show unique mechanical re!nements: a single-pusher chronograph with an elegant

column-wheel as one of the 180th Anniversary models. And as part of "e Longines Saint-Imier

Collection a special prestige model with four retro-grade displays and a column-wheel chronograph. Other classically timeless watches included in this

collection are available with a chronograph function,and ladies’ watches are o#ered with mother-of-pearl

dials and diamonds. BY JENS KOCH

Saint!Imier and 180th Anniversary | NEW MODELS

WATCHES

The Longines Column-Wheel Single Push-Piece Chronograph180th AnniversaryLimited Edition



WITH A SINGLE PUSHERLongines is introducing its anniversary models inhonor of its 180 years of operation. Its $agship model is the numbered and limited rose gold Longines Column-Wheel Single Push-Piece Chronograph 180th

Anniversary Limited Edition – a !tting tribute to earlierchronographs built by the company beginning in 1878.It is based on an actual Longines watch from 1913, andthe dial design and pivoting wire lugs recall its historicalpredecessor. Like this earlier model, the new Anniver-sary Chronograph has a pusher integrated in the crownfor the start, stop and reset chronograph functions. "eautomatic Caliber L788, developed by ETA exclusivelyfor Longines, like the earlier Cal. 13.33Z (found in the1913 predecessor), has an elegant column-wheel con-struction and is similarly sized at 13% lignes. However,at 28,880 vph and with a power reserve of 54 hours, the

caliber boasts the solid performanceof a modern movement. 27 jewels reduce friction within the movement."e movement is visible through thesapphire caseback. Only 180 pieceswere produced with a 40-mm rose-gold case and a brown alligator strap."ere is also a steel variation withRoman numerals and a version with!xed lugs that is available in rosegold and steel. "ese versions are notlimited.

Also equipped with the exclusive Cal. L788: the steelchronograph withRoman numerals

The single-pusherchronograph

with fixed lugs isavailable in steel

and rose gold.

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NEW MODELS | Saint-Imier and 180th Anniversary

18 | WatchTime LONGINES SPECIAL WWW.WATCHTIME.COM

TO SAINT&IMIER"ere is a special bond linking Longines with the town ofSaint-Imier in Switzerland’s Jura region. "e brand hasremained at the same location since its founding in 1832.For this reason Longines has dedicated a special collec-tion to its hometown on the occasion of its 180th anniver-sary. "e new Longines Saint-Imier Collection containsonly mechanical watches. A model from 1945 served asan inspiration for the characteristic case shape with itsdistinctive lugs and sleek lines. "ree hand watches areo#ered in four di#erent sizes – 26, 30, 38.5 and 41 mm – toensure that everyone can !nd a perfect !t. Cases are avail-able in stainless steel, gold, or a combination of stainlesssteel and rose gold. "e two smaller models contain theautomatic ETA movement 2000 while the automatic ETAmovement 2892 is placed in the two larger models. "e

chronograph is available in diame-ters of 39 or 41 mm and is powered by the caliber L688 developed ex-clusively for Longines by ETA. Asapphire caseback provides a clearview of the column wheel in themovement. "e ladies’ model is alsoo#ered with a diamond-accentedcase and white mother-of-pearl dialwith diamond markers.

The Longines Saint-Imier CollectionChronograph in a41-mm steel case hasan exclusive column-wheel movement.

Column-wheelchronograph in The Longines Saint-Imier Collection in a 39-mm rose-goldcase and black alligator strap

An elegant ladies’model in a 26-mmsteel and rose-goldcase, decorated with 60 diamonds



TIMES FOURAn exceptional model in "e Longines Saint-Imier Col-lection is the Longines Retrograde Moon Phases withfour retrograde displays. "e day of the week is shown at12 o’clock, the date on the right side of the dial, the sec-onds at the bottom and the second time zone to the le' ina 24-hour format. "ere is also a day/night display at thetop of the dial for the central time and a moon-phase indication at the bottom. Despite the high concentrationof information, it is presented in a balanced, symmetricaland easy-to-read arrangement, with some scales placedon the outer edge beyond the hour markers. From a tech-nical point of view, retrograde displays are seen as com-plications, so the technical re!nements required to showthis many are impressive. "e multi-function watch ispowered by the automatic movement L707, which wasdeveloped for Longines by ETA and is visible through thesapphire caseback. Recessed correction pushers for thedi#erent functions are provided in the 44-mm steel case."e model is available with a black or silvered dial and analligator strap. !

A balanced dialarrangement pro-vides wide-ranginginformation: TheLongines Saint-ImierCollection Retro-grade Moon Phases

Developed by ETAexclusively forLongines: the 16 1/2-lignes automaticmovement L707with four retrogradedisplays

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SPORTS | Timekeeping and Sponsorship

HORSES, CLAY

Longines has been involved insports timing since the last quarterof the 19th century. !e companystill remains "rmly involved in aWIDE RANGE OF DIFFERENTSPORTS – and provides additionalsupport in its active role as sponsor.BY ALEXANDER KRUPP



ongines is a true pioneer in the realm of timekeeping. !ecompany’s "rst chronograph caliber appeared as early as1878, and the "rst chronograph for the wrist was launchedin 1913. Both of these early milestones set Longines apartfrom other brands and established the company as a front-runner in the development of movements and watches.!e functionality of their timekeeping instruments gaverise to a signi"cant and long-lasting involvement in tim-ing sporting events, and later came to include sponsoringactivities as well.

Today, sports have returned to their earlier place ofprominence at Longines. Even though most watch com-panies are comfortable in specializing in one or two disci-plines, Longines actively participates in eight di#erentsports. Events are timed, athletes are provided with "-nancial support, and programs are developed to promotetalented youth. !e following pages will show thatLongines and sports truly belong together.

L


Horse racing is by far the most important sporting activityassociated with Longines and is also one of the oldest. !ecompany has been involved in this sport since 1881 and hasentered into numerous partnerships during this time.Among its various activities, Longines is the o$cial time-keeper and title partner of the Prix de Diane Longines atFrance’s Chantilly racecourse where each year the most tal-ented three-year-old "llies compete against one another.

!e company is present at many other famous Europeanevents such as England’s Royal Ascot races, the Grand PrixLongines Lydia Tesio in Rome, and the important LonginesGrosser Preis von Baden-Baden race in Germany. But it isalso Southeast Asia and the Middle East that plays a funda-mental role in equestrian sport sponsoring. !e watch

brand is involved in the Longines Singapore Gold Cup, theLongines Hong Kong International Races, the Emir’s Tro-phy in Qatar and the Dubai World Cup (see photos) – by farthe richest horse racing event in the world. Of the $10 mil-lion prize money, around $6 million go to the winner alone.

Longines’s activities in equestrian sports are clearlyconcentrated in Europe and Asia but do not end there. Ad-ditional partnerships across the oceans give the companythe opportunity to extend its reach throughout the world.!e Melbourne Cup Carnival in Australia takes place withthe company’s support as well as the Kentucky Derby inthe USA and the Gran Premio Longines in Mexico.Longines is the watch brand with the most comprehensivepresence on horse race courses throughout the world.

HORSERACING

MILESTONES IN TIMEKEEPING

Passion for horse racing: Longines

was the official time-keeper of the 2012Dubai World Cup.

Early link to sports: One of the first Longineschronographs with caliber 20H bears an engraving of a horse andjockey on the case back.

1878

Timekeeping and Sponsorship | SPORTS

!e long-time involvement of Longines in equestriansports is not limited to racing events, but extends also toshow jumping. As early as 1926, the company was thetimekeeper at the International Horse Show in Geneva.

Today, around the globe, only few riding tournamentscan be found without the presence of the watch brand.Longines is the o$cial timekeeper at CSIO events (Con-cours de Saut International O$ciel, or o$cial interna-tional show jumping) in many di#erent countries and isnamed as the title sponsor at several events.

!e most important tournaments for Longines includethe Dubai Show Jumping Championship, the EmiratesLongines Show Jumping League, the President’s Cup presented by Longines, the Longines Equestrian BeijingMasters, most of the events of the Nations Cup, and severalevents along the Global Champions Tour. !e company isalso the title sponsor of the Longines Hong Kong Masters– the only "ve-star riding event anywhere in Asia.

SHOWJUMPING

Mission on horse-back: Jane Richard,Longines Ambassa-

dor of Elegance, during the CSIO

Switzerland 2010

Longines of course appears at these competitions inits technical role, but is also represented by an o$cialambassador. !e Swiss professional show jumper JaneRichard is one of the many Ambassadors of Elegancethat personally link the name of Longines with sports,art and "lm.

At the CSIO events, the company also awards theLongines Press Award for Elegance to athletes to honorextraordinary aesthetic execution of their sport.

Public appearance:Even as early as 1896

Longines chrono-graphs were used fortiming international

sporting events 1896



While horse racing and jumping events are well known allover the world and most people have a good idea of whatthese sports are about, endurance riding is more of a re-gional specialty. !is discipline is very popular in MiddleEastern countries – probably for the reason that Arabianhorses are considered to be best suited for long-distanceriding. !ere are day-long races with hugely variable dis-tances as well as the more unusual longer races that extendover several days. Both types require riders to keep up awinning pace while "nding their way over a changinglandscape and still managing to bring a sound and healthyhorse over the "nish line. !e condition of each horse isveri"ed by a veterinarian’s exam a%er completion of therace (and before the winner is named).

HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Endurance Cup 2012: Longines donated the official watch for this prestigious event in Dubai, The Longines Column-WheelChronograph in gold.

ENDURANCE RIDING!e addition of two recent partnerships in endurance

riding adds yet another facet to Longines’s deep involve-ment in equestrian sports: !e company is title sponsor ofthe Longines FEI World Endurance Championships andalso the primary sponsor and o$cial timekeeper of theHH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum En-durance Cup in Dubai. Here, more than 100 riders fromaround 20 countries have met since 2008 to run the 160-km-long cross-country race. !e event is named for thePrime Minister of Dubai and Vice-President of the UnitedArab Emirates, whose son participates in the race.

Western audiences "nd the long-distance race particu-larly fascinating because of the di#erent emphasis placedon the best allocation of power and speed over the dura-tion of a lengthy race, rather than on brief top perform-ances. Along the way through the desert the competitorsare surrounded by vehicles to keep a constant supply ofwater at the ready. Water bottles are handed over repeat-edly to the riders who empty them over the necks of theirhorses to keep them cool during the race.

!e "rst rider to reach the "nish line and can also pres-ent a sound and healthy horse at the end of this exhaustingrace receives a gold trophy cup and a Longines watch.

Perfectly legible: This chrono-graph from 1897 has on its caseback a large-format tachymeter

track to determine average speeds. The central indicator

shows which of the rings counts.

1897




Alpine ski circuit:Longines times skiraces and is proudto have the Norwe-

gian skier Aksel Lund Svindal (picture) as Ambassador

of Elegance.

ALPINE SKIING!e collaboration between Longines and the Alpineski circuit began in 1933 when the watch company "rsttimed races in Chamonix, France. Since that timeLongines has regularly proven its abilities in the time-keeping of sporting events.

Today the demands of timekeeping technologiesare higher than ever before. For a downhill race, for example, the International Ski Federation FIS requiresthe overall time plus five intermediate times and twospeed measurements. Every piece of data must appearon the television screen immediately and with no timedelay.

Many years of experience as a timekeeper in somany di#erent athletic disciplines has given Longines

the expertise to meet the high demands of skiing andmade the company especially well-quali"ed to be theo$cial timekeeper of the Alpine World Cup and worldchampionships. Longines currently appears each sea-son at about 80 races throughout Europe and NorthAmerica and provides professional timekeeping anddata handling for television coverage.

Aside from timing, Longines has also been involvedin this sport on a more personal level. For several yearsnow the company has sponsored Norwegian all-rounder Aksel Lund Svindal who has won the WorldCup in four of its "ve disciplines. Other highlights ofhis career include an Olympic win and four champi-onship titles at the Alpine World Cups.


1911The “broken wire” system: Automatic timing with a wire at the finish line was developed in 1911 and used for the first time one year later at the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Meet in Basel.

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28 | WatchTime

Since 2007, Longines is the o$cial timekeeper of theFrench Open at Roland-Garros. Additionally, the com-pany supports the youth by the Longines Future TennisAces tournament and the Longines Rising Tennis Starsprogram.

!e French Open has a special signi"cance within theGrand Slam series because it is the only tournamentplayed on clay court. !is makes the game slower than ongrass or hard courts, extends the time of play, and de-mands extraordinary stamina from these top professionalathletes. For the players, as well as for the spectators, the

TENNIS!FRENCH OPENFrench Open, like the Australian Open, the WimbledonChampionships and the US Open, o#er the excitingchance to win more ranking points than anywhere else. Avictory at these tournaments can easily determine whowill be named the world’s top tennis player.

Since the timing of tennis matches does not requiremeasuring fractions of a second, intermediate times orspeed, Longines provides the special display boards on theedge of the courts. !ese “corner clocks” inform the play-ers and audience of the time, length of play and the tem-perature on the court.

Longines Rising Tennis Stars development program: The Italian tennis player Francesca Schiavone (third from left) with international up-and-coming talent

Strong partnership:Longines ambassa-dors Stefanie Grafand Andre Agassisupport children

through two charita-ble organizations.


Auto racing: The 1933 GrandPrix in Brazil wastimed by Longines.

1933WWW.WATCHTIME.COM


However, the involvement of Longines is not limited toproviding technical equipment, but includes a close rela-tionship to the players. And who would be a better ambas-sador than one of the most successful tennis players of alltime? Andre Agassi has been the face of Longines on sandcourts around the world. With assistance from Longineshe promotes the sport of tennis and raises funds for hischaritable organization, the Andre Agassi Foundation forEducation.

Agassi’s wife, the renowned German tennis player Stefanie Graf, is also a Longines ambassador. She heads acharitable organization, Children for Tomorrow, withthe goal of supporting and initiating projects that pro-vide assistance to children and families who have be-

Winner of the youth tournament,Longines FutureTennis Aces 2011:Marko Osmakcic, holding his trophy

Superstars and members of the new tennis generation: Mansour Bahrami, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier with the best players of the tournament, Marko Osmakcic (Switzerland)and Artem Dubrivny (Russia), before an exhibition match in Roland-Garros

come victims of war, persecution, exile and violence.(You "nd more information on the organizations of Grafand Agassi in chapter „Ambassadors of Elegance.“)

For the annual Longines Future Tennis Aces tourna-ment Longines invites children under the age of 13 to theRoland-Garros stadium to compete. Winners proceedto an exhibition match against two legendary ex-profes-sional players.

Slightly older is the group of gi%ed players supportedby the Longines Rising Tennis Stars program. Since theFrench Open in Spring 2011, the sponsoring programhas bene"ted 17- to 23-year-old players from the entireworld. It’s one way Longines ensures that future talentdoes not remain undiscovered due to "nancial hardshipor from lack of support.

Watch tower: Longines was present at the 1954 Football World Cup in Switzerland.

1954LONGINES SPECIAL WatchTime | 29

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30 | WatchTime LON-

Gymnastics on the &oor or on an apparatus requires athletes in topphysical and mental condition. Vir-tually no other discipline demandssuch a variety of highly complexmovements, and – even more di$-cult – these must also be executedsmoothly and seamlessly. !e ele-gance of gymnastics originates fromthe special rating system at compe-titions. !e jury awards points forperfect technique as well as impec-cable body position during the exe-cution of all the di#erent move-ments on the &oor exercise, bars,pommel horse, rings and balancebeam, as well as in the jumping disciplines such as the vault andspringboard.

Longines has been involved inGymnastics as early as 1912, andsince 1989 the company has been theo$cial timekeeper and data handlerat the World Championship of theInternational Federation of Gym-nastics (FIG). With the technologyprovided by Longines the name andpersonal data of each competitor are

ARTISTICGYMNASTICS

Harmony in move-ment: Athletes in the

2010 World Champion-ship in Rotterdam,

The Netherlands


No one faster: Thephoto-finish systemChronocinégines ,

developed in 1954 ,recorded DonaldCampbell’s 1964

world speed record of 648.6 km/h.

1954


Happy winners: Romania’sAna Porgras and Japan’s

Kohei Uchimura won theLongines Prize for Elegance

at the World Championshipsin October 2011 in Tokyo.

displayed to the judges and the pub-lic. !ese include the total points andtimes from the individual events,since every exercise has a speci"cmaximum time.

Longines also takes the opportu-nity presented by the elegant, athleticambience of the World Cup competi-tions to award the Longines Prize forElegance to one male and one femalegymnast. Winners are selected by a

Ice and snow:Longines timed eventsat the 1969 Alpine skicompetitions inKitzbühel, Austria.

1969LONGINES SPECIAL WatchTime | 31

jury comprised of representativesfrom the watch industry, FIG Presi-dent Dr. Bruno Grandi and formergymnasts. Going even farther be-yond the o$cial results of the compe-tition, the jurors pay particular atten-tion to the grace, beauty and har-mony of the athlete’s movement – elegance in the best sense of the word.Each winner receives a Longineswatch and a monetary prize.


In this sport, gymnastics and dance are combined andperformed to instrumental music in a complicateddisplay of extreme physical control and &owing move-ment. Clubs, hoops, balls and ribbon are integrated inharmonic routines where certain speci"c elements ofdi$culty (such as pirouettes or jumps) must be exe-cuted faultlessly. Like artistic gymnastics, the worldchampionships are organized by the InternationalGymnastics Federation (FIG) and again, Longines isresponsible for timekeeping, calculation of points anddisplay of the results.

Longines awards a Prize for Elegance here, too. Inaddition, the Russian gymnast Evgenia Kanaevastrengthens the company’s association with this sportin her role as Ambassador of Elegance. Countedamong her numerous successes are Olympic victoriesin Beijing in 2008 and in London in 2012, as well asmultiple European and World Championship titles in both individual and team competitions, makingKanaeva one of the most successful Ambassadors ofElegance ever to represent the Longines name.

RHYTHMICGYMNASTICS

Expressive perform-ance: The LonginesPrize for Elegance wentto France’s DelphineLedoux at the 2011World Championshipsin Montpellier.



Progress in technology:Times began to be showndirectly on televisionscreens in the 1970s.

Maximum grace:Evgenia Kanaevaduring the Gym-nastics WorldChampionships2010 in Moscow

1970s


LONGI-

Competitive archery steadily continues to gain in popular-ity. !e most commonly practiced archery discipline – andthe only one included in the Olympics – uses a recurve bowwhich has stabilizers and complicated targeting sights.

Anyone wishing to attain international success in thissport must have a high degree of concentration and preci-sion, and quiet hands and nerves – the same skills that that

World champions: Erika Anschutz and Rodger

Willet, Jr. received theLongines Prize for

Precision and monetaryaward from Longines

representatives.

are needed for traditional watchmaking. Reason enoughfor Longines to be the o$cial partner and title sponsor ofthe Archery World Cup since 2009. And as a complementto the Longines Prize for Elegance, the company alsoawards the Longines Prize for Precision each year on theoccasion of the World Cup "nals: an honor specially cre-ated for precision sports. !

Highest precision:USA’s Erika Anschutzwon the Archery WorldCup final in September2011 in Istanbul.

Racing: In the 1980s,Longines was the official

Formula 1 timekeeper and partner to the Ferrari

and Renault teams.

ARCHERY

1980s


INTERVIEW | Nayla Hayek

ongines has been extremely successful for many yearsnow. Currently the brand is selling more than a millionwatches per year. What, in your opinion, are the reasonsfor this level of success?Longines is attractive to women who place great value inelegance and to men who are interested in sports, andvice versa. !is is a high-quality product. And the com-pany, which is both very traditional and modern, exudesa great deal of charisma and carries this messagethroughout the entire world. But most importantly, thecompany’s success is due to the wonderful work per-formed by Longines employees worldwide.

How is the success of Longines distributed geographi-cally on di!erent international markets?Swatch Group watch brands are all active worldwide. I can-not reveal how they perform in speci"c markets, however.

