LONGINES
Founded in Saint-Imier in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz, Longines is one of the oldest watch brands still trading under its original name. The manufacture takes that name from the land itself: the factory Ernest Francillon built in 1867 stood on a stretch of ground the locals called Es Longines. Francillon’s decision to bring every stage of production under one roof, at a time when Swiss watchmaking was scattered across home workshops, is what turned a trading house into a manufacture.
The Winged Hourglass
Registered in 1889, the winged hourglass is recognised by the World Intellectual Property Organization as the oldest unchanged trademark still in active use. It has never been redrawn. That continuity is the clearest statement of what the house sells: not reinvention, but a standard held steady across nearly two centuries.
A Timing Company
Longines has timed sport since 1912, beginning with equestrian events that remain central to the brand today. The flyback chronograph patent granted in 1936 came out of aviation work, and it is still the technical claim the modern Spirit collection rests on. Alongside it, the Master Collection, HydroConquest and DolceVita carry the everyday range of a house that belongs to the Swatch Group since the 1983 merger of ASUAG and SSIH.