Longines are a Swiss watch brand that create luxury timepieces with a commitment to tradition, elegance and performance. Based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, the company was founded in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz, who had a lifelong passion for horology.
The Longines factory was built on land which was locally known as ‘Les Longines’, or ‘Long Meadows’, a name which was adopted when the factory was built there in 1867. By 1889 the famous Longines ‘winged hourglass’ logo had been patented, and is currently the oldest logo for a watch company still in use today.
Advanced technical research led to the Longines factory winning many awards for the watch movements they were producing. However, during the 1900s focus changed to developing horological instruments for aviation, and in 1919, Longines had become the official supplier for the International Aeronautical Federation.
This partnership with aviation was cemented in 1931, when pilot Charles A. Lindbergh developed a watch with Longines for his famous non-stop flight over the North Atlantic. The ‘Lindbergh-Hour-Angle Watch’ is still in production today.
By 1945, the technological advances in the factory at Les Longines had led to the launch of their first self-winding movement, which was soon followed by a hand wound chronograph movement in 1947. Longines soon gained a reputation for creating accurate and reliable timepieces, and so their partnership with sports and timing began.
Providing timers for the first modern Olympic Games in 1896, Longines have since timed the Olympics 14 times. Along with this impressive achievement, Longines developed a clock in 1954 which could capture still images every 100th of a second. This technology proved to be ground-breaking and was used on finish lines for both athletics and motor racing.
1982 saw Longines celebrate being the official timekeeper for Formula 1 for a decade, and since then they have been associated with many other sporting events, such as the French Open Tennis Championship, Prix de Diane at Chantilly, and Royal Ascot. These prestigious events embody Longines’ beliefs of elegance, performance and tradition, and in 2007 they introduced their own Sports collection.
Along with performance and attitude, Longines values are founded upon elegance and tradition. Chosen to represent those values are ambassadors Kate Winslet, an Oscar winning actress who exudes elegance, Chi Ling Lin, who has represented Longines values for several years, and Simon Baker, an Australian actor who has embodied their slogan “Elegance is Attitude” since 2012.
Today Longines is a truly international brand. Sold in over 140 countries, they produce elegant and traditional watches, along with sports models and chronographs. Celebrating their 175th anniversary in 2007, Longines dedicate themselves to being leaders in the field of horology, heralding from their founders ambition and passion for watchmaking.
Longines is available at our Nottingham branch.
For any enquiries please contact:
Nottingham: Tel (0115) 947 2692 or Email:[email protected]