Among other things, you’ve been responsible in the pastfor the markets in India and the Middle East. What de-velopments do you see in the watch markets there, bothnow and in the future?My involvement in the Middle East is ongoing. Bothmarkets are currently performing very well and all indi-cations suggest that this will continue.

WatchTime spoke to NAYLA HAYEK, Chair of the Board of Directors for Swatch Group.

LAND TOP

Longines is also very successful in China. To what doyou attribute this particular success?Longines has been active on the Chinese market for quitesome time. !e preparatory ground work there is nowbeginning to bear fruit. Chinese customers purchaseLongines watches for the same reasons as those in othermarkets – they want a high-quality elegant or sportySwiss watch with a unique #air. And the Chinese market,with its population of 1.3 billion, is currently the largestmarket in the world and is in no way fully developed yet!

Which markets could be better developed for the brand?!e American market, for example, still has potential forLongines.

What strategic role does Longines play within the brandportfolios of Swatch Group?All of our watch companies play a strategic role, but it isthe interplay of all the brands that is most signi"cantfrom a strategic point of view.

What is your personal view of Longines? How wouldyou describe the Longines image?All Swatch Group watch brands have a speci"c message,not just an image. And the message of Longines is ele-gance, linked with tradition and top performance. !ebrand conveys these qualities very speci"cally and, aswe’re happy to report, quite successfully.

Longines has enjoyed a long history in timing sportingevents and is now involved in a wide range of sports suchas skiing, tennis, gymnastics and equestrian sports. Arethere other sports besides these that would be a goodmatch with Longines?Athletic elegance is the common feature that links all thedi$erent Longines sport disciplines. Currently theLongines sports calendar is very full – but that doesn’tmean that in the future other sports won’t play a role.!ere are no plans in the regard at the moment, however.

PERFORMANCEINTERVIEWED BY RÜDIGER BUCHER


Nayla Hayek withPius Schwizer, win-ner of the LonginesTrophy, at the CSIOSwitzerland 2011 inSt. Gallen

!at is very di%cult for me to judge. You would have toask the people who know me best. What I did learn fromhim is most of all to be myself, and to believe in myself,and remain true to myself.

You have been a successful horse breeder for manyyears. Can you tell us exactly what you do?Yes, I do breed horses. When I am with the horses I dowhat all horse owners do – I look a&er them, feed them, I care …

What is it about horses that fascinates you?Just like with people. Not every horse fascinates me to thesame extent. Each breed, and each horse within thatbreed is so very di$erent.

How do you coordinate this work with your responsibil-ities as Chair of the Board of Directors at Swatch Group?Sometimes it is di%cult to keep everything under oneumbrella. But I try my best.

What characteristics does a successful breeder need tobring to the table?Patience and imagination are "rst and foremost, alongwith the courage to make decisions.

Are there parallels to the watch business?Well, you can see for yourself …

Longines sponsors many di!erent equestrian sports.Does this give you a stronger emotional connection toLongines?I have a strong emotional connection to all the SwatchGroup watch brands. Watches are fascinating objects inthemselves. And naturally the equestrian world is veryclose to my heart and is the reason why I’m o&en presentat equestrian sporting events, especially when Longinesis responsible for o%cial timekeeping.

Longines o!ers most of its watches in the price class thatranges between 1000 and 4000 Swiss francs. Will thatremain so in the future?!is market position has proven itself to be very successfulfor Longines and will most certainly remain so. But just likemost of the Swatch Group watch brands, Longines also o$ers exclusive timepieces that cost a great deal more. !

Your father, Nicolas G. Hayek, is cited as the savior ofthe Swiss watch industry, as well as a great visionary.What, from your current perspective, were his most out-standing achievements?Yes, my father was truly a visionary who accomplished agreat deal in the watch industry. His most outstandingachievements are well documented, and they continue tobe fresh in my mind today and will remain with me mywhole life.

"e early 1980s was an exciting time. Your father’s deci-sion to merge the weakened watch groups SSIH andASUAG to create SMH (now known as Swatch Group)was a revolutionary event for the watch industry as wellas for your family. How did you perceive this at the time?As you say, it was a revolutionary event for us too, and itdemanded a huge amount of personal involvement andemotion from my father and my mother as well.

What characteristics did you inherit from your father?And what are among the most important things youlearned from him?

CHRONOGRAPHS | Elapsed Time


MASTER

Longines produced its FIRST CHRONO-GRAPH IN 1878 andstarted a tradition thathas lasted for decades.BY GISBERT L. BRUNNER

Automatic Cal.L688.2 with

column wheel, from2011. Developed

and manufacturedexclusively for

Longines by ETA

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n the latter part of the 19th century, the Swiss watch in-dustry experienced a manufacturing crisis. Many own-ers of watch assembly factories (known as comptoirs) hadfailed to convert their labor-intensive operations to ac-commodate more mechanized production methods.Not so in America. Watch manufacturers there recog-nized the need to update their production process andtook action. !ose seeking these revolutionary innova-tions had, in the meantime, already made their presenceknown in Switzerland. !e trade commission, “Sociétéintercantonale des industries de Jura,” formed byLongines head Ernest Francillon and other manufactur-ers from La Chaux-de-Fonds, sent a delegation to theWorld’s Fair in Philadelphia of 1876, which was organ-ized to commemorate the country’s "rst 100 years of in-dependence. !e Swiss watch manufacturers never fullyovercame their surprise at what they found there. One oftheir members, Edouard Favre from Le Locle, reportedthe following: “We visited an enormous showcase be-longing to the American Watch Company of Waltham,the largest watch company in the USA which, accordingto the inscription, contained the following exhibits:2,200 gold and silver watches and watch movements that

I“Lugrin” pocket

chronograph,Cal. 20 H. Diame-

ter = 45.1 mm.From 1878

were the result of six-day production (at 10 hours perday).” With the use of precision machinery, the companywas producing large quantities of components for simplewatch movements – and high quality ones at that. !isresulted in an annual production run of 250,000 unitsand growing. And it came as a shock to the Swiss repre-sentatives.

AMERICAN SUCCESS STORY WITH SWISS SUPPORT!e progress made by Swiss immigrants in the U.S. wasmade possible with the help and the support of other im-migrants who put their creativity and experience to gooduse in their new homeland. One of these immigrants wasHenry Alfred Lugrin, born in 1848. Already a trainedwatchmaker at age 20, Lugrin came to America in searchof opportunity. At the New York watch sales agency J. Eu-gène Robert (which in 1879 created the Longines im-porter, A. Wittnauer), Lugrin found a welcoming envi-ronment for his many new ideas. Robert allowed him tomake prototypes and to apply for patents for his innova-tive designs. No fewer than 20 patents were issued to Lugrin in the years between 1876 and 1897. He can becounted among the most signi"cant designers of mod-ern stopwatches and chronographs. !e best example ofhis work is a simple yet ingenious chronograph with anintelligent vertical clutch. It was reliable and accurate andcould be produced fairly inexpensively thanks to a rela-tively small number of components. Yet this design wasstill a far cry from today’s friction clutches. !e watchmovement and the chronograph mechanism were con-nected by wheels with beveled #anks and extremely "negear teeth. !e greatest advantage of this module was thefact that it could be assembled on the back of any of thecommonly found half and two-thirds plate movements.!is allowed the industry to meet the increasing demandfor watches with a stopwatch mechanism without havingto invest in costly in-house designs. Assembly of thechronograph mechanism on the movement side had aconsiderable advantage over assembly on the dial side,which had been practiced in Switzerland since 1862, be-cause watchmakers could perform service and repairwork without having to remove the hands and the dial.

Henry Alfred Lugrin’s relatively simple MODULAR

PRINCIPLE won over the management of Longines.


INITIAL SUCCESSES, TOGETHER!e relatively simple modular principle won over themanagement at Longines. Because there was still no in-house chronograph movement with an integrated con-struction, the company acquired a license to use the newmodern mechanism. !e Cal. 20 H debuted with thismechanism in 1878. !e 20-lignes hand-wound move-ment 20 L, which was known for its reliability and accu-racy, served as the base. Lugrin’s mechanism expanded itto become a rather simple chronograph without a min-utes counter. Its crown pusher controlled the three func-tions – start, stop and reset – consecutively, via a columnwheel. !is was a crucial "rst step. !e engineers atLongines then had to adapt Lugrin’s ideas so that theycould be integrated into the production methods of themanufacture. !ey found an elegant solution to theproblem. !e Lépine pocketwatches had become quitepopular, o$ering a variety of exceptionally beautifulcases. !e product’s designers paid special attention tothe "ne enamel dials that were carefully "nished to thelast detail. Longines was on its way to becoming a timingspecialist with its mechanical stopwatches and chrono-graphs. And it was precisely these timepieces that gaveLongines an overwhelming advantage in the U.S. marketwhere it was possible to build simple, good-qualitymovements. But building complications like a chrono-graph, which was of the greatest interest to engineers,scientists, athletes and the military, was admittedly muchmore di%cult.

EVOLUTION, BUT NOT YET A REVOLUTIONLongines took the next step into the future in 1889 withthe Cal. 19 CH, based on the pocketwatch movement19A from 1880. Its diameter measured 19 lignes, equal to43 mm. !e Cal. 19A and its Lépine design (with crownwinding and three screwed chatons) already di$eredgreatly from the watch movements built by the company

Double-sided pocketchronograph, Cal. 19.73,ca. 1890, with two enameldials. Reverse side has adouble tachymeter trackand additional small hand.The colored segment provides an unambiguouskey to the correct track.

Gold savonnettechronograph withCal. 19.73, enameldial, 30-minute totalizer. From 1913

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in its early years. !e design of the movement ful"lledmanagement’s demands for more economical, mecha-nized production methods without having to abandonthe user’s requirements for precise time measurement.!e chronograph mechanism mounted on the back ofthe three-quarter plate still bore Lugrin’s mark to somedegree, for example, the continued use of the verticalclutch with wolf-teeth wheels. In contrast to the Cal.20 H, this design had a totalizer that recorded the revolu-tions of the chronograph hand. !e form of the hammerfor resetting the stopwatch and counter hands alreadyshowed similarities to later designs. Once the large, bi-metallic split screw balance achieved 18,000 vph, it waspossible to use the 9-mm high Cal. 19 CH, "rst availablein 1889, to precisely record elapsed time to the nearest1/5 of a second.

SUCCESS STORYBecause the economically produced Cal. 19CH made iteasy for dealers to o$er these watches at very reasonableprices, it also won great favor in America. Longines al-ready had another very high-quality chronograph move-ment when the 19 CH "rst appeared. Elaborate leversand an elegant cam "ne adjustment system in some mod-

els made the Cal. 19.73 (from 1887) a real treat to behold.From a technical point of view, the design with columnwheel, classical horizontal clutch, jumping 30-minutescounter and two separate reset hammers was also top ofthe line. For a number of years this watch movement withcrown pusher was particularly well suited for a widespectrum of open-face pocketwatches – particularlydouble-sided designs with two dials. !e front of thewatch, with a chronograph, totalizer and hands forhours, minutes and seconds, looked like a classical meas-uring device. In contrast, the back of the watch was de-signed purely as a stopwatch and le& a great deal of #exi-bility to add scales tailored to individual needs. Automo-bile drivers were given a special spiraling tachymeterscale to measure times over a distance of up to 1,000 meters that took into account average speeds ranging

Dial of a chronographwith Cal. 18.72, without totalizers

Far left: Cal. 19.73N, hand-wind, 19 lignes, height = 7.4 mm. Production began in 1909. Left: Cal. 18.72, hand-wind (diameter = 39.7 mm, height = 6.8 mm). Production began in 1929.


from 12 to 240 kilometers per hour. Another specialtrack design was calibrated to a distance of 100 meters toaccurately measure slower speeds.

THINNER AND FLATTERWhen Longines introduced its Cal. 19.73 to the market,customers were satis"ed with a "nished height of 9 mm,but thinner pocketwatches had already become morefashionable by the early 20th century. !is trend was un-avoidable, even in Saint-Imier. !ere seemed to be noreason to develop a completely new watch movement inview of the excellent characteristics of the 19.73 caliber.Its mechanism functioned perfectly and still o$eredmany potential design options. !e engineers atLongines used this to their advantage. By 1909 the heighthad been reduced to a remarkable 1.6 mm, while provid-ing the same performance. !e movement was renamed19.73N (the “N” stood for “nouveau” or “new”). Tradi-

tional features included a variation with a jumping 30-minutes counter, while a concurrent version had anhour totalizer geared toward newer trends. No wonderthis caliber was well suited for a wide variety of chrono-graph types: pocketwatches with an open Lépine de-sign, elegant gold savonnettes with hunter cases, eventable clocks. Depending on the design of the dial, themovement’s accuracy ranged between 1/5 and 1/10 of asecond.

!e wide-ranging possibilities o$ered by the Cal.19.73N became clear in the years a&er 1909. A funda-mental modi"cation of the oscillating system with asmaller balance and more powerful hairspring made itpossible to record elapsed time precisely to the 1/100 of asecond. !e central chronograph seconds hand circledthe dial in only three seconds. !is high-tempo versionnaturally drew down the available power reserve and re-duced it to a few hours. !e lack of a time display made itstrictly a stopwatch rather than a chronograph. !ecounter hand recorded time intervals of up to three min-utes. !e system with a strong hairspring achieved360,000 vph and required a modi"cation of the chrono-graph mechanism on the back of the movement. Two ad-ditional levers controlled by the column wheel inter-acted with the balance wheel for starting and stopping.

Moreover, there was also a special countdown versionwith a frequency of "ve hertz (36,000 vph) and a 15-minute totalizer. !is stopwatch for bombardiers had achrono hand that moved in the normal clockwise direc-tion. Pressing the stop pusher on the right next to thecrown and another push on the crown itself activated anintermediate wheel on the movement side that movedthe chronograph hand to the le&, starting from its lastposition.

Pocket chronographfrom 1955 with split-seconds hand-windCal. 18.89 (diameter= 18 lignes). Produc-tion of this move-ment began in 1905.


ALTERNATIVES!e advantages, multiple uses and the resulting successof the Cal. 19.73N can be seen in its 30 years of uninter-rupted production. !ese specially equipped timepieceswere used in sports arenas, laboratories, research facili-ties and industrial operations. Private citizens and mili-tary personnel alike found reason to place their trust inthe movement. Only in the late 1920s did Longines de-cide that its 43-mm diameter was too large. Changes alsobegan to be made to its height. !e next step in its evolu-tion would have to wait – the 19.73N had set a very highstandard.

In 1928 the "rst prototypes appeared of the new basicCal. 18.72, with a diameter of 39.7 mm and a height of 6.8mm. Production began one year later. Again, a very clas-sically designed watch movement with column wheel,jumping 30-minutes counter and a frequency of 2.5 hertzformed an ideal foundation for later developments.!ese included designs with a frequency that was twiceas high. !e advent of World War II gave rise to a plain,high-frequency stopwatch without a time display. Its tinybalance vibrated at a frequency of 50 Hertz (360,000 vph)for accuracy to the 1/100-second.

DIVIDED TIMEA split-seconds mechanism (rattrapante in French)can time two or more events that begin at the same timebut are of different lengths. This is achieved thanks to acomplex and quite expensive additional mechanism

that couples the split seconds with the chronographhand. The split seconds hand can be stopped as often as desired with a special pusher and its result can besynchronized with the continuously running chrono-graph hand.

Longines had to address this area as well. Its engi-neers returned to an 18-lignes base movement. In 1903they upgraded this movement with a column-wheelchronograph with semi-instantaneous minutescounter. After the Lépine movement met their expecta-tions, the next step involved adding the rattrapantemechanism. The second column wheel it required wasstill located beneath the dial in this first split-secondsdesign, presented in 1905. Normally, braking action isachieved by two jaws that engage with the wheel like apair of pliers, but in the Cal. 18.89 this occurred only onone side. The split seconds was stopped by applyingpressure to one side of the finely geared split-secondswheel mounted above the chronograph runner. Be-cause of the one-sided wear to the bearing, Longinessaw no real future for this complicated but still imper-fectly designed movement.

!e 19.73N appeared to o$er a better base for a split-seconds chronograph. Longines presented the "nishedproduct in 1922. !is feature was prominently placed onthe back of the movement, equipped with a double jaw-like clip and a second column wheel. !e polished covershowed the high level of attention to detail – it was meantto protect the outer ends of the clip, and though it was

Split-seconds chrono-graph derived from

Cal. 19.73N, secondcolumn wheel and

classical jaw mecha-nism to control the

split-seconds. Produc-tion began in 1922.

Hand-wind Cal. 260 with split-seconds (diameter = 24 lignes,height = 14.55 mm), 36,000 vph.Production began in 1957.

Elapsed Time | CHRONOGRAPHS


rarely ever needed, Longines wanted the best of all possi-ble solutions. !is watch movement was certainly thebest that the market had to o$er at that time.

LARGER SIZE, GREATER ACCURACYIn 1938 Longines developed a chronograph that was spe-cially designed for use at major sporting events. For thedesign of the giant 24-lignes (54.14-mm) movement,Longines’s engineers took the highly accurate Cal. 24.99from 1908. Longines had achieved great notoriety atchronometer competitions in Neuchâtel, Kew-Tedding-ton and Washington D.C. with this movement. From thevery beginning, #exibility was emphasized in upgradingits mechanics. !e chronograph was introduced in 1939in a basic version with a semi-instantaneous 30-minutetotalizer that measured elapsed time to the exact 1/5 of asecond, thanks to its large screw balance that oscillated ata frequency of 2.5 hertz. Its intended use at sports com-petitions made the split seconds indispensable. How-ever, Longines’s engineers decided against placing themechanism on the back of the movement. Instead, theypositioned the column wheel, braking lever, split-seconds wheel and its operating lever directly on thefront of the plate. !is made the long, very delicate split-seconds arbor no longer essential, but servicing thewatch required the removal of the hands and dial. An ad-vanced feature of this chronograph rattrapante with twopushers was a hack mechanism to ensure precise settingto the exact second. Variations with a smaller balanceand a frequency of "ve hertz accurately recorded time in-tervals to the 1/10 second but did not show the time. !iswas also the case with the chronograph that measuredthe smallest time interval, which was produced well intothe quartz era of the 1970s. In this case, the 1/100-secondmeasurement was possible thanks to a balance frequencyof 50 Hertz.

Even though Longines revolutionized the timing ofsporting events in 1954 with its quartz-controlled photo-"nish system “Chronocinégines,” the company contin-ued to manufacture mechanical pocket chronographs.O%cial timekeepers placed their trust in these instru-ments because of their proven reliability and precisionand could not put their full con"dence behind modernelectronics, always relying on back-up timers. For thisreason Longines developed the 24-lignes split-secondschronograph again in the 1950s, which produced thelarge, technically complex Cal. 260 in 1957 that couldtime events accurately to a 1/10 second. In contrast to theprevious model, the added feature for the rattrapante wasagain placed on the conventional side of the movement,the back. Its most unusual feature consisted of the rota-tional speed of the chronograph and its split-secondshands. Only 30 seconds – not 60 – were needed to circlethe dial, and that allowed for a wider and more precisescale. However, timekeepers were unhappy with themodi"ed dial design. Precise reading of elapsed intervalswas possible only in conjunction with the contrasting

Hand-wind Cal. 262with split-secondsfunction, diameter =24 lignes, height =14.55 mm; 36,000vph. Production began in 1966.

The split-seconds chronographbased on Cal. 19.73N was

certainly THE BEST that themarket had to offer at that time.

WWW.WATCHTIME.COM



15-minute totalizer. Demands for change were loud andclear. Longines had to react. !e Cal. 262 from 1966again had hands that traveled around the dial once every60 seconds and ensured that legibility did not su$er.Frank Vaucher, a Longines timekeeper and a talented in-ventor, placed a so-called “vernier” track at the tip of theorange split-seconds hand. !is was an adapted form ofthe “Nonius,” which the Portuguese mathematicianNunes had invented in the 16th century to show 1/10 of awhole. Operation is actually very simple: a&er stoppingthe split-seconds hand, one of the nine yellow numerals(that correspond exactly with the outer 60-incrementtrack) shows the exact 1/10 of a second measured a&erthe last full second.

