Longines
Swiss luxury watch manufacturer
Longines was founded in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz in Saint-Imier, Switzerland where it remains today. The company is among the oldest of watch brands and its winged logo, registered in 1889, is the oldest (unchanged) registered trademark. The brand is known for accessibly-priced luxury watches and owners have included legends like Humphrey Bogart, Amelia Earhart, Albert Einstein, Howard Hughes and Charles Lindbergh. Early on, Longines became a major player in sports timing with many innovations. Its first chronograph debuted in 1878 and quickly became a favourite in the horse racing scene. In 1912, Longines developed the first sports timer triggered by an electric wire. Charles Lindbergh's first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic was also timed by Longines. The brand is now an official timer for equestrian sports,, alpine skiing, the Commonwealth Games and more. The company became a subsidiary of SMH in 1983, which is now the Swatch Group. Since 2020, the CEO has been Matthias Breschan (previously with Rado). Breschan succeeded Walter von Känel, who had successfully led Longines for 51 years.
Longines currently has different collections with the Legend Diver, Conquest and Spirit lines among the most popular.
Following the first wave of now-legendary dive watches from Rolex, Blancpain and the like, Longines began producing divers in the late 1950s, most notably the Nautilus Skin diver. With classic aesthetics and Super Compressor cases originating in the 1960s, the Legend Diver series is today among the most sucessful of the brand’s dive watches.
The Conquest Collection combines sporty elegance with robustness for everyday use. To mark the collection 70th anniversary in 2024, Longines revisited one of its iconic timepieces with the Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve model, for which the power reserve is displayed by two rotating discs in the centre of the dial.
Launched in 2020, the Spirit collection is a tribute to the brand’s important legacy in aviation. The line’s watches feature different movements in particular with the Zulu Time and fly-back models whose functionallity is directly connected to the collection’s background.
Although Longines was a pioneer in the development of calibres since the late 19th century, its modern collection currently relies on modified Swiss ETA mechanical and quartz movements to remain accessible to a wide audience. The brand boasts one of the most respected names in the history of watchmaking and continues to be a leader in the affordable luxury segment.
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