Brand Longines history
In the summer of 1832, Auguste Agassi arrived in the Swiss city of Saint-Imier and quickly organized his own watchmaking workshop. Initially, the company was called Comptoir Raiguel Jeune Cie, that is, the name of Henri Regel, one of Agassi’s partners, appeared in it. With his departure, the workshop was renamed Comptoir Agassiz Cie.
In 1862, the workshop passed to Ernest Francillon, the nephew of Auguste Agassi. The new owner had an economic education, which allowed him to take the enterprise to a new level. In 1866, Francillon acquired land in a place called Les Longines, where the future famous factory arose. He transferred all his workers here.
From the very beginning, the Agassi family factory was a pioneer, which made certain things for the first time in watch history. The factory’s first discovery was the L20A caliber watch movement, presented at the 1867 exhibition. A special feature of this watch was the presence of a crown, with which you could start the watch at any time without using a key. At the Paris exhibition, the invention was highly praised and Francillon was awarded a bronze medal.
In subsequent years, Longines became famous not only for its excellent quality movements, but also for its many innovations. The factory was the first to organize mass production of wrist models, offered an alternative to round watches, was the first to use automatic timekeeping and time important historical events, created the first automatic movements for models of various types and made other discoveries useful for the watch industry.
Elegant watch. POCKET WATCH.
Pocket watches were invented long before Auguste Agassi opened his watch factory. With their appearance, separate pockets for watches began to be sewn into suits, located on the side opposite the leading hand, so that it was convenient for a person to write and occasionally glance at his watch. At the Longines factory, pocket watches were produced in different sizes: solid ones for men and smaller ones for ladies. Pocket watches were thin, making them easier to wear.
To prevent the watch from getting lost or falling out of the vest pocket, it was attached with a chain to the vest button. In some watch models, such a keychain was an independent accessory that decorated clothing. But there are also variants of chains that were simply inserted into a buttonhole.
The dial of pocket watches was marked with Roman or Arabic numerals. The second hand worked separately from the hour and minute hands, which was convenient, as it eliminated the possibility of incorrectly determining the time when briefly looking at the watch.
WRIST WATCH
The transition from pocket watches to wristwatches can be considered revolutionary, since it was difficult for consumers to abandon the usual standard. Many years have passed since their first appearance until the period when they began to replace pocket models. Some people even today find it inconvenient to wear a watch on their wrist, preferring to use pocket models or electronic equipment with a watch.
Longines was a pioneer in this area and was the first to launch mass production of wrist models. This was quite difficult to do, since the company had to rebuild all production processes in order to produce products of a completely different type. Mass production of wristwatches dates back to 1905, but their dominance over previous models dates back to the 20-30s of the 19th century.
At the beginning of the last century, wristwatches were mainly made for specific purposes. In particular, they were produced for drivers and the military. The peculiarity of these models was their massiveness, large numbers and simple hands, which can be quickly seen in the most difficult situations. Watches of this type are not particularly sophisticated, as they were used purely for practical purposes.
Following this, the time has come to overcome another stereotype to move from round to rectangular and other watch shapes. It was quite difficult for customers who were accustomed to certain patterns to adapt and accept watches of a new form, but this also happened.
The transition to a new form led to the birth of a new design direction for Longines. Having abandoned the round shape, the designers managed to create the mechanism itself of a new shape.
New design opportunities opened up with the advent of diamonds at the factory. Precious stones organically fit into the gold watch case and set a new fashion for expensive products.
CHRONOGRAPH WATCH
An important milestone in the company’s history was the production of chronograph watches. Longines released the first simple chronograph mechanism in 1878. At first, chronographs were of interest to horse racing participants. When starting and stopping the chronograph, it was possible to know the exact time down to a fraction of a second, allowing jockeys to strive for the highest results. Chronographs were produced both independently and as an independent mechanism in regular watches. In the late 1880s, sports judges often used Longines chronographs. The same thing is observed in equestrian sports today with more modern chronographs.
In 1913, the company released caliber 13.33Z for a single-pusher chronograph. Its special feature is the ability to measure time with an accuracy of one fifth of a second. Thanks to this precision, Longines chronographs quickly gained popularity in the world of sports. With their help, the first continuous flight across the Atlantic was timed, as well as a number of other famous expeditions. Since the mid-twentieth century, the company has timed almost every Olympic Games.
Longines hallmarks
Back in 1874, Francillon asked his customers to beware of counterfeits, since with the growing popularity of the Longines factory, the number of people wishing to profit from someone else’s fame also grew. To complicate the task of counterfeiters, the manufacturer developed his own mark, which was subsequently placed on many parts of the watch. First of all, the brand with the Longines inscription appeared on the dial, which allows you to identify the famous watch at a glance.
In addition to the name of the factory, the watches indicated their serial number and a logo with the image of a winged clepsydra.
By the serial number of the watch you can accurately determine in what year it was released. To do this, you need to use a special list that shows the serial numbers of Longines watch movements by year. For example, the number 3225474 on the watch above is from around 1914.