With the introduction of the Cal. 262 in the late 1960s,Longines ended its involvement as a producer of precisechronographs for the pocket or lanyard. !e electronicsdeveloped in house to perfection had pushed aside themechanical systems that had been developed over thepreceding 110 years. High-performance sports hadevolved to the point that di$erences between top athleteswere reduced in some cases to such small time spans thateven ultra-fast ticking systems had to work precisely inhuman hands – which, of course, are always subject to in-dividual reactions.

CHRONOGRAPHS FOR THE WRISTA look into Longines’s archives reveals the "rst time-pieces created for the wrist around 1896. !e "rst wrist-watch chronographs followed in 1913. Simple, roundcases housed a completely in-house movement with col-umn wheel and horizontal clutch. !e regularly updatedCal. 13.33Z was produced until 1936 and had a diameterof 13 lignes or 29 mm. !e height, at six mm, remainedwithin the range of its contemporaries. A crown pusherconsecutively controlled the three functions: start, stopand reset. Setting the hands using the crown in an ex-tended position was not yet possible in the early versionsof the movement. !e crown function was switched bypressing a small stylus on the edge of the case at 2 o’clock.A study of the extraordinary mechanism reveals certainsimilarities with its larger cousins of the same period.Among its unique features was the attachment of thejumper spring for the minutes counter driving wheel at-tached to the balance bridge. !e chronograph hand ad-vanced forward in increments of 1/5 of a second. A&ereach revolution the 30-minute totalizer jumped accu-rately ahead by one position. Longines o$ered simplerdials plus the addition of a wide variety of di$erent scales,such as production and pulse counters, tachymetersand/or telemeters. Designs were extensive, as the manu-facture produced the movement in both savonnette andLépine versions.

In addition to the Cal. 13.33Z Longines also o$ered inthe 1920s and 1930s a 5-mm hand-wound movementwhose ébauche originated from the renowned supplierValjoux. For early wristwatch chronographs with theLongines logo, it was easy to recognize the 15-lignes Cal.22GH even without checking inside the case, thanks tothe chronograph pusher located between 1 and 2 o’clock.!e purchased ébauche did not change the exacting de-mands of carefully beveling and polishing all steel partsof the mechanism visible from the back.

Early wristwatchchronograph with

the 13-lignes hand-wind Cal. 13.33Z

(diameter = 29.33 mm,height = 6 mm).

Production began in 1913. This watchwith enamel dial is

from ca. 1915.


EXCLUSIVITY AND VERSATILITYDespite its many exceptional features, the chronographmovement 13.33Z had two drawbacks. First, its complexdesign was relatively expensive. Second, the presence ofonly one pusher was no longer considered modern in the1930s. By 1936 the Cal. 13 ZN was introduced in varia-tions with one or two pushers. Because chronographswere so desirable in the 1930s and Longines tried toachieve vertical integration of the production process foreconomic reasons, even the tools for creating the steelparts were made in-house. !is provided greater #exibil-ity and encouraged rapid advancement in product evolu-tion. And the 13ZN provided Longines with the aura ofeven greater exclusivity since only a few watch brands atthat time had their own in-house chronograph move-ments. Even the most well-respected brands on the mar-ket generally purchased their ébauches from the chrono-graph specialist Valjoux SA. Product planning geared to-wards versatility can be seen at Longines just from theirtotalizers: classic presentation of the semi-instantaneous30-minutes counter at 3 o’clock, and the modern, exclu-sive combination of centralized 60-minutes and o$set12-hour totalizers in 1942. Both advanced smoothlywhen the chronograph function was engaged. In the de-velopment of the hour counter, Longines engineersclearly were thinking outside the box. !e Cal. 13ZNstood out with its integrated construction when it wasstill more common to place the barrel-powered mecha-nism beneath the dial.

Not least of all, the 13 ZN also had a #yback functionthat permitted quick resets and restarts of the chrono-graph without a hack mechanism, all with a single pressof a button. !is function was used by airplane pilotswhen they #ew in circular paths.

Gold wristwatchchronograph, manu-

factured ca. 1940, with the column-

wheel Cal. 13ZN. Diameter = 29.8 mm,

height = 6.05 mm. Production began

in 1936.

Greater exclusivity: Only a few watch brands

of that time had their OWN IN!HOUSE

chronograph movements.


ECONOMICAL ALTERNATIVESA look at the range of performance of the Cal. 13 ZNshows that it is one of the most extraordinary and im-pressive chronograph movements available for watches.But exclusivity and cra&smanship also demand a com-paratively high price, which limited the marketability ofthe movement. In order to remain viable in a di%cult andcompetitive market, Longines needed to o$er a moreeconomical alternative. A&er many years of preliminarywork, this was achieved in 1947 in the form of the 13'-lignes, 6.2-mm-high, hand-wound movement, 30CH.Even though the management in Saint-Imier paid spe-cial attention to costs in design and production, noshortcuts were taken in matters of quality. !e priciercolumn wheel was again selected over a more economi-cal shuttle, and even the steel components were "nished.Longines had set high standards for chronographs andretained them, despite the pressure of the additional expense. Longines o$ered the Cal. 30CH in classic andsporty cases starting in 1947.

OTHER STOPWATCH MECHANISMSLongines broke new ground with complete chronographmechanisms and much more. For speci"c applicationsthe brand also built simpler mechanisms that were re-duced to their functional bare bones, like the Sidero-graph and Stop Seconde, which have become favoritecollectors’ pieces.

!e Stop Seconde used as its base the 12-lignes, hand-wound movement 12.68Z, "rst launched in 1938. It op-erated without an independently functioning chrono-graph hand for start, stop and reset functions. !e min-utes counter was added to the updated version intro-

Gold wristwatchchronograph fromca. 1950 with thecolumn-wheel Cal.30CH (diameter =29.8 mm, height =6.20 mm). Produc-tion began in 1947.

Gold wristwatchchronograph fromthe 1950s with the

column-wheel Cal.30CH. Dial shows

blue tachymeter andred telemeter track.

Diameter = 37 mm



duced in 1939. Unique to its type was the central pair ofhands that could be controlled by a push-piece. Pressingthe push-piece caused the horizontal clutch to open andthe hands to remain in position until the push-piece wasreleased, at which point they began to advance again im-mediately. !e reset function required pressing down thepush-piece fully. !is type of mechanism required fewercomponents, so Longines was able to omit the costly col-umn wheel. Moreover, its height of 5.9 to 6.1 mm wasalso easier to work with. Even though the manufactureused high-quality components such as a Glucydur screwbalance and a self-adjusting overcoil hairspring andspared no expense in "nishing, the price was still consid-erably less than other conventional chronographs. Butsales did not achieve expected levels due to massive export restrictions during World War II.

!e extraordinary Siderograph was also introducedin 1939. !is watch represented a complex developmentin the evolution of the Lindbergh Hour Angle watch usedto determine exact longitude in aircra& navigation incombination with a sextant. Its most striking feature wasthe "nely detailed dial design that permitted degrees andminutes to be read in sidereal time. To accomplish this,Longines’s watchmakers adapted the hand-woundmovement 37.9 to equal the duration of the average sidereal day, which is three minutes and 56.555 secondsshorter than an average solar day. !e Siderograph wasnot designed to tell standard, civilian time (measuringexactly 86,400 seconds per day). !e split-seconds jawsand column wheel were mounted on the back of thewatch movement. A resetting device was essential in thiscase. Pressing the pusher at 4 o’clock stopped the splitseconds. Pressing the pusher again allowed it to catch up and synchronize with the continuously advancingsecond hand.

Steel model “StopSeconde” from the1940s. Hand-windCal. 12.68Z Stop, diameter = 27 mm,height = 6.1 mm, central 60-minute totalizer. Production began in 1938/1939.

Sidereal time model“Siderograph” withdouble rattrapante

and contacts for timesignals, from ca. 1940


A NEW ERA!e 1950s saw the end of chronograph manufacturing atLongines. Increasingly steep competition demanded anew vision based on superior quality, mass-producedébauches such as those produced by Valjoux – one rea-son why the hand-wound column-wheel movementValjoux 72 is found in the “Nonius” model made in 1964and other chronographs. Beginning in the late 1970s thehighly favored, sturdy Valjoux 7750 was placed more andmore o&en in watch cases. First introduced in 1973, theautomatic movement – with a balance frequency of 4 hertz, a rocking pinion and cam – quickly became anessential part of the chronograph scene.

!e new century brought about many changes andLongines was no longer satis"ed with the 7750 alone.Company management turned to the ébauche manufac-turer ETA – a company owned by the Swatch Group andowner of the rights to Valjoux – with a request to build anexclusive automatic movement. !ey wanted the newmovement to have all the positive features of the 7750 butstill contain a classic column wheel while remainingwithin a reasonable price range. A&er several years of re-search and development, the brand-new L688.2 caliberdebuted in 2009. !is new movement was developed and"nanced by Longines and produced by ETA. ETA chris-

Wristwatch chrono-graph from the 1960swith nonius and 30-minute totalizer at 3 o’clock. Stainlesssteel, 42 x 42 mm

Steel wristwatchchronograph with

automatic Cal. L688.2from 2012. The

central chronographhand has a so-called

“nonius” track on the right to read

eighths of a second.



tened the 13'-lignes movement with automatic winding,a power reserve of 54 hours, and 27 functional jewels, theCal. A08.231. Old standbys include a unidirectional ball-bearing rotor, a rocking pinion clutch and the oscillatingand escapement system. Its Glucydur balance and #at Ni-varox hairspring vibrate at a frequency of four hertz,which permits a timing accuracy to 1/8 of a second. !etotalizers make it possible to record time intervals of up to12 hours. !is newcomer is not viewed as a derivative ofthe Cal. 7750 but as a fundamentally new design. Since theload on the column wheel is distributed over six columnsduring on/o$ cycles, wear is less of a factor than with theshuttle or cam that, due to its back-and-forth action, con-centrates friction and pressure solely on two points. !eadvantages include smoother cycles, crisp shi&ing actionand fewer components. A high degree of serviceability isensured with a self-regulating reset hammer for thechronograph hand and minutes totalizer. Two pushers areprovided for start, stop and reset functions.

!e newest variation, the L788, has only one crownpusher and recalls the earliest years in chronograph history. Only 180 numbered anniversary pieces of theLongines Column-Wheel Single Push-Piece Chrono-graph 180th Anniversary Limited Edition were createdfor the occasion. !e model used for this retro chrono-graph hearkens back to 1913. Features indicative of thetime include a white dial with a red 12 and a round casewith pivoting wire-type lugs. Clearly all good and beauti-ful things will continue to have great appeal throughoutthe 21st century. !

The new LonginesAvigation Type A-7with Cal. L788.2

The NEWEST VARIATION of

Cal. L688.2 is called L788.2.

From the very beginning of aviation history, Longines has been at the forefront in providing pilots with the correct time during their adventures in the air. A number of SPECIAL MODELS were created over the years for both civilianand military purposes. !e following pages show four of the most important watches that helped pilots lead the way.

PHO

TO: G

ETT

Y IM

AG

ES

BY ALEXANDER LINZ

HEROES OF THE

HEROES OF THE

May 29, 1927: CharlesLindbergh flying intoCroydon after his record- breaking flightacross the Atlantic

AVIATION | !e Longines Weems Second-Setting Watch


In 1919, at a time when aviation technology was stillmore or less in its infancy, the watch manufacturerLongines had already begun o"cially supplying watchesto the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale(FAI). !eworld’s most famous pilots of the day were relying moreand more on timepieces from Longines during theircourageous and pioneering #ights. Besides ColonelCharles A. Lindbergh, these daring aviators includedClarence D. Chamberlin and his passenger CharlieLevine, who was the $rst person to be #own over the Atlantic only a very few weeks a%er Lindbergh’s historic#ight in 1927; the pilot and U.S. Marines Rear AdmiralRichard Byrd; the Italian long-distance aviatorFrancesco de Pinedo; the Swiss pilot, photographer andtravel writer Walter Mittelholzer; one of the $rst aviationentrepreneurs, the American businessman, pilot and$lm producer Howard B. Hughes; as well as Hans vonSchiller, who had commanded the Zeppelin LZ 127.Amelia Earhart was also a member of this group as the$rst woman to cross the Atlantic in 1928 in a 20-hournon-stop #ight.

But it wasn’t only these heroes of the airways who hadfound a favorable partner in Longines. CommanderPhilip van Horn Weems, instructor at the Naval Academyat Annapolis, Maryland, had authored several referencebooks on #ight navigation and navigational instruments.Lindbergh was among his students. Based on the neces-sity of knowing the exact time for correct navigation,Weems developed the “Weems Pilot Watch” in collabora-tion with Longines. !e system he invented permitted anuncomplicated and precise synchronization of the watchwith a time signal transmitted regularly by long or short-wave without having to adjust the minutes and hourhands. Either a special rotating bezel or central subdialwere used instead, both of which were provided with a 60-second scale. Depending on the time signal the pilot could

Large and mascu-line design: TheLongines WeemsSecond-SettingWatch in rose goldwith automatic Cal. L699

TIME SYNCHRONIZATION

A small adjustable internal dial permits the synchronization of the pilots’ watch with the standard-time signal transmitted by radio.


correct any deviation on his own watch from the standardtime and take it into account for additional calculations.

For long-distance navigation even the di&erence of afew seconds causes enormous errors in calculations of location and course. !e more accurate, the better. In co-operation with Longines, Weems $nally submitted hiswristwatch for patenting in 1929, which was designed as acomplement to the much larger cockpit chronometer. !efollowing detail might be worth noting: !e patent for thewatch was awarded in 1935. Perhaps someone at thepatent o"ce just didn’t understand the simplicity and ingeniousness of this particular invention.

!e current remake of the watch from CommanderPhilip van Horn Weems, the “Weems Second-SettingWatch,” has a large and masculine design. It is equippedwith the automatic movement L699 whose balance vi-brates at 28,800 vph. It has a power reserve of 46 hours.!e stainless-steel case has a diameter of 47.5 millime-ters, and an additional caseback cover protects the actualsapphire back. Once it is open, it is possible to see the engraving and numbering as well as the automatic move-ment. Just like at the beginning, the opaline, silvered central subdial today makes possible the exact synchro-nization with the standard time signal emitted by radio-controlled or atomic clock. !e Weems Second-SettingWatch comes with a brown alligator strap, a “Charleston”clasp and an extension piece.

Weems’ idea: An adjustable innerdial allowed the pilotto synchronize thewatch precisely with standard time.Variation: Weemswatch with a 24-hourdial (above right)

Photos by John Goldberger, Longines Watches, Ebner Verlag Ulm


Longines watch shows 4 o’clock, 37 minutes and 9 sec-onds. After receiving the standard time via signaltransmitter we can correct the small central subdial by+3 seconds, so that we now have the exact time to thesecond. It is therefore 4 o’clock, 37 minutes and 12 sec-onds. The hour hand shows 60 degrees, the minutehand shows nine degrees and 15 arc minutes, and theseconds hand shows three arc minutes. Add that all together and we get 69 degrees and 18 arc minutes.However, this value is correct only when the differencebetween the true and the average solar time is equal tozero. If it varies (and this does occur to the amount of+16 minutes on November 3 and –14 minutes on Feb-ruary 11) this variance must be included in the calcula-tions. Charles A. Lindbergh had considered this cir-cumstance as well by making a rotating bezel to pro-vide for corrections.

Let’s assume again that our Longines watch shows 4 o’clock, 37 minutes and 12 seconds. Because of theequation of time this time shows a shift between thetrue and average solar time of –4 minutes and 50 sec-onds. Now we turn the bezel 4 minutes to the left and

Charles A. Lindbergh designed his HourAngle Watch based on the watch fromCommander Philip van Horn Weems.

Charles A. Lindbergh was Weems’s student at the NavalAcademy in Annapolis. He took Weems’s discovery toanother level and considered how the Greenwich hourangle of the sun could be read from a wristwatch. Usingthe hour angle it is possible to calculate the longitude ofa specific celestial body.

The earth turns on its axis once every 24 hours. Thisis equal to 180 degrees every 12 hours, or 15 degrees in1 hour or 15 arc minutes in 1 minute. Lindbergh’s discovery made it possible for the watch hands to shownot only the exact time but also the correspondingGreenwich hour angle of the sun. One hour corre-sponds to 15 degrees. Once the hour hand has circledthe dial in 12 hours, it will have reached the 180-degreeposition. The track for the minutes hand on the bezeldivides the 60 minutes of an hour into 15 degrees,where each minute represents 15 arc minutes. On thesmall rotating dial in the center the seconds handshows the exact number of arc minutes between zeroand 15 that pass in 1 minute.

It was then possible to read the Greenwich Hour An-gle of the sun as follows: Let us assume that our

WATCHTHE

The Lindbergh Hour Angle Watch: The current model is a true remake ofthe original modeland, with a diameterof 47.5 mm, the exact same size.

!e Lindbergh Hour Angle Watch | AVIATION

The Lindbergh Hour Angle Watchis based on the idea and drawing of Charles A. Lindbergh (top).

read the following: The hour hand again shows 60 degrees, but the minutes hand shows 10 degrees and 15arc minutes and the second hand again shows 3 arcminutes. However, since we initially disregarded the 50seconds when turning the bezel (since they are hard toadjust) they will need to be taken into account now forour calculation. On the small subdial we read 12' arcminutes for the 50 seconds, and add this to the otheramount to get a total of 70 degrees and 30' arc minutesfor the Greenwich Hour Angle of the sun.

What is the basis for this calculation? If you stand onthe Greenwich Meridian exactly at noon, the sun will bedirectly south at that point. Its hour angle at this momentis zero degrees. !ree hours later its hour angle will be 3hours. As the sun appears to circle the Earth, it sets andrises and approaches the Greenwich Meridian again. At11 o’clock in the morning, the hour angle is equal to 23hours. At 12 o’clock, the cycle begins again at zero. Onecycle around the Earth is therefore 24 hours or 360 de-grees. If one measures the hour angle starting at Green-wich, this is called the Greenwich Hour Angle (GHA).!e hour angle is always measured traveling to the westand speci$ed as an angle in degrees, arc minutes and arcseconds. With a very accurate watch it is possible to de-termine the distance the sun has already “traveled”around the Earth and thereby determine the exact hourangle. !is is only possible when we know the di&erencebetween the true and the average sun time and can takethis correction into account.

Lindbergh’s ideas were realized in 1931. !e Lind-bergh Hour Angle Watch was $rst issued to help pilotsdetermine longitude during long-distance #ights and tosimplify navigation. In its current version the LindberghHour Angle Watch measures 47.5 millimeters across,making it the exact same size as the original. Beneath thewhite dial with its opaline center subdial ticks theLongines automatic movement L699, whose balance vibrates at 28,800 vph. Cases are available in steel andyellow gold with a double caseback. !e functions of theHour Angle Watch today are the same as they were at thebeginning. It is still possible to correct the running sec-onds of the watch with the standard time and determinethe Greenwich Hour Angle of the sun.

Degrees and arcminutes: The Lind-bergh watch allowsfor the reading of the Greenwich Hour Angle.

Photo by John Goldberger, Longines Watches, Ebner Verlag Ulm

AVIATION | !e Longines Avigation Watch Type A-7


A list of technical speci$cations issued by the MaterialDivision of the U.S. Air Corps was typed up on October10, 1934. !is seven-page standard-sized document con-tained a $nely detailed description of what a brand-newaviators’ watch should do and what it should look like.On April 4, 1935, the U. S. Army placed an order at Witt-nauer Co. in New York (Longines’s former agent in theUSA) for 175 pieces of the “Avigation (Hack) WatchType A-7.” !ree examples of the watch were expected tobe submitted within only 30 days with all the speci$eddetails and engravings. Only then would the order becon$rmed and the remainder of the watches delivered,and these were expected to be produced and delivered inonly 120 days. What the Air Corps was looking for werewatches for its pilots that had to be easily and correctlylegible when both hands were on the airplane controls.!e extremely large watch (for those days) was intendedto be worn on the inside of the lower le% arm so that thepilot could continuously read the correct time withouthaving to turn or twist his wrist, and still easily manipu-late the watch with his right hand. For this unusual con-$guration the dial had to be rotated 45 degrees to theright. !e crown was supposed to be located at the 12-o’clock position which means, as compared to a normalwatch, it was placed at the 1:30 position.

!e Air Corps speci$ed only one crown, and the Avi-gation Type A-7 was to be wound and set with this singlecrown and also control the start, stop and reset of thechronograph. If you try to imagine how this works, itcomes extremely close to the de facto handling of a clas-sical manually operated stopwatch – with the single dif-ference that the operator is not holding the watch in hishand, but is wearing it on the inside of his lower arm. An-other advantage of this o&set arrangement was to reducepilot error. “12 o’clock” was always oriented in the direc-

!is special aviators’ watch was commissioned from Longines by the

U.S. Air Corps. A comprehensive list of speci$cations outlined their wishes and le% nothing to chance.

tion of #ight, and/or pointed towards the other cockpitinstruments – this made operational errors impossibleeven when #ying in turbulent weather or in low light.!e technical speci$cations of the Material Division ofthe Air Corps called for a matte-black dial, printed inwhite with railroad markers and a totalizer with a 30-minute subdial for the chronograph. It was to be placedat 12 o’clock and the running seconds at 6 o’clock. It isboth interesting and remarkable – the Material Divisionof the Air Corps clearly de$ned the Avigation A-7 in itsspecs as a wristwatch, despite its then unusual size of 51millimeters. Nevertheless the wristwatch was designedto be easy to take apart and attach to a watch chain in order to be worn and used privately as a pocketwatch.Wearing such a giant of a watch on the wrist clearly drewattention at the time, which was most certainly not in theinterest of the Army.

The Longines Avigation Watch Type A-7: The newmodel is based on a historicwatch with an added date and tachymeter scale.

STANDARDS


!e Material Division of the Air Corps was particu-larly meticulous and precise regarding the quality of thecase and the accuracy and design of the watch move-ment. It speci$ed a lever escapement, a Breguet overcoiland a power reserve of at least 30 but not more than 56hours. !e watch lubricants had to tolerate a temperaturerange spanning –20 to +45 degrees. Requirements in-cluded a rate accuracy of ±10 seconds per day in horizon-tal and vertical positions, at room temperature, withdaily winding, and without a running chronograph, andthe variation within those 10 seconds could not be morethan 3 seconds. When the chronograph was engaged,and had to be switched on and o& every 6 days, the ratedeviation was permitted to be only 15 seconds per dayand the variation of the daily deviation could not exceed10 seconds.

!e Division also demanded an extensive testing ofthe start, stop, #yback and reset functions. Special carehad to be taken to ensure that the stopwatch hand alwaysstarted exactly at zero and stopped precisely. One test at+35 C required that the watches deviate by only $ve seconds from the results obtained at room temperature.At –20 C a deviation of 15 seconds from the room tem-perature results was permitted. !e case was to be madeideally of nickel or a nickel alloy with a chrome $nish andhad to be absolutely resistant to moisture and dirt. !ecrystal had to be of special quality and also be unbreak-able. If possible, only antimagnetic materials were to beused in the manufacture of these watches.

Longines placed the 18-lignes column-wheel pocket-watch caliber 18.72 (diameter = 39.7 mm, height = 6.8mm, 16 jewels, balance frequency = 18,000 vph) in theAvigation Type A-7, which was used by the manufacturesince 1929. !is also met the demands of a “hack watch,”which is a watch that can be synchronized with the cur-rent time as well as a second reference time – for example,by the start of the chronograph at the beginning of a mis-sion. !e terms “U.S. Army A.C. Avigation Hack WatchType A-7” was to be engraved on the back of the case in ad-dition to the serial number and order number, “Speci$ca-tion Number 27748” and the Longines serial number.

!e speci$cations from the Material Division of theAir Corps were rather demanding. One assumes this isthe reason why only two other manufacturers aside from

Longines were in the position to manufacture a watch ofthis type: Gallet and !e Meylan Watch Co. Based oncurrent information, the Avigation Type A-7 watcheswere worn by pilots o"cially until about 1943. At thesame time Longines was also manufacturing a civilianversion of the watch with a diameter of “only” 49 mil-limeters. Some of these watches di&ered from the mili-tary version primarily with a modi$ed dial with atachymeter scale. And this brings us at last to the appear-ance of the 2012 model that is closely based on one of thecivilian versions of the Avigation Type A-7 and has anadded date indication.

The civilian variantof the Avigation A-7is recognizable byits lack of railroadminutes track on thedial (above right).

Rotated dial: TheAvigation A-7 wasdesigned to be perfectly legible forpilots of the U.S. AirCorps (above left).


Various militaryspecificationswere found on theoutside of thehinged back.

AVIATION | Longines Twenty-Four Hours


Many years ago cockpits looked very di&erent thanthey do today. In the absence of today’s powerful com-puters, work in the cockpit was distributed among threepeople: the captain, the copilot, and the navigator whosat behind the two pilots in an area full of displays andcontrols. !e duty of the navigator was, as the name indi-cates, to navigate. He was also a kind of on-board techni-cian who monitored many of the systems that are nowcontrolled by computers. !e navigator also ensuredthat fuel was pumped from one tank to another for opti-mized trim of the airplane. !e navigator was primarilyconcerned with #ight preparation and execution. Hecalculated and continuously checked the course of theairplane with all his various tools and instruments andhe collected any available data from radio beacons andnavigational aids on the ground.

During a long-distance #ight an airplane may #ythrough numerous time zones whose times di&er fromthe UTC. !e standard time must, therefore, be the samein every cockpit. Earlier GMT (Greenwich Mean Time)was the standard time; today it is UTC (Universal TimeCoordinated) in both air and sea travel. !ere is also nodi&erence between civilian and military time. Both base

!ese days, on-board #ight computers calculate the pathfrom one place to the next. !ey get their informationfrom the Global Positioning System (GPS), from variousradio beacons on the ground and from the Inertial Navi-gation System (INS). Together these systems supply theFlight Management Computer (FMS) with all the neces-sary data required to calculate the correct #ight path. Before departure the entire route is entered directly intothe FMS or sent via laptop. !e two-man crew can thenconcentrate on their duties during the #ight and #y theairplane or simply check the controls, depending on thesegment of the #ight. Exact time in the cockpit thesedays is supplied by the GPS and an independent digitalclock. And the pilots of the military forces always wear aspeci$c type of watch during di"cult missions to serveas an additional backup if necessary.

ON A SINGLE DIALIn the 1950s, Longines

created a special watch for the navigators of Swissair.

The hinged back ofthe replica modelcovers the auto-matic Cal. L704.3.

Like its predecessor:The new LonginesTwenty-Four Hoursalso has an onioncrown and a central secondshand (far left).


their systems on this standard time. !is ensures that anevent that takes place at 08:00 UTC takes place through-out the entire world at the same time, regardless of inwhich time zone a crew might be.

Passing through di&erent time zones in an airplaneo%en erases the boundary between day and night. And itwas for exactly this reason that the Longines wristwatchwith its 24-hour display came into play. Presenting theentire day on the dial – with the hour hand circling thewatch only once a day – excludes the possibility of mak-ing a mistake when reading the time. !is made this typeof watch indispensible for the navigator in the cockpit. Amodel of this type returned to the Longines Museum in2009. It was the watch owned by the Swissair navigatorHarry Hofmann, who wore it during #ights on airlinetypes DC-4, DC-6, DC-7, DC-8 and Coronado until1974. !e 24-hours watch was built by Longines espe-cially for these applications at the beginning of the 1950sand bears the serial number 8237331. It is equipped withthe Longines Cal. 37.9N with a central seconds indica-tion which was developed inhouse in 1940. “Swissair”was engraved on the stainless-steel caseback. Researchin the Longines archives shows that Harry Hofmann’swatch belonged to a series of only 70 pieces that werebuilt between 1953 and 1956 exclusively for the Swissairline Swissair.

!is is an exciting story and also a good reason to revive a rarity such as this. !e current version is called“Longines Twenty-Four Hours.” !e 16'-lignes auto-matic Cal. L704.3 ticks beneath the dial today. !e trans-mission is adjusted to ensure that the hour hand makes a complete rotation around the dial only once every 24hours. !e balance oscillates at 28,800 vph and its powerreserve equals 46 hours. !e stainless-steel case has a diameter of 47.5 millimeters. !e dial is presented in aperfect harmony of matte black background and 24white Arabic numerals with Super-Luminova coating.

!e railroad minutes track simpli$es reading the min-utes. !e time is shown traditionally with hands, whichare also coated with Super-Luminova. Like the originalmodel from the 1950s it also has a central seconds indi-cation – a clever feature that improves legibility. A newaddition is the date window located at 3 o’clock. !eLongines Twenty-Four Hours has a sapphire crystalwith nonre#ective coating and a hinged cover to protectthe sapphire caseback. Opening the hinge allows thewearer to admire the movement and observe the vibration of the balance wheel. Inside the cover one canalso see the engraved inscription “Re-edition of aLongines navigation watch exclusively made for Swissairnavigators, 1953–1956” as well as the serial number. !ewatch comes with a black alligator strap and is water- resistant to 3 bar.

A%er only a few days anyone can easily become accustomed to the 24-hour dial. Globetrotters who usetheir wristwatches to show their home time or anotherreference time (and always mentally convert to their cur-rent time zone) will $nd the Longines Twenty-FourHours to be a great alternative with an exciting story. !

These special models were engraved on thecaseback with“Swissair” and the numeral 48 (far left).

Swissair navigatorHarry Hofmannwore this watchwith 24-hour indication until1974 (left).



HISTORY | 180 Years of Longines

Workers leavingthe Longinescompany, 1911


he year 1832 marked the beginning of the history ofLongines. At the time, watch production in Switzerlandlooked radically di!erent from the modern methodsemployed today. "ere were no factories where workersand cra#smen arrived in the morning and le# eachevening. Instead, watch manufacturing took place insideworkers’ homes in the form of contract work for “comp-toirs” – small businesses that organized and $nanced theproduction of watches and sold the $nished product.Comptoirs purchased watch components from suppliersand then had the parts delivered to the homes of severalindependent workers who usually specialized in a singleaspect of watch production. In many cases the workerswere farmers who used this as an opportunity to earn additional income, especially during the winter months.

YEARS

T

180 It all began with a small “comptoir d’établissage” in Switzerland’sSaint-Imier region. From these simple beginnings came an advanced watch manufacturing center which grew into a successful watch brand with a global presence. "e HISTORY OF LONGINESis $lled with innovation, optimism and the entrepreneurial spirit.BY MARIA-BETTINA EICH

"anks to this tradition, watchmak-ing remains strongly rooted in theregion between Geneva and the Jura,and most deeply in the lives of thepeople living there.

Once a comptoir received the $n-ished watch and the workers hadbeen paid, it was time to focus on sell-ing the watch. Here was the opportu-nity to establish a name and a reputa-tion. Watches would be engravedwith the name of the comptoir as aguarantee of reliability. Comptoirsignatures were a forerunner of to-day’s brand names and logos.


Auguste Agassiz(1809–1877)

ENTREPRENEUR

Saint-Imier in 1839


180 Years of Longines | HISTORY

WITH A

uguste Agassiz was born in 1809, theson of a pastor in Saint-Imier, a townin the Jura region of Switzerland. Hismother, Rose Mayor, was related tothe aristocracy of nearby Neuchâtel.Agassiz chose a career in businessand worked in the Fornachon bank,which belonged to his uncle. It washere that he made his $rst contactwith the watch industry.

In 1832, at age 23, Agassiz be-came a partner in the comptoir,Raiguel Jeune & Cie., which wasfounded in Saint-Imier at the end ofthe 18th century by members of theRaiguel family. Henri Raiguel, sonof one of the founders, formed apartnership in 1832 with hisbrother-in-law Florian Morel, whowas already established in business,

VISIONand Agassiz, who had important contacts, thus assuringthat the business would have a stable economic base.

In the years that followed, Agassiz wrote watchmak-ing history. Raiguel retired in 1838 and Morel le# thecomptoir in 1846, leaving Agassiz as the sole proprietor.Business was good – especially due to the contacts in theUnited States that Agassiz had made in1845 and his business connections across the Atlantic through hismother’s side of his family.

Lépine watches with cylinder escapements and key-wind mechanisms formed a major part of watch produc-tion in comptoirs – typical of the watch industry in theSwiss Jura region at this time. Agassiz’s decision to openhis own workshop for assembling watches was an impor-tant $rst step away from the older, traditional methods inprivate homes.

Agassiz was an important citizen in the town of Saint-Imier, and even served as its mayor in 1846 and 1847. By1850, poor health forced him to retire from the operationsof his successful comptoir and move to Lausanne. Untilhis death in 1877, he remained a partner in the companythat experienced its $rst major success under his direc-tion. And he took special care to ensure that those whofollowed him would achieve success in the future.

A


From that point on, the new director made decisivechanges within the company, always in close consulta-tion with his uncle. Francillon promoted his uncle’s ap-proach, which was aimed at industrializing watch pro-duction. Francillon created the watch factory (which wasbegun under his uncle’s direction) and shi#ed severalmore production processes to this central workshop.Francillon ensured that the factory was properlyequipped. He hired workers with the intent of improvingquality control, increasing output and making the pro-duction process more economical. One factor remainedthat continued to a!ect his $nancial outlook – there was

ERNEST FRANCILLON:

gassiz encouraged his nephew ErnestFrancillon to join the Agassiz comp-toir in 1852, beginning a new chapter

in Swiss watchmaking history. Francillon was born in1834 and had a business background like Agassiz’s, but in1853 he spent a year as an apprentice with a watchmakerin Môtiers, in the canton of Neuchâtel. In 1854, the youngFrancillon moved to Saint-Imier and from the time hearrived, he had a leadership role at the Agassiz comptoir.In 1862, Francillon took over the watchmaking direc-tion, now known as “Ancienne Maison Auguste Agassiz,Ernest Francillon successeur.”

A

Ernest Francillon (1834–1900)

Map of Saint-Imier represent-ing „Es Longines“ whichmeans „the long meadows“


only a small number of suppliers for watch movements,and these suppliers kept their prices high.

In 1866, Francillon took a dramatic step away fromthe traditional comptoir and towards the creation of amodern factory. He purchased two adjoining pieces ofproperty to the south of Saint-Imier on the banks of asmall river. "e name of this area was known as “leslongines,” or “the long meadows.” Construction of thefactory began in 1867 where increasingly mechanizedwatch manufacturing began to take shape. It was also in1867 that Francillon introduced the $rst brand name inthe watch industry that was not based on a family name."e name “Longines” was now engraved on all the com-pany’s watches along with the winged hourglass, which isthe oldest valid trademark in the registry of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).

Watches produced by the Longines factory also hadmore modern features than those produced by thecomptoir. Francillon decided against using a windingkey for his watches; starting in 1867, the company onlyproduced watches with a crown-winding mechanism. Inaddition to the Lépine watches with a cylinder escape-ment, the factory also produced models with a Swisslever escapement. "e factory was also beginning to pro-duce smaller ladies’ watches with 12-, 13- and 14-lignesmovements. During the $rst years in the new factory,Longines produced watches with in-house calibers aswell as others with supplied movements. "e factoryproduced approximately 15,000 watches each year dur-ing the $rst half of the 1870s.

Workshop in the Longines factory, 1900


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o help him in his pursuit of industrialization, Francillonfound the perfect partner in Jacques David. David wasborn in Lausanne in 1845 but grew up in northern France.He was the son of a director of a textile mill that was com-pletely mechanized and was familiar with industrialmanufacturing processes since childhood. He studiedengineering and completed his education at a watchmak-ing factory in Le Locle. In 1867, Francillon assigned himthe organization of the new factory. David was responsi-ble for the equipment and the functioning of the mechan-ical systems, which were powered by two turbines.

Francillon’s re-structuring of watch productionbrought signi$cant changes to Saint-Imier as well as tothe entire region. In 1867, Longines employed 40 work-ers; by 1875, this number increased to 120. "e workersand cra#smen who had previously worked in their ownhomes to produce watches now faced many changes. Inthe factory they worked speci$c hours and their work wasinspected more closely. "e division of labor was already apart of watch production for comptoirs, and these prac-tices remained. However, work on a conveyor belt was re-jected by Longines. Quali$ed young workers were impor-tant for the future of the watch factory, and Francillon andDavid were among the supporters of the watchmakingschool that was founded in Saint-Imier in 1866.

America was important at this time both as a targetmarketplace and as a model for mechanized productionmethods. In 1873 and 1874, about 80 percent of allwatches sold by Longines were sent to the United States."e company formed a partnership with the Wittnauerfamily who ran the New York branch until the mid-20th

century."e World’s Fair was held in Philadelphia in 1876.

David headed a Swiss delegation, the “Société intercan-tonale des industries du Jura,” and what he saw in



Jacques David (1845–1912)

TPhiladelphia made a deep impres-sion on him. In the Machinery Hallhe was introduced to the way Ameri-can watch factories set up their massproduction processes. David recog-nized that the Swiss watch industrywith its current methods would notbe able to remain competitive inter-nationally. He admired the organiza-tion of the processes, the quality ofthe machines and the work ethic –but he did not intend to transfer theAmerican model directly to Switzer-land. David wrote to Francillon: “Weneed a combined system that linksthe advantages of the Swiss work-force with the advantages of Ameri-can machines.”

It was against this backgroundthat the production processes atLongines began to be modernized inthe 1880s and 1890s. David became apartner at Longines in 1880 and wasresponsible for these changes. Fac-tory buildings were expanded to ac-commodate the growing number ofemployees. In the mid-1880s therewere 400 employees and by 1900there were 657. "e two turbines thatpowered the modern industrial fa-cility were no longer adequate, soLongines connected its operations tothe community’s new electricity net-work in 1896.


Right: Pocket watch with the Calibre 20A, the first

movement produced in theLongines factory, 1867

Below: In 1900, this pocketwatch won the Grand Prixawarded at the Universal

Exhibition in Paris.

Beginning in 1880, Longines was $nally able to estab-lish independence from its movement suppliers. "e fac-tory in Saint-Imier had begun manufacturing a series ofcalibers that were designed for mechanized productionand achieved great success. Both chronographs andhigh-precision chronometers were produced, whichwere sought a#er as railroad watches in the U.S. and inmany European countries.

Under the direction of the watchmaker Alfred P$ster,Longines developed a nine-lignes movement that made it possible to create very $ne and fashionable ladies’watches. "e manufacture presented itself to the world asmultifaceted, modern and capable. Francillon ensuredthe company’s participation in the World’s Fairs in Parisin 1878 and in Chicago in 1893.

Longines’s sales networks became increasingly inter-national, expanding to include Latin America. "e U.S.market started to see Longines watches that were speci$-cally tailored to Americans’ tastes. Longines also sup-plied movements to their New York branch, where theywere placed in American-made cases.


Re-edition of a 1957 Flagship model

Top left:Poster advertising

The Lindbergh Hour Angle Watch, 1931

Top right: Advertisement

from 1955



rancillon died in 1900, but he had care-fully prepared his manufacture for the de-mands of the new century. Jacques David,Baptiste Savoye and Louis Gagnebin

formed the new management of the company. One oftheir $rst public successes was accreditation duringchronometer testing by the Neuchâtel Observatory in1905. "is accomplishment demonstrated to the entireworld that even machine-made, mass-produced move-ments were able to meet the strict demands ofchronometer tests. At the same time, these movementswere less expensive than hand-made ones and could beproduced in much greater numbers.

When David died in 1912, P$ster became the techni-cal director of Longines. Even though supply di%cultiesduring World War I limited the work performed byLongines, peacetime between the wars was a time of ex-pansion for the company, especially from a technicalpoint of view. P$ster’s direction brought the companynumerous innovations in movement production. Hewas responsible for establishing a wide range of di!erentcalibers with the aim of meeting the greatest number ofdi!erent customer demands. Longines also began to of-fer complications and to re$ne its movements.

"e wristwatch $nally conquered the market. By1900, Longines and others had begun o!ering ladies’wristwatches. A#er World War I the wristwatch $nallyreplaced the pocket watch for both men and women.

Longines continued to grow despite a drop in ordersduring World War I and during the Great Depression ofthe 1930s. By the $rst decade of the 20th century, the com-pany had more than 1,000 employees. During this time,

Longines began to introduce a number of bene$ts for itsworkers – from a pension fund to child care.

Strong economic &uctuations in the $rst third of the20th century presented some di%culties despite the com-pany’s many technical innovations, its increased stream-lining of watch production under P$ster’s leadership, andexpanding internationalization. Still, Longines stagedimportant publicity events during this period. "e com-pany supported exploratory expeditions and distin-guished itself as a partner to some of the world’s major avi-ation pioneers. Following Charles Lindbergh’s spectacu-lar crossing of the Atlantic in 1927, Longines developedthe hour angle watch in 1931 in collaboration with the pilot. It soon became a legend among pilots’ watches.Howard Hughes circled the globe in 1938 in an airplanewhose cockpit was equipped with Longines instruments.

Beginning in 1936, Longines enjoyed constantgrowth due in great part to strong U.S. demand. "isgrowth was only slightly a!ected by World War II andcontinued until 1970. Because of a reduction in thenumber of di!erent calibers made by the company,Longines took further steps to streamline production.And while the company focused on the manufacturingof especially successful calibers, its special innovativespirit continued, leading to the creation of watches formarine navigation and for use in the tropics, in additionto its well-known pilots’ watches.

In the 1940s, P$ster began developing a caliber withan automatic winding mechanism, and in 1946, Longinesintroduced the $rst automatic watch in the company’shistory. By the 1950s, the demand for automatic watcheswas enormous. In 1954, Longines launched its automaticmodel Conquest worldwide that quickly became a hugesuccess among a young, forward-looking public.

F20TH CENTURY

IN THE

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TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS,

NEW STRUCTURES AND

ongines has been involved in timingsporting events since the very begin-ning of the 20th century. In 1954, thecompany designed and built a

chronometer with a quartz movement for timing sport-ing events. (It happened to be as big as a suitcase.) "eprecision of this watch was astonishing, capable of meas-uring the time to 1/100 of a second. Making quartz tech-nology small enough for personal use seemed a promis-ing goal and Longines worked for more than 10 years onminiaturizing the quartz watch. In 1966, the company

presented a huge sensation: a pocket watch with aquartz movement that immediately won $rst prize fromthe Neuchâtel Observatory. Longines introduced an-other more “user-friendly” version in 1969: a wrist-watch with a quartz movement. "e “Ultra-Quarz” ap-peared at the same time as the quartz watches producedby the Japanese company Seiko. Even though quartztechnology has generally been understood as a Japaneseaccomplishment, Longines can show that Switzerlandproduced groundbreaking work during the pioneeringperiod of the quartz watch. However, it took severalyears until the Ultra-Quarz was ready for mass produc-tion and by that time Seiko already had its own quartzwatches on the market.

When Longines presented the $rst quartz wristwatchwith a liquid crystal display in 1972, the companycounted it as another milestone in quartz technology de-velopment. Longines also continued to develop mechan-ical watch movements with continued success, especiallywith its automatic watches.

But not all was well in the Swiss watch industry. Com-panies in the watch sector began to merge as a way to bet-ter meet the demands of the global market. Longines be-came a corporation in 1965, and in 1971, the companybecame a part of ASUAG, which also owned ÉbauchesSA, which later became ETA.

Although Longines continued to achieve satisfactorysales numbers and entered important Asian markets, theSwiss watch industry began to experience di%culties."e two largest groups in the industry, ASUAG andSSIH, were experiencing massive $nancial pressures."e groups depended on Swiss banks who turned to thecorporate consultant Nicolas G. Hayek (1928–2010). In1982, Hayek submitted a report in which he recom-mended a merger of the two groups, and in 1983, his rec-

The first portable quartz clock from

1954 was designed forsports timekeeping.

L



ommendation became a reality. "e So-ciété suisse de microélectronique etd’horlogerie (SMH) was created.

Hayek initiated a series of streamlin-ing measures so the group could com-pete at new and higher levels. Amongother things, he decided to transfer theproduction of watch movements com-pletely to ETA. ETA continues to pro-duce watch movements for Longinesand to develop important innovationsexclusively for Longines.

Hayek’s e!orts were rewarded withimmense success. In 1998, SMH was re-named "e Swatch Group. It has grownto become one of the watch industry’smost important players today, withLongines as one of its strongest brands."e president of the company since1988 has been Walter von Känel whowas born in Germany in 1941, grew upin Saint-Imier, and has been a part ofLongines since 1969.

Top: The late Swatch Group chairman, Nicolas G. Hayek

Right: Walter von Känel, Longines’s president since 1988

Longines UltraQuartz watch from 1969


Poster for the “Elegance is an attitude” advertising

campaign with Audrey Hepburn, 1999



he 21st century began under promising cir-cumstances. Longines in the 1990s ex-panded its international presence, and thedecision to take over its own sales in every

region of the world has allowed Longines become a sig-ni$cant global player.

"e 1990s also gave Longines the opportunity to carryout an intensive review of its own company history. Itsgoal – to create updated watches based on classicalLongines models of the past – has led to the creation oftwo extremely successful watch collections: La GrandeClassique de Longines and the Longines DolceVita,which both emerged during this decade.

Longines entered the 21st century with successful col-lections, a strong presence in international markets andthe secure foundation of an impressive history. "e com-pany promotes elegance and performance with a specialemphasis on sports, rooted in its long and ongoing his-tory in timing sporting events. Elegance remains a con-stant at Longines thanks to its self-reliance and its avoid-ance of new or short-lived trends – instead choosing de-signs of timeless elegance. "is has resulted in watches

ENTERS THE 21ST CENTURY

whose balanced and harmonious styles easily withstandthe tests of time and changing fashion. "e Longines slo-gan “Elegance is an attitude” can be attributed to thewearer as well as to the brand itself.

Fortunately, the elegance that Longines embodies istruly more a question of style than of price. In the worldof high-quality Swiss watches Longines remains com-fortably within reach without compromising qualityalong the way. Even though Longines no longer producesits own watch movements using movements from ETAinstead, who manufactures (partly exclusive) move-ments for Longines, this has secured a position forLongines among fans of mechanical watches. Plus, thenumber of mechanical watches made by Longines keepsgrowing. Since 2009, mechanical watches make up morethan 50 percent of the collection without greatly a!ect-ing the price structure of the watches.

Longines survived the worldwide economic crisis of2008–09 unscathed. "e brand was even positioned wellenough to increase its sales during this critical periodand continues to grow – with a gigantic market in China,in its own Flagship stores, and a reliance on the values ithas cultivated for 180 years. !

The Artistic Gymnastics Chinese Men's team,Longines Ambassadors of Elegance and world champions at the ArtisticGymnastics World Champi-onships 2011 in Tokyo

T

MEADOW

!e name Longines,which translates as“LONG, NARROWMEADOWS,” refers to pastureland in thecommunity of Saint-Imier, which is situatedbeside the little SuzeRiver in Switzerland’sJura region. Ever sincethe 19th century, Longines has createdmasterpieces here thathave decisively in"u-enced the evolution ofwatchmaking.

BY GISBERT L. BRUNNER

!e Milestones | WATCH HISTORY


First Chronograph Movement The first Longines chronographs were developed bythe watchmaker Henry Alfred Lugrin, who was born in1848 and became one of the most important designersof modern timepieces for the measurement of brief in-tervals. When Lugrin was 20 years old, he emigrated tothe United States and found his first employment withEugene Robert, who ran a sales agency for watches inNew York. In 1876 Lugrin introduced a chronographmechanism that could be easily mounted on existingmovements with half or three-quarters plates.Longines was impressed by his simple but ingeniousconstruction, so it acquired a license for the patentedmechanism, which it then mounted on its new hand-wound caliber. The resulting chronograph Caliber 20Hwas ready for use in 1878. The central elapsed-secondshand could be started, stopped and returned to zerovia the crown, but this chronograph did not yet have anelapsed-minutes counter.

A wristwatch containing hand-wound Caliber 13.33Z is a mustfor collectors of #ne manufac-ture chronographs. Longinespremiered this beautiful move-ment in 1913, relatively earlycompared to other brands. !ecaliber’s alphanumerical desig-nation referred to its diameter(13 lignes or 29 millimeters).!e platform for this mono-pusher chronograph was ahand-wound movement thathad been designed several yearspreviously. !e appeal of the

distinctively styled chronographmechanism, with pusher on thecrown, column-wheel control,gear coupling and jumping 30-minute counter, derived from its clear architecture and #nelycra$ed steel components. !elarge, bimetallic, screw balancecompleted 18,000 semi-oscilla-tions per hour. !e steel hair-spring with Breguet terminalcurve was a matter of honor, butno one even dreamt of shock absorption at this early date.Longines continued to manufac-ture this movement with greatsuccess until 1936. Of course,improvements were made overthe years in Caliber 13.33Z, andits manufacturing methods,whenever these were technicallynecessary and advisable.

1913Stopwatch on the Wrist CALIBER 13.33Z

1878

CALIBER 20H


Airborne Assistant

Lindbergh taxied his “Spirit of St.Louis” down an airstrip in New Yorkand took to the air on May 20, 1927.When he landed at Le Bourget nearParis, he was not only 33 hours and 30minutes older, but also $25,000 wealthi-er and had gained a great deal of knowl-edge about long-haul aviation. !e pilotsummarized his insights in a series ofsketches and asked Longines to compe-tently transform his ideas, some ofwhich were based on Philip van HornWeems’s system, into tangible tickingreality. When the resulting wristwatchdebuted in 1931, its appearance andfunctionality caused a furor. !is ex-tremely large timepiece was a whopping47.5 millimeters in diameter, could beworn over a pilot’s coveralls and couldbe easily operated while wearing gloves.A rotatable dial for the seconds and arotatable bezel, both of which were calibrated in angular degrees, providedlong-haul pilots with valuable assistancewhen calculating longitude. Hand-wound Caliber 37.9, which soon replaced a di%erent Longines caliber asthe movement inside the Hour-AngleWatch, was equipped with an indirectcentral seconds hand. !e duo ofbimetallic, self-compensating balanceand steel hairspring (either "at or with a Breguet curve) completed 18,000semi-oscillations per hour.

1931Born in Tennessee in 1889, Philip van HornWeems became fascinated with navigationduring his years at the naval academy. Weemsdeveloped the basis for an innovative watchwith a dial designed to simplify navigationaltasks. Weems’s innovation debuted in 1927,the same year that 25-year-old aviator CharlesA. Lindbergh first flew across the AtlanticOcean from west to east. Weems’s watchcould be precisely synchronized with a radio-transmitted time signal without influencing therunning of its movement and motion of itshands, thanks to a rotatable seconds scale inthe center of the dial. When the wearer hearda time signal, he twisted the onion-shapedcrown to align the zero point with the positionof the seconds hand at that moment. The timecould accordingly be set with extreme preci-sion, even if the seconds hand didn’t happento be in a vertical orientation. This idea im-pressed Longines, which decided to manufac-ture the Weems watch in several different versions. The system was first granted patentprotection in 1929.


1927!e Exact Second

THE LINDBERGH HOUR-ANGLE WATCH

THE LONGINES WEEMS SECOND-SETTING WATCH

WATCH HISTORY | !e Milestones

An elapsed-seconds hand that can bestarted, stopped and returned to zeroindependently of the ordinary timedisplay is among the most salientfeatures of every chronograph.Whether this hand sweeps itscircles from the center of themain dial or across the plane ofa subdial matters little, and thepresence or absence of coun-ters for elapsed minutes andelapsed hours is also unimpor-tant. Less complex than the otherchronographs, which Longines pro-duced in great variety, was Caliber12.68Z Stop, a 17-jewel movement thatthe brand launched in 1938. The num-ber “12” in this caliber’s name stood forits diameter: 12 lignes or 27 millimeters.A button at 2 o’clock triggered the cen-tral elapsed-seconds hand to quickly re-turn to its zero at the user’s command.This quick return, now known as a fly-back function, was accomplished byconnecting the trigger button to a zero-return lever on the classic zero-returnheart of the central elapsed-secondshand. Horizontal coupling created theconnection to the fourth wheel. Thechronograph could not be stopped; itsuser had to be satisfied with restarting it at the correct time. A version of thecaliber was also available with a simplestop-seconds function; another, with anadditional 60-minute counter (also fromthe center; see illustration), debuted in1939. The Stop Seconde was availablein elegant and sporty models.

!e Great Depression in the early1930s took a toll on Longines, whereworkers were obliged to accept a 20- percent wage reduction, higher-ranking employees’ salaries wereslashed by 30 percent and executives’paychecks shrank by fully 40 percent.In this crisis-fraught era, Longines putits hopes in a new product designed tocombine functionality and elegance. It had become fashionable in the 1930sfor wristwatches to display the hoursand minutes in the upper portion, andthe seconds in the lower part, of rec-tangular dials, but Longines wanted todo more than merely follow the decrees of fashion. !e brand put thecrowning touch on this type of displayby creating a case with two separatewindows. !is not only made a newimpression, but also reduced the dan-ger of breakage for the fragile crystals.Of course, a wristwatch of this sortcalled for a special movement. !ework of developing the elongated, rectangular (26.6 x 15.5 mm), hand-wound Caliber 9.32 began early in1932. A shock-absorption system safe-guarded the pivots of the balance sta%against breakage. !e large screw bal-ance and self-compensating Breguethairspring oscillated at a frequency of18,000 vph. !e rectangular case, withengraved indices around the windows,was available in various materials.Longines targeted as potential customers for this watch physicians,nurses, scientists and everyone elsewho needed a watch that clearly dis-played the passing seconds. Alongsidethis avant-garde model, there was alsoa conventional open version.

1932One Watch,Two Dials

1938Quick Return

DUO DIAL

STOP SECONDE

Star-Writer!e Hour-Angle Watch that Lind-bergh had helped to develop was anideal navigational aid, but the special-ists in Longines’s development depart-ment weren’t willing to rest on theirlaurels, so they went on to launch theSiderograph in 1939. Available as adeck watch, pocketwatch or wrist-watch, this timepiece had a red hourhand, a black minutes hand and twoblue seconds hands as part of a split-seconds mechanism. Color-codedscales that matched the hands indicat-ed angles in degrees and minutes ofarc; the dial was wreathed by a func-tional, rotatable hour-angle bezel. !ewatchmakers #nely adjusted the cal-iber according to sidereal time. !euser could easily determine his or hergeographic coordinates with the aid ofa radio time signal and a table listingthe current positions of celestial bod-ies, known as an ephemeris.

1938

These 54-mm pocketwatches, whichcould conveniently stop and show laptimes, were produced in two versions:one had a large screw balance andcould measure elapsed intervals tothe nearest 1/5 second; the other hada significantly smaller balance andcould time intervals to the nearest1/10 second. The base movement forthe newly developed stopwatch was a veteran: first designed and built in1908, it had performed outstandinglyat chrono meter competitions inNeuchâtel, Kew-Teddington andWashington.

Lap TimesSPLIT-SECONDS CHRONOGRAPH

SIDEROGRAPH

1939



Good is the enemy of better,and nowhere is this adagemore true than when it’s applied to Longines’s move-ments. In 1936, the companybegan development of a newmodel to follow in the foot-steps of chronograph Caliber13.33, which after 23 years inproduction was still successfulbut had become too expen-sive. Various devices for Cal-iber 13ZN had already beencompleted by the autumn of1935, so models containing the new movement could belaunched at the peak of thechronograph’s popularity. Agreat advantage for Longines

was that only a few of thebrand’s competitors had man-ufacture calibers of this type attheir disposal. Available witheither one push-piece or two,Caliber 13ZN was six millime-ters thick and had a fly-backmechanism, a column wheel,as well as a screw balance witha self-compensating Breguethairspring that oscillated at apace of 2.5 hertz, and a 30-minute counter that advancedat half-minute intervals. Hour-counters became fashionablein the early 1940s, so Lon -gines’s technicians created amodified version of Caliber13ZN, first marketed in 1942,which had its 12-hour counterat 3 o’clock. Longines also enhanced the legibility of the60-minute counter by reposi-tioning it in the dial’s center.Like its forebear, this move-ment was, unfortunately, tooexpensive, so Longines soonbegan developing a successor:Caliber 30CH celebrated itspremiere as the brand’s lastchronograph movement forwristwatches in 1947.

!ere were very few rotor-wound calibers for wrist-watches in the 1940s. To avoid infringing on patent protection, many watch brands hurriedly created ham-mer-wound movements with bu%ers to brake the rotors,but Longines opted not to pursue this route. Instead, thecompany concentrated on a mechanism with an oscillat-ing weight that could swing freely. Of course, Longines,too, had to contend with the obstacles presented bySwiss patent law. !e way to overcome them was with asystem in which the rotor wound the mainspring in bothdirections of rotation. !is bidirectional automaticwinding system was integrated in Caliber 22A: launchedin 1945, it had an indirect central seconds hand andamassed 36 hours of power reserve. Its geometry is essentially based on Caliber 27, which debuted in 1944.To achieve an acceptable overall size for Caliber 22A,Longines had to miniaturize the basis, onto which thebrand mounted the self-winding subassembly with apatented click changer. Right from the start, the watch-makers had detected a potential weakness: the relativelythin sta% on which the oscillating weight was borne. To counteract possible breakage, a heavy metal segmentwas elastically a&xed to the central rotor’s disk. !e en-tire device couldn’t be very "at, but an overall height of5.65 millimeters was feasible, and acceptable at the time.

1945First Automatic

WWW.WATCHTIME.COM

1942Chronograph withHour Counter

CALIBER 22A

CALIBER 13ZN


New MovementFamilyLongines o%ered three top lines of auto-matic watches: Admiral, Conquest andFlagship. !e brand-new 340 family ofcalibers debuted in the very slim Flagshipin 1960. Its distinction lay in an o%-center, ball-borne, heavy metal rotor witha complete wreath of teeth. A patentedsatellite wheel changer tightened themainspring for bidirectional winding.Longines integrated the automatic mod-ule into the 4.45-mm-thick movement.!e Glucydur ring balance vibrated at apace of 19,800 semi-oscillations eachhour. Calibers 340, 341, 342, 343 and 345each had a directly propelled central seconds hand; minor technical improve-ments were incorporated into versions342, 343 and 345. Calibers 350, 351, 352,353 and 355 did not have seconds hands.A date display in a window distinguishedversions 341, 343, 345, 351, 353 and 355.!e base movement (Caliber 340) had243 components, which were manufac-tured by machine in a 960-step process.!is family of calibers was used in thevery classical Flagship line in 1960.

1960

Even 30 years after the debut ofthe first self-winding wrist-watches, many potential cus-tomers were still skeptical aboutthem. Manufacturers sought todispel their skepticism by equip-ping watches with power-reservedisplays. Longines, too, addedthis useful indicator to its newlydeveloped 290 family of move-ments. Self-winding Caliber 290,which was first used in the Con-quest family of watches, was 26millimeters in diameter and had24 functional jewels, a direct cen-tral seconds hand and a Glucy-dur balance that completed19,800 semi-oscillations perhour. The special feature of six-mm-thick Caliber 294 was that itspower-reserve display had a cen-trally positioned disk onto whicha hand was printed (see illustra-tion). A central rotor wound themainspring in both its directionsof rotation via a ratchet wheelchanger. If the watch was wornregularly, it would amass a 45-hour power reserve, the level ofwhich was shown on the indica-tor. Unlike base Caliber 290, Cal-ibers 291, 292, 293, and 294 eachhad a date display at 12 o’clock.

1958Focus on Power Reserve

CALIBER 340

CONQUEST


Measuring time at sporting eventswas one of Longines’s specialties.A major advance in the accuratemeasurement of brief intervalscame in the 1960s. !e secondsscale on an analog dial o%ers onlya limited amount of space bet-ween neighboring strokes, soLongines attached a so-called“Vernier” scale to the tip of thecatch-up hand of a split-secondschronograph with 1/10-secondaccuracy. !e added componentwas a modi#ed version of a devicethat could determine tenths of awhole and that had originallybeen invented in the 16th centuryby the Portuguese mathematicianNunes, whose name was latinizedas Nonius. Reading the scale isvery simple: a$er the catch-uphand has been halted, the user

1964Better Legibility

only needs to see which of the 10 Nonius digits is tangent to astroke on the 60-second scale,which runs all the way around theperiphery of the dial. !is digitcorresponds to the number of1/10-seconds that should be added to the last full second. A sporty wristwatch chronographwith a display for fractions of a second was added in 1964. !efunction worked because Longi-nes had #lled the tonneau-shapedsteel case with hand-wound Caliber Valjoux 72, which has abalance that oscillates at a pace of2.5 hertz. !is means that the cen-tral seconds hand progresses in1/5-second increments, and thatno intervening 1/10-seconds canbe measured.

Serially manufactured watch movements, includingthose made by Longines, had achieved a high levelof quality by the mid-1960s. Longines’s watches hadalready run quite precisely, but enhanced precisionmade for a welcome new selling point. This im-provement could only be lastingly achieved by in-creasing the balance’s frequency, but a morequickly oscillating balance led to two problems in amechanical wristwatch. A faster balance consumedmore energy. Furthermore, greater rotationalspeeds and stronger centrifugal forces caused difficulties with the lubrication. Undaunted by thesechallenges, the specialists in Longines’s develop-ment department applied themselves to the task ofdesigning a movement with a faster-oscillating balance. The special feature of automatic Caliber430, which debuted in 1967, s that its balance’sspeed was doubled from 2.5 to 5 hertz, which corre-sponds to a pace of 36,000 hourly semi-oscillations.The movement was equipped with a central ball-borne rotor that could wind the mainspring in bothdirections of rotation thanks to a patented satellite-wheel-changer gearing mechanism. After it wasfully wound, the caliber would continue to run for 36hours. The base version had a central seconds handpositioned outside the flow of force. The versionwith a date display shown in a window was desig-nated as Caliber 431 (see illustration). In keepingwith the speedy frequency of the balance, Longinesused the name “Ultra-Chron” for wristwatches thatcontained these movements.

Faster Frequency

1967

ULTRA-CHRON

CALIBER 262 VERNIER

WATCH HISTORY | !e Milestones


Hamilton premiered the Pulsar, a quartzwatch with light-emitting diodes (LEDs), in1970. But the display consumed so muchenergy that the indicator lit up only whenthe wearer pressed a button, and the illu-mination lasted for a maximum of just 1.25seconds. Longines addressed this energy-related problem with its 1972 introductionof a display that used liquid crystals ratherthan LEDs. The LCDs used 30,000 timesless electricity and thus didn’t need toswitch off to conserve power. In addition tothe hours (in 12-hour or 24-hour format)and the minutes, this model also showedthe date. The round movement used aquartz crystal that oscillated at a frequencyof 32,768 hertz, the frequency still in use to-day. Even if this watch was kept running allyear, its two mercury batteries providedenough current to keep it running evenlonger. This outstanding technical achieve-ment was recognized when Longines wasawarded the American technology prize“I.R. 100” in 1972.

ElectronicallyPowered It was a matter of honor for Longines to participate in the collaborative development of quartz Caliber Beta 21 by theCentre Électronique Horloger S.A. (CEH). At the same time,the company was also working on a caliber of its own, withwhich Longines hoped to win the competition for the world’s#rst “cybernetic watch.” !e daring project was successful: inanticipation of a chronometric sensation, some 150 journalistsfrom throughout Europe responded to an invitation to gatherin Geneva in the late a$ernoon of August 20, 1969.'A$er greet-ing his guests, general director Frédéric Ahles quickly gotdown to business and announced that Longines had developedthe #rst quartz wristwatch that was ready for serial production.!e miniaturization of Caliber 6512 was partly achievedthrough the use of ultramodern microchips. !e little quartzoscillator vibrated at a frequency of 9,350 hertz, quite fast bythe standards of the late 1960s. (!e CEH’s engineers had cho-sen a frequency of 8,192 hertz.) An innovative vibration motorwith a step frequency of 170 hertz served the time display. !e rectangular movement measured 31.8 by 27.5 millimetersand was marketed under the name “Ultra-Quartz.”

1972

1969

InnovativeDisplay

ULTRA-QUARTZ

LCD WRISTWATCH

It took courage to launch a new automatic caliber in 1977. A$er twoyears of research and developmentwork, Longines presented the ‘E’caliber family, which was later re-named L990. Just 2.95 millimetersthick, it was the world’s slimmestmovement with two barrels and au-tomatic winding via a central rotor.Its most notable characteristic was apair of serially arranged barrels thathad made their debut in automaticCaliber L890 in 1975. !e energyand rotational speeds of the twobarrels combined to produce a 44-hour power reserve. !e compara-tively quickly turning mainspringshad lower torques: this signi#cantlyreduced the force exerted on thegear train while at the same timeachieving superior performance.

Paper-!in

1977Response tothe QuartzCrisis

WWW.WATCHTIME.COM

1979GOLDEN LEAF

CALIBER L990

!is solution made it possible tolower the transmission ratio of thetrain between the rotor and the bar-rels, while also enabling the engi-neers to eliminate one gear and toreduce both the weight and thethickness of the ball-borne rotor.!anks to the simplicity of its ar-chitecture, the entire self-windingassembly could be positioned belowthe barrel bridge as an integralcomponent of the movement. !erewere four caliber versions: L990with central seconds and date dis-play; L992 with central seconds butwithout a date display; L993 withdate display but without a second-hand; and L994 with hands only forhours and minutes. Breguet, whichlike Longines is part of the SwatchGroup, now owns rights of this cal-iber, to which it has given a siliconescapement and the name “591A.”

Japanese watch companies seized thelead from the Swiss in the develop-ment of thin electronic movements in1978. Longines, a pioneer in the worldof quartz watches, refused to take thislying down, so the brand joined withits sister company ETA and othermembers of the Allgemeine Schwei-zerische Uhren AG (ASUAG) tolaunch an ambitious project called“Delirium.” The goal was not only tobreak records, but also to overcome

the severe crisis that facedthe Swiss watch indus-try at the time.Longines’s manage-

ment celebrated aspectacular suc-cess on January 12,1979, when it intro-duced the world’sslimmest quartzwristwatch with ananalog time displayand an overall heightof just 1.98 millimeters.The brand launchedthis timepiece under theappealing name, Golden

Leaf. The technicianswho created its movement,

Caliber L795.2, had radicallydeparted from conventional

principles of construction. Thecase’s back doubled as its base

plate. After assembling themovement and inserting the

hands, watchmakers needed onlyto install the bezel and the crystal

above the dial. The hands could bereset by pressing a little button in theback of the slender, golden case.


Enhanced Precision

TraditionallySlim

1982

1984

Another quantum leap in the world of electronic timemeasurement occurred in 1984. Quartz watches inthose days typically deviated from perfect timekeep-ing by approximately two minutes per year, butLongines, which had always been fanatical about precision, wasn’t satisfied. The management chal-lenged the engineers to eliminate these inaccuracies.Temperature variation was soon identified as thesource of the imprecision: the company had been con-cerned about this since the debut of the first portablequartz timepiece in 1954. Man is a warm-blooded ani-mal, so the vibrating quartz inside an electronic wrist-watch works in an environment with a temperature ofapproximately 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. But when thewearer takes off the watch and places it on a desk orbedside table, the ambient temperature sinks to about68 F. The solution turned out to be simple: in a similarconcept to mechanical rate regulators like bimetallicbalances or self-compensating pendulums, Longinesdeveloped an extraordinarily sensitive, high-frequency,quartz thermometer. Its job was to measure the ambient temperature and then collaborate with a preprogrammed circuit to adjust the frequency of thequartz oscillator to suit the temperature. The caliberequipped with this device was given the nameL276VHP: the final three letters stand for “very highprecision.” The Conquest V.H.P. that contained it per-formed with record-breaking accuracy, deviating fromperfection by a mere one minute every five years, orby 0.02 seconds per day. The regulating program itselfremained in the watch’s memory even after the batteries were changed, a simple task that was onlyrequired every five years.

CONQUEST V.H.P.

AGASSIZ

Since 1982 the Agassiz watch line hasprioritized skillful reduction to thebare essentials and single-minded con-centration on the heart of the subject.In this context, minimalism expressesitself through two hands that circleabove a cleanly designed dial. !e con-cept of minimalistic design had alreadyinspired the brand’s founder, AugusteAgassiz. !e elimination of all inessen-tials also included reducing the con-structive height to a bare minimum.!at had already been done with theGolden Leaf model in 1979, but thatwatch had cost more than many of thebrand’s fans would be willing to spend.With this in mind, the Agassiz and its1.95-mm-thick quartz Caliber L970represented a skillful compromise.Case and caliber combined to producea watch with a height of slightly lessthan three millimeters. !e Agassizserved as the basis for the subse-quent development of the successful La Grande Classique line.


A Watch for Our Nearest Star

1989

WWW.WATCHTIME.COM

Wristwatches with simple calendarssu%er from a decisive disadvantage:because of the unequal lengths of themonths, the date display is never correct for more than 92 consecutivedays, from July 1st to September 30th,a$er which the date must be changedmanually. Longines eliminated theneed to manually change the date inmonths with fewer than 31 days whenit premiered the top model in itssportily elegant Conquest line in1995. A specially programmed chip“knew” the lengths of all 12 months.It ensured, for example, that the datedisplay jumped from February 28th toMarch 1st in ordinary years and thatthe calendar didn’t forget February29th in leap years. !e trailblazingsynthesis was christened with thename V.H.P. Perpetual Calendar Conquest. As the star of the year1995, it combined the ultra-precise,temperature-compensating, quartzmovement of the Conquest V.H.P.from 1984 with an electronic perpetu-al calendar. Also onboard: uncompli-cated switching from one time zoneto another, and from summer time to winter time. No fewer than 14,700transistors were needed to accomplishall this, but they were tightly packedinto a microchip with a surface areaof less than 19.5 square millimeters.

Everlasting1995V.H.P. PERPETUAL CALENDAR CONQUEST

EPHEMERIS OF THE SUN

After a brief hiatus from mechanicaltimepieces, Longines returned tomaking them in 1987. The first was anew, limited edition of the legendaryLindbergh Hour-Angle Watch con-taining the slim, self-winding CaliberL990. The brand presented a new de-velopment two years later: beneathits enameled dial with five little win-dows, the strictly limited and individ-ually numbered “Ephemeris of theSun” model had a complex mecha-nism to indicate the times of sunriseand sunset and to display the decli-nation of the sun. In other words, itshowed the daily status of an annualphenomenon. The evolution of thiscycle was shown by a curve in win-dows. The date and the hours servedas coordinates. In this sense, thetimes of sunrise and sunset in thetwo windows at 12 o’clock related tothe month at 9 o’clock and the dateat 3 o’clock. This watch’s ownercould read the sun’s declination in awindow at 6 o’clock. Furthermore,the equation of time could be calcu-lated with the aid of a rotatablebezel. Unintentional repositioning ofthe bezel was prevented by a safetymechanism located between thelower pair of lugs on the stainlesssteel case. The watch was animatedby automatic Caliber L640, whichwas based on an ETA 2892. One thou-sand watches were manufactured instainless steel; 200 others were pro-duced with gold cases.

A brand that’s 175 years oldand that has been continu-ally present on the marketthroughout this entire timehas plenty of reasons to celebrate, which is exactlywhat Longines did in 2007,when the company gave itself a wonderful birthdaypresent: a watch containingLongines’s own exclusivelydeveloped automatic Cal-iber L698. The engineersbased their work on the opu-lent ETA-Valgranges A07with a balance that oscillatesat a pace of four hertz and anoscillating weight borne onball bearings. Perhaps themost sophisticated featureof this 9-mm-thick move-ment, which winds itself viaan unidirectionally windingrotor, lies in its additional indicators, all of which areretrograde. The hands forthe day of the week, the

2007

date, the seconds and thetime in a second time zoneeach progress along arc-shaped scales. When eachone reaches the end of itslonger or shorter arc, itquickly jumps back to itsstarting position. Longinesoffers this wristwatch insteel or rose-gold cases andin two different diameters:41 and 44 millimeters.There’s also a version con-taining Caliber L697. Thismodel has a power-reservedisplay instead of a retro-grade seconds hand at 6o’clock; the seconds handsweeps its circles from thecenter of the dial. Sleek lines and uncommonlymeticulous craftsmanshipcontribute to this watch’s elegance, which is furtherenhanced by polished indi-cators, an embossed dialand blued steel hands.

Except for its provenance and the use of a reliable os-cillating-pinion coupling, Caliber A08.231 has little incommon with familiar automatic Chronographs 7750or A07.111 from ETA, the ébauche specialist. !e high-light of this movement is the newly developed, fully in-tegrated chronograph mechanism with a classical col-umn wheel. Compared to a coulisse lever system forcontrolling a chronograph’s functions, this classicalcomponent o%ers the advantage of reduced wear be-cause six columns share the burden of the variousswitching sequences. !e stress of switching, on theother hand, rests on only two points. Forces trans-ferred from the push-pieces are also more evenly dis-tributed through the use of a column wheel. !anks to the absence of shearing forces, the switching sequences are noticeably smoother and tactilely morepleasant when the “swinging” coulisse moves forwardand back. !e two-spoke zero-return hammers for thechronograph’s elapsed-seconds hand and elapsed-min-utes hand are self-adjusting and moveably mounted onthe zero-return lever. Commissioned by Longines,ETA’s technicians designed a newly conceived switch-ing mechanism with short pathways, the smallest pos-sible number of components and a high degree of user-friendliness. !e push-pieces act relatively directly onthe mechanisms that start the chronograph, stop it andreturn its counters to zero. !

2009Exclusive Caliber

Dancing Hands


THE LONGINES MASTER COLLECTION RETROGRADE

THE LONGINES COLUMN-WHEELCHRONOGRAPH



FACETS

COLLECTION | !e Watch Lines


Longines o!ers a wide-ranging palette of masculine and feminine timepiecesthat re"ect today’s modern aesthetics and technical demands. Such varietytypi#es the following SELECTION OF LONGINES WATCHES that span the range from elegant to sporty. And as a high point in its long historyand to celebrate its 180-year anniversary the brand presents $e LonginesSaint-Imier Collection. BY JULIA KNAUT


LA GRANDE CLASSIQUE DE LONGINESSlim, sleek profiles characterize the La Grande Classique de Longines collection. Ultra-thin cases gently caress the wrist and simple, delicate dials make these watches into timeless classics for men and women alike.

Quartz, Cal. L209, stainless steel with diamonds, 24 mm, alligator strap, L4.241.0.11.2


ELEGANCE$e three di!erent Longines watch collections – Longines DolceVita,Longines PrimaLuna and La Grande Classique de Longines – represent elegance like no other. Whether its typical shape is round,rectangular or extremely thin, each collection represents its ownUNIQUE FACET of this exciting watch brand and combines high style and understatement for watches that are always in fashion.

LONGINES DOLCEVITASince 1997, the ladies’ collectionLongines DolceVita has set the standardfor classic and harmonic design. These feminine timepieces have a fresh look with a smooth combinationof strong lines and delicate curves.

LONGINES PRIMALUNAThe soft silhouette of a changing

moon enhances the Longines PrimaLuna collection. Round

cases, bright dials and sparkling diamonds give the impression of a

heavenly body coming down toEarth. The watches are available in

four different sizes.

Quartz, Cal. L129, stainless steel and rose

gold with diamonds, 30 mm, stainless-steel

and rose-gold bracelet,L8.112.5.79.6

!e Watch Lines | COLLECTION

Quartz, Cal. L178, stainless steel and rose gold with diamonds, 19.8 x 24.5 mm, stainless-steel and rose-gold bracelet, L5.155.5.19.7


Automatic, Cal. L688.2,chronograph, stainlesssteel and rose gold, 41 mm, stainless-steeland rose-gold bracelet,L2.752.5.72.7 Automatic, Cal. L650,

chronograph, stainlesssteel, 34.9 x 40 mm, alligator strap,L2.643.4.73.4

Automatic, Cal. L595,stainless steel with diamonds, 26 x 30.6 mm, alligator strap,L2.142.0.70.2

THE LONGINES SAINT!IMIER COLLECTION

Longines and its Saint-Imier Collection provethat classic and modern design can come

together in perfect harmony. This line includes athree-hand model with date, as well as a chrono-

graph and a new variation of the Retrograde.Four retro displays, a day-night indicator and

moon phase grace the dial. Special movementsexclusively manufactured for Longines power

the chronograph and Retrograde models.

WATCHMAKINGLONGINES EVIDENZAMen’s and ladies’ watches in theLongines evidenza collection are remarkable for the melding of rectangular and curving shapes.Longines built the first tonneauwatch as early as 1911 – and todaythese models are available in classicgold and stainless-steel versions,many with diamonds.


THE LONGINES MASTER COLLECTIONThe Longines Master Collection launchedin 2005 embodies the unique and fasci-nating horological expertise of Longines.This line consists exclusively of mechani-cal timepieces and offers a number of sophistications such as chronographs, fullcalendars with moon phases, retrogradedisplays, power-reserve indicators and second time-zone functions.

TRADITIONLongines can look back on 180 years of history #lled with a great number of technical innovations. $e collections that make up the WATCHMAKING TRADITION LINE clearly refer to this history with a notable emphasis on mechanics of the di!erent models. $e spectrum encompasses three-hand watches and various sophistications.

Automatic, Cal. L678, chronograph, full calendar,

moon phase, stainless steel,40 mm, alligator strap,

L2.673.4.78.3



CONQUESTFunctionality and beauty in theConquest line stand as equalpartners. These watches were developed for active men andwomen with the combination ofdifferent and opposing materialslike ceramic and stainless steel,and mother-of-pearl and diamonds. These multifacetedtimepieces are available withquartz or automatic movements.

Automatic, Cal. L688.2,chronograph, stainless

steel and ceramic, 41 mm, stainless-steeland ceramic bracelet,

L2.744.4.56.7


HYDROCONQUESTThe HydroConquest line has a functionaldesign for use in aquatic environments.These specially designed models have water-resistant cases (up to 30 bar), a unidirectional rotating bezel and divers’ extension piece. Fans of sports watches canselect from a variety of dials and cases.

Watches in the Sport Collection easily exemplify DYNAMIC ELEGANCE and make a great impressionfrom both a technical and aesthetic standpoint. It’swhat makes the timepiece just as appropriate to wearwith a wet suit or evening attire.

Automatic, Cal. L633, rotating bezel, stainless steel, 41 mm,stainless-steel bracelet,L3.642.4.56.6

Quartz, Cal. L263, stainless steel with diamonds, 35 mm, stainless-steel bracelet,L3.280.0.57.6

Quartz, Cal. L263, stainless steel and ceramic with diamonds,35 mm, stainless-steeland ceramic bracelet,L3.281.0.87.7

SPORT!e Watch Lines | COLLECTION


HERITAGETimepieces in the Heritage collection relive MILESTONES from the 180-year history of this technically innovative company. Amongits newest developments are functional watches for aviation as wellas for use on land or sea. $ese new editions closely mirror their historical predecessors.

The Conquest Heritage is based on an originaland historically inspired design. Applied wedge-shaped markers and clearly structured dials support an image of timelessness and reliability.

Automatic, Cal. L633,stainless steel, 40 mm, alligator strap,L1.645.4.75.4

CONQUEST HERITAGE



Automatic, Cal. L615,stainless steel,

38.5 mm, alligator strap, L4.795.4.78.2

Automatic, Cal. 688.2,stainless steel, 41 mm, alligator strap,L4.754.4.72.4

THE LONGINES COLUMN!WHEELCHRONOGRAPH RECORDThis sporty chronograph combines technical expertise with 1960s style. It is equipped with a column-wheel mechanism, striking red stop-secondshand and nonius track that recalls a mechanicalstopwatch developed by Longines in 1966.

THE LONGINES LEGEND DIVER WATCHAs its name suggests, the Legend Diver Watch

traces its beginnings to an earlier Longines divers’watch from 1960. An inner rotating bezel which is

adjustable with a second crown and a synthetic strapmake it suitable for underwater use. A dark dial

with luminous markers ensures superior legibility.

Automatic, Cal. L633,inner rotating bezel,

stainless steel, 42 mm,synthetic strap,

L3.674.4.50.0

FLAGSHIP HERITAGEPurists will appreciate the Flagship Heritage

with a dial designed to facilitate functionand legibility. Its narrow bezel and retro

lettering give it historical appeal.


!e world’s oldest logo still in use today is also a milestone in marketing history: !e WINGED HOURGLASS from Longinesis over 120 years old.

The Longineslogo is easily recognizable onthe balancebridge or in an advertisement.

BY MARIA-BETTINA EICH

MESSENGER

Winged Hourglass | LOGO


LOGO | Winged Hourglass


The oldest registered logo stillin use today is Longines’sWINGED HOURGLASS.

ogos have become a prominent feature of any city. !eyjump out of every media source and in"uence our livesevery day to an ever increasing degree. !e oldest logoregistered at the World Intellectual Property Organiza-tion (WIPO) that is still in use today is not one of thebright conspicuous names that light up New York, Lon-don and Tokyo. !is logo, a winged hourglass, originat-ed in a small town in the Swiss Jura region. It was May27, 1889 when Ernest Francillon, owner of the watchbrand Longines, submitted this symbol to the Swisspatent o#ce as the trademark for his company. It was agroundbreaking move that was clearly in line with hisvision for the company.

In 1854, Ernest Francillon took over the ownershipof the watch manufacturing business founded by hisuncle, Auguste Agassiz, in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Aswas common in those days, Agassiz had purchasedwatch parts from various locations to be assembled bylocal piece workers in their homes. Francillon, hisnephew and successor, was unhappy with the incon-venience of working with far-"ung suppliers and arti-sans and so he approached this problem in a clever and,for those days, extremely modern way – by establishinga watch factory that concentrated the cra$smanship ofhis employees and also expanded the mechanicalprocess in the horological industry. !is new, industri-alized way of manufacturing watches made it possibleto streamline and increase production and to introduceconsistent quality standards. !e watches manufac-tured by Longines in Saint-Imier were subjected toquality controls, were individually numbered, and pro-vided with the brand name “Longines” (followed byvarious addenda in those early years). Using a brandname itself was progressive. Now watches could featurea uniquely created brand name rather than the name ofthe company’s founder or owner. In the case ofLongines, this was the name of a geographical area (“les

Longines began using the wingedhourglass in 1867

(bottom) but did not register it

until 1889 (center). The stylized

hourglass, similarto the one used

today, was createdin 1942 (top).

L


Longines” was the name given to the long narrowmeadows where Francillon built his factory).

!ese well-known and popular Longines watcheswere o$en copied. In order to certify authenticity andalso protect against copies and imitations Ernest Fran-cillon had the winged hourglass engraved on the bal-ance cock inside each watch. !is concealed mark recalled the time-honored tradition of placing a gold-smith’s personal “signature” on his work.

As early as 1867 the symbol became part of everygenuine Longines. Seven years later, in 1874, Francillon

announced o#cially that thewinged hourglass would guaranteethe authenticity of a Longineswatch, even referring to the symbolas his “Trade Mark.” In a decade inwhich the leaders of the watch industry stood in stark competitionwith one another, Ernest Francillonpromoted the uniqueness andquality of his products through theuse of a graphic symbol. !ese are

Usual placementfor the hourglass:engraved on thebalance bridge


known trademarks. It %rst appeared in 1886, almost 20years a$er Francillon %rst began using the wingedhourglass for Longines. It became a registered trade-mark in 1893, which was four years a$er Francillon hadalready obtained exclusive rights to his own trademark.

Unlike Coca-Cola and other early world brands likeFord (whose logo appeared in 1903), Longines used itswinged trademark with great discretion. Even well intothe 1950s the hourglass remained hidden within themovement. Only during the revitalization of the post-war years did the hourglass and the registered Longinesgraphic font %nd their way onto the dials of Longineswristwatches. !e stylized form is still there today withits horizontally spreading wings that recall the 1940sdesign. !e combination of this striking hourglass de-sign and the current version of the Longines graphicfont originated in the 1970s.

Why did Francillon choose a winged hourglass asthe trademark for his watches? Perhaps this was simplyan obvious choice for a watch manufacturer: the hour-glass is an archetypal instrument of timekeeping as well

values that still de%ne the essence of many logos today.!e submission of the trademark to the Swiss patento#ce in 1889 provided legal protection for Francillon’shourglass from imitations. !e hourglass stood withina double circle with the abbreviation EFCo (for ErnestFrancillon & Compagnie). !is led to fewer variationsin the graphic depiction of the hourglass, and the sym-bol began to approach a recognizable, standardizedform. In 1893, Francillon registered the logo as an in-ternationally protected symbol.

In the history of marketing, Francillon stands out asa pioneer with a %nely developed sense for futuretrends. His precociousness is shown by a comparisonwith the most famous logo in history. !e cursive scriptof the Coca-Cola logo is one of the world’s most well-

ERNEST FRANCILLON was a marketing pioneer: He had already beenusing the hourglass symbol for almost 20 years when the world-famous Coca-Cola logo first appeared in 1886.

Pure art déco: poster from 1925 (below)

Catalog entry from1887 with stylizedhourglass (left)

Winged Hourglass | LOGO


DISCREET: The hourglass logo remained hidden inside the movement well into the 1950s.

as a “memento mori” symbolizingthe constant passage of time. Itsdeeper symbolism was ideal to givethe company greater prestige. !ewings provided a distinctly positive,heaven-directed sign that gave thehourglass another dimension. Interpretations vary. !e wings mayindicate the Christian beliefs of thecompany’s devout Protestant owner,or perhaps they are merely pointingupwards in the direction of futureachievements. We’ll never knowwhether the winged hourglass had aclearly de%ned meaning from thebeginning or if the symbol simplyhad a lucky start.

We may no longer be aware ofany distinct message carried by awinged hourglass, but the Longineslogo still has a clearly de%ned func-tion. It meets the criteria that mar-keting experts say make for a suc-cessful logo: It is clear, unmistak-able and unforgettable. And it hasalways been the visual identity ofthe Longines brand, thanks to the re-design of the winged hourglassin the 1940s as well as the historyof Longines in the 20th century. !ewings on the dial form a clearbridge to one of the most impor-tant chapters in Longines history.!is company in the little Swisstown of Saint-Imier collaboratedwith the great aviation pioneerCharles Lindbergh to create a navi-gational pilots’ watch for the earlyyears of "ight.

!e winged design from the ’40scorresponds neatly with this chapterin Longines history. It formed thebasis for the logo in its current form,which di&ers greatly from thesweeping wavelike shapes from the19th century version. It has becomeaeronautical. Now the wings spreaddramatically away from the hour-glass like a technically stylized eagle.Instead of indicating the rapid pas-sage of time, the hourglass nowsymbolizes dynamic air power, andis a perfect re"ection of the elegant1930s and ’40s style featured in somany Longines collections. !

The winged hour-glass with a typical1950s look: adver-tisement from 1950

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LADIES’ WATCHES | Elegance


Diamond fireworks:Longines PrimaLuna“Thousand and OneNights”


HOURSAccuracy is but one aspect of theseBEAUTIFUL WATCHES. Ladies’ watchesfrom Longines have always shown muchmore than just the correct time.BY MARIA-BETTINA EICH

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hat time does your watch tell? Simply the right time, ormaybe a really good time? Vacation time, or maybe justquitting time? Summertime? Time for a workout, or fora new pair of shoes? And most importantly – how does itdo that?

At Longines, creative solutions to these questionshave always played an essential role in the company’slong heritage. Accuracy in displaying the time forms theessential foundation, but Longines’s ladies’ watch de-signs also bring together an entire cosmos of images,dreams and ideas.

One of the most successful watch collections tocome out of Saint-Imier rightfully bears the nameLongines DolceVita. Created in 1997, the elegantlyproportioned rectangular-shaped watch is inspired bythe upbeat flair of the 1950s. The years immediately af-ter World War II celebrated style, femininity and joie devivre with enthusiasm and spirit. Film stars of thattime, like Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, still standas the ideal image of elegance; and Fellini's well-knownItalian film classic “La Dolce Vita”, released in 1960,embodied the vibrant spirit of the decade. Ads for thewatch that bears the same name featured an iconic im-age of Audrey Hepburn from “Breakfast at Tiffany’s,”released in 1961.

A VARIETY OF BEAUTIFUL OPTIONSA bit of the vibrancy of that time is always present whenthe hands advance around one of the Longines DolceVita collection. !ese watches show the time on simplediamond-enhanced dials, and with Roman numerals,gold markers or dancing-diamond Arabic numbers.Steel and gold bracelets and "ne leather straps embracethe wrists of women from America, Asia and Europe –and the watch always recalls those important legends ofthe 1950s. !e form is classically feminine and ladylikein every situation and dedicated to elegance in every wayjust like the divas of the mid-20th century.

!e Longines DolceVita is o#ered in four sizes with avirtually limitless variety of beautiful options, but the col-lection has never followed wild or outrageous fashiontrends. !ose trends would not have harmonized with


WLADIES’ WATCHES | Elegance

The 1950s celebrated high

style and joie de vivre.

Magical or minimalist, but always ultra-slim: La Grande Classique deLongines

A total of 244 diamonds trans-form the Longines DolceVita into anopulent jewel.



Left: Demi-savonnettependant from 1904

Below: Femininepocketwatch fromthe mid-19th century


the Longines DolceVita character,inspired as it is by its 1930s and ’50sdesign. !e Longines DolceVitawon’t measure racetrack times orstressful hours. It remains within therealm of sunny, exhilarating timeswhile still providing accuracy andreliability. Its rectangular shape isperfect for the decisive woman whoknows exactly what she wants.

In 1992 Longines introduced aladies’ watch that has become a trueicon. La Grande Classique deLongines is the name of the ultra-slim watch with a perfectly roundcase and Roman numerals, line in-dexes or diamonds on the simpledial. Its unique lug design is a char-acteristic feature. Only a tiny seg-ment of the case is connected to themuch wider strap and underscoresthe "nesse of its shape.

Longines’s ladies’ watchdesigns bring together

an entire COSMOS ofimages, dreams and ideas.

!e narrow hands on La Grande Classique deLongines measure the hours and minutes of a busy day ina quiet and reserved way. !ey turn within a watch thateasily adapts to the style, age and personal situation of itsdi#erent wearers – unassuming and unmistakable, as itshould be for a watch that has the attribute “classic” in itsname. And La Grande Classique de Longines gives any-one who quickly wants to know the time a taste of its ele-gance and light.

La Grande Classique de Longines has many di#erentfaces. !e combination of a stainless-steel case andbracelet and a white dial gives the impression of puritywhile the combination of Roman numerals, a diamond-encrusted bezel and a "ne black leather strap lends thewatch a feeling of reserved luxury. And if the combina-tion includes a black dial and diamond markers, LaGrande Classique de Longines suddenly becomes awatch with a mysterious, nighttime $air. !e dimensionsof the ladies’ models range from delicate versions (with adiameter of 24 mm) to medium size (34 mm). Quartzmovements generally power these watches with a mini-mum case height of less than 4.5 mm. For those who pre-

Art Deco beauty: pocketwatch from 1923

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fer a mechanical movement, LaGrande Classique de Longines isalso available with an automaticmovement – but naturally it will beslightly thicker.

GRACING THE HOUR WITHTHEIR FLAIRLa Grande Classique de Longines ismatchless as a discreet piece of jew-elry with a reliable display of the dif-ferent times of the day or night, in anyphase of life. For women who prefer aromantic touch, Longines intro-duced the Longines PrimaLuna insteel and pink gold in 2009. Even itsdial has a classic, round shape. !especial emphasis of this design is itsroundness, and its name clearly takesthe moon as its inspiration. !eLongines PrimaLuna has a doublebezel ring that gives the watch its un-mistakable form. Many of the modelshave an external ring of steel and in-ner ring of pink gold, giving thewatch a harmoniously rounded lookthat is the crowning touch for thewarm, so% aura exuded by theLongines PrimaLuna. !e watch ispowered either by a quartz or an au-tomatic movement. Dials range fromnostalgic to extravagant and still re-main thoroughly feminine and suit-able for everyday wear, just like theentire watch. One variation, how-ever, is explicitly dedicated to thenight: 314 diamonds sparkle on thedial of the Longines PrimaLuna“!ousand and One Nights,” and itscase is decorated with 44 more ofthese precious stones.

JEWELRY AND TIMEPIECE IN ONELongines was always a specialist forthe kind of $air that makes wearing awatch a sensual experience. Even before the wristwatch triumphedover the pocketwatch, Longines inSaint-Imier made looking at a watchthat much sweeter for women – withthe addition of precious decorations

Longines was always a specialist forthe kind of flair that makes wearing

a watch a SENSUAL experience.

Far left: Art Nouveauwristwatch from 1915

Top: Longines hasdesigned rectan-gular watches forladies since 1912.


in line with the style of the moment. !e mid-19th cen-tury saw a feminine pocketwatch with a $ower motifencircled with pearls on its caseback. !e watch origi-nated from Agassiz & Compagnie, which later becameLongines. Soon, opulently decorated pendant watchescombining jewelry and timepieces became a Longinesspecialty. Whether in the style of the Belle Époque orArt Deco, the elegant display of time made Longines aleading manufacturer of jewelry watches.

Entwining vines and garlands on watch dials showedthe right time to women of the nature-inspired Art Nou-veau era. Later, rectangular cases accompanied womenalong the path towards emancipation. Tiny watchesgraced the wrists of petticoat-wearing women of the1950s who celebrated their femininity. Playful, avantgarde shapes and futuristic diamond creations showedthe time during the more experimental years of the 1960sand ‘70s. !ese watches displayed the time, and symbol-ized the spirit of the moment and the woman who se-lected this watch over all others. Longines watches were

Left: Delicate watcheswere preferred in

the 1950s.

Below: “Cleopa-tra”, futuristic

sculptural watchfrom 1975

Tiny watches graced the wrists of the women of the 1950s who CELEBRATED their femininity.



creations that made a wristwatch a very personal a#air.!is tradition continues in the current collections ofladies’ watches from Longines, and in the company’s devotion to elegance.

!is special devotion becomes immediately evidentwhen Longines designs a sturdy ladies’ sports watch. !eLadies Diamond Conquest is an all-around watch that isas sporty as it is elegant. !e proportions of the stainless-steel watch with its quartz movement are self-assuredand its design elements are both feminine and dynamic.!e combination of 120 diamonds on a wide, subdividedbezel, along with a mother-of-pearl dial and diamondmarkers, provide a balanced combination of a sportswatch and "ne jewelry. Other variations are available inblack or white ceramic – encircled by a delicate diamondring on the bezel that then continues down the metalbracelet like a racing stripe. !e watch is refreshing,stimulating – an inspiration to take on new adventureswith an upli%ing e#ect when the routine of daily life returns. !e art of the Ladies Diamond Conquest is the"ne balancing act between the sporty, dynamic design

elements and feminine "nesse – the emotional e#ectof a beautifully exquisite, sturdy watch.

On the occasion of its 180-year anniversary, theLongines brand has chosen to celebrate at the loca-tion where it grew up and still makes its home: Saint-Imier in Switzerland’s Jura region. !e LonginesSaint-Imier Collection consists exclusively of watcheswith mechanical movements. Both the inside and theoutside of the new collection re$ect the horologicaltraditions of the company. A model from 1945 is themost important source of inspiration for its design.For ladies, the new collection o#ers watches that linkclear, functional design with a hint of retro. In steel, orsteel with rose gold, with diamonds or without, theSaint-Imier for ladies tells of the tradition of a strongbrand and of the way daily interaction with an objectof beauty can enrich your life. !

Left: The Ladies Diamond Con-quest combinessteel, ceramic anddiamonds.

Right: The LadiesDiamond Con-quest is both pow-erful and elegant.

AROUND THE WORLD | Ambassadors

AMBASSADORSAMBASSADORS


BY JULIA KNAUT

Longines’s ambassadors come from many di!erent countries and possess a number of very di!erent talents. But one thing unites these performers and athletes: Each has a distinct and unmistakable style. "eir variety andversatility are the best representatives of the many FACETS OF ELEGANCE.

Kate Winslet is known as one of the most versatile actorstoday. Her extraordinary range allows her to embodyvery di!erent characters, whether in front of the cameraor on stage. At the age of 11 this talented British actorhad already begun appearing in a number of televisionprograms and in 1994, she made her movie debut in“Heavenly Creatures.” "ree years later, she starred inthe blockbuster movie “Titanic.” Despite her enormoussuccess, she continues to accept roles in smaller #lmprojects. She counts several prestigious movie awardsamong her achievements. She is the youngest actressever to have received six Oscar nominations. In 2009,she won the Best Actress Oscar for her performance in“"e Reader.” She earned her third Golden Globe awardin 2012 for her performance in the TV mini-series “Mildred Pierce.” "e same year she received a Césard’honneur congratulating her on her entire career. In2012, she has as well been honored by Queen ElizabethII and named “Commander of the Order of the BritishEmpire.” In addition to being such a talented actress,Kate Winslet is the mother of two. She also spends hertime and energy on the foundation she has set up: theGolden Hat Foundation. Its aim is to eliminate barriersfor people with autism around the world and to helpthem by giving them a suitable education.

KATEWINSLET

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Named Miss World in 1994, Aish-warya Rai has had an extremely suc-cessful career as a model and actress.She has graced the covers of the mostimportant lifestyle magazines andappeared in numerous Bollywood#lms. She has also been acting inEnglish #lms since 2004. In 2009, sheplayed in the #lm “"e Pink Panther2.” Early in her career she became in-volved with charitable organizationsin support of orphaned children anddisadvantaged people in India. Shehas been a Longines Ambassador ofElegance since 1999. In 2007, shemarried the celebrated actor Ab-hishek Bachchan and gave birth to adaughter in 2011.

AISHWARYARAI-BACHCHAN


Her extraordinary charm and exquisite style make her an ideal Ambassadorof Elegance. Chi Ling Lin was born and raised in Taiwan. One of the most famous models in Asia, she has also proven her many talents on televisionand in movies. In 2004, she became involved in various foundations, includ-ing some in support of AIDS victims and orphans. In 2008, Chi Ling Linmade her #lm debut in “Red Cli!” directed by John Woo. In 2010, she playedin her third Chinese comedy #lm, “Welcome to Shama Town.” Chi Ling Linalso sponsors a calendar each year whose pro#ts are donated to charitable organizations. In 2011, Chi Ling Lin established the Chi-Ling’s CharityFoundation in order to help disadvantaged children.

CHILING LIN



Born in 1969 in Lithuania, she was an early fan of #lmand theater. Her fascination led her to study drama. A$ercompleting her studies, Ingeborga Dapkunaite appearedin her #rst movie role in the 1992 #lm “"e Cynics.” Additional roles followed in award-winning #lms and onstage, bringing her international attention. She remainsactive in cinema and has also sat on various #lm juries including the 2003 International Film Festival inCannes. She has performed in “Hannibal Rising” and“Seven Years in Tibet,” among other #lms. She has alsobeen working on stage with John Malkovich in “"e Giacomo Variations” since 2011.

NGEBORGADAPKUNAITEI


Aaron Kwok Fu Shing is known asan all-around entertainer. He be-gan his career in 1984 as a dancerand today he is one of Asia’s mostadmired singers, dancers and actors. His appearances have wonhim over 100 music awards andmultiple honors at the TaiwaneseGolden Horse Film Festival.Kwok uses his extraordinary tal-ents for the bene#t of others andhas founded the Aaron KwokCharity Foundation in 2003. He isalso UNICEF Ambassador for thePaci#c Region. He participates invarious car races in order to raisemoney from sponsorship fees todonate to UNICEF. A lover of luxury objects and watches inparticular, Aaron Kwok joinedthe Longines family of ambassa-dors in 2005.

AARON KWOK FU SHING



A Golden Globe and Emmy nominated actor, Aus-tralian-born Simon Baker has an impressive backgroundthat spans both #lm and television, capturing the atten-tion of audiences worldwide. He can currently be seenplaying ‘Patrick Jane’ in the popular series “"e Mental-ist.” His performance has earned him both Emmy andGolden Globe nominations for Best Actor in a DramaSeries. “"e Mentalist” is one of the networks’ highestrated shows, breaking viewing records right out of thegate. In 2012, Baker was seen in “Margin Call,” a thrillerwhich revolves around the key players at an investmentbanking #rm during a 24-hour period in the early stagesof the 2008 #nancial crisis. In 2010, Baker was seen in director Michael Winterbottom’s “"e Killer Inside Me”opposite Casey A%eck. Prior to this, he starred in the20th Century Fox smash hit “"e Devil Wears Prada” op-posite Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway; he also starredin “Something New,” a romantic comedy. Baker #rstgained attention in Curtis Hanson’s Academy Awardwinning #lm “L.A. Con#dential” opposite Kevin Spaceyand Danny DeVito. He was o&cially introduced as aLongines Ambassador of Elegance at the Prix de DianeLongines in Chantilly (France) in June 2012.

IMON BAKER

S

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Germany’s most famous tennisplayer can look back on a 17-year ca-reer and 902 victories. Even as a childshe won tennis competitions, whichshe continued throughout her youthand reached the high point of herathletic career in 1988. "at year Ste-fanie Graf won all four Grand Slamtournaments and Olympic gold. Shewas selected as Athlete of the Year forthe #rst time in 1999 – the year sheo&cially retired. Since that time shehas devoted herself to her founda-tion Children for Tomorrow, whichhelps children who have been trau-matized by war. In 2012, the founda-tion received the Longines Prize forElegance.

TEFANIEGRAF

"is exceptional American athlete has won the most impor-tant tennis tournaments in the world. In 1999, Agassi wonthe French Open, making him the #rst male player to win allfour Grand Slam titles and Olympic gold in his career. He#nished that year as world number one for the #rst time.Agassi has 60 career singles titles including eight GrandSlam titles. In 2005, he #nished in the top 10 for the 16th timein his 20-year career. He also received the Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award for his social involvement. In 1994, hefounded the Andre Agassi Foundation for Education whichpromotes recreational and educational opportunities for at-risk children and youth in Agassi’s hometown of Las Vegas.In 2001, he also opened the Andre Agassi College Prepara-tory Academy. He has devoted himself full time to theseprojects since o&cially leaving professional tennis in 2006.In 2011, he received the highest honor in the sport of tennis:induction into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

NDREAGASSIAS


In 1998, Stefanie Graf established the non-pro#t organiza-tion Children for Tomorrow in collaboration with theHamburg-Eppendorf University Hospital. Graf ’s founda-tion initiates and supports projects worldwide that assistvictims of war, persecution and violence, primarily chil-dren. Its main focus has been the healing of emotionalwounds. Projects are currently underway in South Africa,Eritrea, Uganda, Kosovo, and Hamburg, Germany. At theHamburg clinic, Children for Tomorrow provides psy-chological assistance and special therapies for refugeechildren. "e foundation has also created an educationalcenter there for therapeutic sta!.

CHILDREN FORTOMORROW

At the high point of his career, Andre Agassifounded the Andre Agassi Foundation for Ed-ucation in 1994. "rough this foundationAgassi helps improve educational opportuni-ties for children and youth in America. In 2001,he created the Andre Agassi College Prepara-tory Academy in Las Vegas that o!ers an excel-lent education to students from kindergarten

to 12th grade. "e foundation also promotes #nancial investment in public schools and supports a stronger sense of responsibilityfrom administrators, teachers and parents. Tothis end, every year Agassi hosts the Longinesbene#t concert “Grand Slam For Children.” Todate it has collected donations of more than$90 million.

FOUNDATION FOREDUCATIONANDRE AGASSI

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Few skiers have achieved as many top rankings asAksel Lund Svindal. "is Norwegian athlete beganskiing at age three and has taken part in importantcompetitions since the age of 16. His internationalbreakthrough came in 2002 at the Europacup in Italy.Despite serious injuries in 2007, Svindal returned tothe slopes the following season with his mix of tech-nique and elegance. Today, this exceptional athlete isan Olympic gold medal winner and is counted amongthe most successful athletes of his time with fourWorld Championship titles and seven season titles infour di!erent disciplines.

AKSEL LUNDSVINDAL


Horses have always been the epit-ome of elegance and are the passionof professional rider Jane Richard."e Swiss rider won her #rst profes-sional tournament in Kerzers,Switzerland, in 1998. Since that timeshe has always remained among the top 10 Swiss riders in her class.

ANERICHARD

Richard’s best season so far was in2006 with three #rst-place wins andfour times on the winners’ podium.One year later she achieved her bestresults to date, taking third place atthe Dublin Horse Show on Jalla DeGaverie. She continues to participatein top-level riding events.

J

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At every major gymnastics competition theChinese men’s gymnastics team is always oneof the medal favorites. Exceptional talents suchas Li Ning, Yang Wei and others have alwaysplaced them at the top of the world in this cate-gory. Team wins were achieved at the WorldChampionships in 2003, 2006, 2007, 2010 and

2011 and they were heralded as the “SuperTeam” at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.Seven #rst-place wins there gave the team theunchallenged top position in gymnastics. In2012, in London, the Chinese men’s gymnasticsteam successfully defended their Olympic titlefrom the Beijing 2008 Games.

HE CHINESE MEN’S

GYMNASTICS TEAMT


Absolute self-control and absolute elegance of movement – this fully charac-terizes the rhythmic gymnast Evgenia Kanaeva. She was born in 1990 inOmsk, Russia, and trained in the sport since early childhood. One ofKanaeva’s greatest inspirations is the famous Usbek gymnast YanaBatyrchina, who happens to be the #rst athlete to be awarded the LonginesPrize for Elegance. Today, Evgenia Kanaeva’s numerous titles have made hera model athlete in her own right. She is currently one of the most titled gym-nasts in the world a$er recording three World Championship and three European Championship victories. She successfully defended her Olympictitle from Beijing at the London 2012 Games. Her greatest successes so farwere at the 2009 and 2011 World Championships of rhythmic gymnasticswhere she won six gold medals – an unbroken world record in the sport.

EVGENIA KANAEVA

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As a complement to its role as the o&cial partner andtimekeeper for the French Open, Longines is also in-volved in the future of tennis. "e company establishedits Longines Rising Tennis Stars foundation to promoteand support the careers of young talented tennis playersfrom around the world. Seven young players are cur-rently part of this program.

HE LONGINESRISING TENNIS STARST

Born in Haskovo, Bulgaria, GrigorDimitrov began playing tennis whenhe was only #ve years old. Some ofhis greatest successes include theJunior Champion title at Wimble-don and the U.S. Open 2008.

DIMITROVGRIGOR

"is nineteen-year-old is known as theup-and-coming tennis talent in Brazil.Tiago Fernandes was the #rst Brazilianplayer to be named the world’s numberone junior player by the InternationalTennis Federation.

FERNANDESTIAGO

As one of the youngest players ever,Ryan Harrison won his #rst ATPTour Match at the age of only 15. In2011, this American player won his#rst singles title at the Challengerlevel.

HARRISONRYAN


Tsung-Hua Yang was born inTaiwan in 1991. Not only did hewin the world’s most renownedtennis tournaments in his ageclass, he also received the title ofTaiwan’s Athlete of the Year.

YANGTSUNG-HUA

"is talented German player began her profes-sional tennis career in 2004. Sabine Lisicki playedher best season so far in the year 2011 and wonseveral tournaments including two WTA tourna-ments, and was also awarded the' ComebackPlayer of the Year prize.

SABINE

ROBERTO

SAI-SAI

In 2011, the Spaniard Roberto Car-balles Baena was listed 11th on theITF Junior world rankings when hewas 18 years old. He won two tour-naments that same year.

ZHENGIn 2010, Sai-Sai Zheng was only 16when she represented China at theYouth Olympic Games. She gar-nered attention a$er winning thegold medal in doubles and silver insingles.

LISICKI

CARBALLESBAENA


Longines guards a unique treasure within its walls. Important information about each of its watches made since 1867 is listed in archived RECORD BOOKS, as the following story explains.

ARCHIVE | “Etablissage” Books

800 BOOKS, BY JENS KOCH


Memories of Longines:A separate archiveroom has been setaside for storing the record books.


Single-pusherchronograph:

Archival recordsprovide infor-mation on the

location and dateof purchase.

Introduced in 1913: The Longines Cal.13.33Z is one of the first wristwatch chrono-graph movements.

This red “Etablis-sage” book lists the20,000 Longineswatches with serialnumbers between12700001 and12720000.

“Etablissage” Books | ARCHIVE


have fond memories of the years during my childhoodspent with my grandfather in the garden. At some pointduring the day, he would look at his watch and say, “Just10 more minutes until we have to go inside.” !en he’dpress the crown to set its timer. Sometimes we were al-lowed to play with the watch and start and stop the move-ment of the hands ourselves. My grandfather lived to aripe old age – and when he died, the watch went "rst tomy uncle, and then it came to me.

!at’s when I began looking for more informationabout this special watch. It’s a silver single-pusherchronograph from Longines. Our local dealer told meabout the company’s archives housed at their headquar-ters in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, where I might "nd moredetails about my watch. A#er a phone call, my watch andI were invited to stop by.

Two weeks later I stepped o$ the train in the smalltown in the Jura region and walked down the long stepsleading to the large Longines building. Even though it wasonly October, newly fallen snow lay on the surroundingmountains. A#er being greeted at the front desk, I enteredthe archives with the curator of the museum. Shelves cov-ered the walls from %oor to ceiling, completely "lled withlarge red record books. I was deeply impressed to learnthat every Longines watch made between 1867 and 1969was listed in these “Etablissage” books.

By using the serial number of my watch, we quicklyfound the correct volume and entry. !ese recordsshowed that the watch had a silver case and was equippedwith the 13.33Z caliber, one of the "rst chronographmovements built for wristwatches, and that it had already been produced in 1913. My watch – as we alsoread in the book – was exported on May 9, 1919, to the

Weil company in Chile, the Longines importer for thatcountry. My grandfather must have purchased the watchduring his stay in South America as a mining engineer,when he had worked in Chile for several months on acopper mine project. I was surprised to learn that thisSwiss brand had been sold abroad at such an early date.

Now I knew the whole story of the watch and knewwhen and where it was manufactured and sold. It was amoving experience to realize that a#er more than 90years, and traveling back and forth across the Atlantic,the watch was right back where it had been made.

Another remark in the book noted who had adjustedthe watch. Like my grandfather this watchmaker had certainly already passed away, but the memories of mygrandfather and my childhood have not died. His watch– which I intend to wear always – continues to remindme of those precious times. !

IThe entry of the single-pusherchronograph in the“Etablissage” book

COLLECTING | Longines at Auction

Collector’s dream:the first Longines

chronograph Caliber13.33Z – here

the earliest modelfrom 1913

Longines’s rich history provides a multitude of opportunities for watch fans to increase the value of their collections with the addition of some FASCINATING TIMEPIECES. !e models featured here are generally obtainable in the four-digit price range at any noteworthy auction house.

GUIDELINESBY CHRISTIAN PFEIFFER-BELLI


nyone who is interested in collecting Longines watchesshould take these guidelines to heart. !ey address themost desirable chronographs, navigational watches andelegant three-hand watches of this important brand andwill help ensure that fans of historical timepieces do notoverlook important pieces – and this in turn will helpgive their collections a representative overview of wrist-watch production at Longines.

CHRONOGRAPHSAny "ne Longines collection begins with a model con-taining the Caliber 13.33Z. !is single-pusher chrono-graph was built between 1913 and 1936 and is usu-ally found with a 14- or 18-karat gold or silvercase with a hinged cover. Steel versions aremuch rarer. Gold watches from the 1920sand 1930s (that is, not the earliest models)currently go for around 6000 euros at auc-tion, while silver watches can be had foraround 4000 euros. At the time of their pro-duction the case and movement numberswere identical and care should be taken at thetime of purchase for veri"cation. (Unfortu-nately, matching numbers were no longer used atlater dates.) Special attention should also be paid to thehinge on the back cover. Any damage will need to be re-paired by a goldsmith and this can become quite expen-sive. Another important feature is an original, unre-stored dial with correct fonts. Enamel dials should neverhave breaks, hairline cracks, or chips along the edge.

!e next acquisition for any chronograph fan shouldbe a watch with the Caliber 13ZN. !is movement has a#y-back function, column-wheel, screw balance andhairspring with overcoil, and was built from 1936 to1947. It is one of the most famous chronograph calibersin watch history. Even passionate collectors will "nd itdi$cult to have just one. !ere are still some gorgeoussteel models with two- and three-tone dials at prices be-tween 5000 and 8000 euros, and also with enamel dials. Agold version was also made in a waterproof case with athreaded caseback that can cost up to 20,000 euros. Moredi$cult to "nd are the models beginning in 1942 with acentral minute counter. A steel watch of this type in new,pristine condition will cost anywhere from 30,000 to40,000 euros at auction.

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AChronographs with theCaliber 13.33Z: a raresteel model from 1925(above) and a gold version from the 1930s

The last chronographmovement built byLongines: The Caliber 30CH was cased insteel and gold watchesfrom 1947 onwards.

Valuable piece ofwatch history: steelchronograph fromthe 1940s with theCaliber 13ZN

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!e successor Caliber 30CH also has a #y-back func-tion. !e movement was used starting in 1947 and, likethe 13ZN, has a screw balance, hairspring with overcoiland column-wheel. It is so desirable among collectors because it was the last chronograph movement fromLongines for quite a long time. Watches of this type cur-rently cost around 7000 euros. Gold watches begin at3500 euros and steel at 5000 euros.

NAVIGATION WATCHESAnother milestone that occasionally appears at auctionsis the silver Lindbergh Hour-Angle watch from the1930s with an enamel dial and oversized case (47.5 mm).Depending on the condition of the watch it may fetchanywhere from 15,000 to 30,000 euros. !e smallermodel with a diameter of 33 or 37 mm can be had for3000 to 5000 euros.

Less expensive than the Lindbergh watch is theWeems pilot watch from the 1920s and ’30s. One versionis available with a rotating bezel and second crown in dif-ferent sizes up to 34 mm. More popular today howeverare the 47.5 mm watches which have a rotating dial cen-ter that can be turned with the single crown. !e watches

contain the Caliber 12.L or 12.68.!e smaller models currently costabout 3500 euros while the largerversions go for about 15,000 euros.

ELEGANT THREE-HAND WATCHESIn addition to the chronographs and special instruments for pilots,Longines fans always "nd the ele-gant models with a central or o%setsecond hand of particular interest.Some of the more sought-a&erwatches of this type are the “Flag-ship” models that were built withmanual-winding and self-windingmovements.

!e Calibers 30L to 30LS, whichwere initially created in 1957, werewound by hand. Steel models withthreaded casebacks generally go for around 3000 euros at auction.Gold versions (which were also pro-duced with small diamonds at 3, 6and 9 o’clock) can be purchased foraround 2000 euros.

Among the #agship automatic ver-sions, the Calibers 340, 350 and 380with a ring gear rotor rank highest.!is family of movements was intro-duced in 1960 and includes watches insteel and gold, and very rarely in plat-inum. Bargain hunters may even beable to "nd the luxurious gold modelswith a gold dial and leather strap (oreven a gold bracelet) for 2000–3000euros and increase the value of theircollections at a reasonable price.

Although these and other inter-esting Longines watches are accessi-ble to a relatively broad circle of col-lectors, a few very special pieces stilloccasionally appear at auctions – buttheir prices usually exceed the pricerange of a normal collector. In fact,

Uncommon find: The Lindbergh Hour-

Angle watch in a silver case is rare.

Lindbergh’s “cousin”:The Weems pilot’s watch was built with a rotating bezel (left) or rotating center dial.

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COLLECTING | Longines at Auction

WWW.WATCHTIME.COM

SPECIAL LONGINES Chronos | 137

this occurred in October 2008, whenthe Antiquorum auction house inNew York sold a Longines watchfrom the private collection of AlbertEinstein. Reaching a "nal price of$ 596,000, the rectangular goldwristwatch (with its engraved case-back showing that it was awarded toEinstein on February 16, 1931 in LosAngeles) entered the annals of his-tory as by far the most expensiveLongines of all time.

Einstein’s watch and the price itachieved at auction will be recordedand stored in a comprehensive data-base, along with every other watchthat Longines ever built. !e brand

intends to create a complete store ofinformation before the end of 2013.!is will give Longines fans the op-portunity to trace the history of anywatch from the date of its productionand to determine prior auction re-sults. Every timepiece is currentlybeing registered along with its refer-ence, serial and movement numbersin order to make them clearly identi-"able. An ambitious project for abrand that has already producedmore than 38 million watches! !

Research assistance regarding priceswas kindly provided by Martin Pech,and the auction houses Dr. Crott, Chris-tie’s (Geneva) and Sotheby’s (Geneva).

Starting in 2013, collectors will be able tofind the product histories and auction pricesof every watch ever made by Longines in a COMPREHENSIVE DATABASE.

Most expensiveLongines in history:this rectangular watchfrom Albert Einsteinwas auctioned for$ 596,000 in 2008.


Elegant highlights:Flagship modelswere produced inthe 1950s and ’60swith automatic and manual-winding movements.

Ebner Publishing International, Inc.274 Madison Avenue, Suite 804, New York, NY 10016Tel 646-742-0740, Fax 646-742-0748E-mail: [email protected]

Project Editor: Rüdiger Bucher

Managing Editor: Maria-Bettina Eich

Contributors: Gisbert L. Brunner, Maria-Bettina Eich, Julia Knaut, Jens Koch, Alexander Krupp, Alexander Linz, Christian Pfeiffer-Belli, Joe Thompson

Assistant to the Project Editor: Bettina Rost

Translations: Joanne Weinzierl

Graphic Design:Publisher’s Factory, Munich, Germany

Chief Executive Officer: Gerrit Klein

U.S. Publishing Director: Dominik Grau

European Publishing Director: Martin Metzger

Production Director: Michael Kessler

Production: Dr. Cantz’sche Druckerei Medien GmbH, Ostfildern-Kemnat, Germany

Thanks to: Walter von Känel, Juan-Carlos Capelli, Véronique Beuchat, Matthieu Baumgartner, and all at Longines who contributed to this special issue

© Ebner Publishing International, Inc.All Rights Reserved. October 2012

Postmaster: Send address changes toWatchTime Subscription Service, P.O. Box 3000, Denville, NJ 07834-3000, Tel 1-888-289-0038

Printed in Germany

LONGINES SPECIAL

THE MAGAZ INE OF F INE WATCHES

CONTRIBUTORS

Gisbert L. Brunneris a renowned watch expert based in Germany, the author of numerous books about watches, and a contributor to WatchTime.

Rüdiger Bucheris the editor-in-chief of Chronos,Germany’s leading watch magazine,and WatchTime’s sister publication.

Maria-Bettina Eichis a freelance writer in Germanyspecializing in design and watches.

Julia Knautis an editor of Chronos.

Jens Kochis an editor of Chronos.

Alexander Kruppis an editor of Chronos.

Alexander Linzis a veteran watch journalist based in Austria and a contributor to WatchTime.

Christian Pfeiffer-Belliis editor-in-chief of Klassik Uhrenmagazine in Germany and the author and editor of numerous books about watches.

Joe Thompsonis the editor-in-chief of WatchTime.


205020308 Watch Time Longines Speical

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