Longines - 175 Years in Watchmaking
The year 2007 marked the 175-th anniversary of Longines watchmaking heritage. The brand, with manufacture facilities established in Saint-Imier, Switzerland since 1832, marked the occasion through holding festivities at the Genevan Cite du Temps.
As a part of the 175-th anniversary, Longines has also launched its new jewel-watch for ladies called the Longines 175 Diamonds. The Longines 175 Diamonds is the most elegant and refined way to commemorate the brand's anniversary and please the brand's female clientele. The lady’s watch demonstrates the brand's aesthetic heritage and love for elegance. The timepiece has been manufactured in a limited series of 175 pieces. The 175-diamond-embellished jewel-watch celebrates the Longines anniversary with remarkable elegance.
At the press conference devoted to the anniversary, Nick Hayek Jr., CEO of Swatch Group, and Walter von Kanel, Longines President, revealed the new Longines Master Collection Retrograde watch. The timepiece was presented as the flagship of the collection highlighting the over-century-old horological tradition. The Longines Master Collection Retrograde created for men is a fine example of rich watchmaking heritage and continuous search for new ways of expressing elegance. The new Longines watch is equipped with an automatic mechanical caliber, exclusively developed for Longines by ETA.
Finally, the Longines jubilee was marked by publishing a volume that may be considered to be a true testament to the remarkable technical heritage of the brand. The historic work is called 'At the Heart of an Industrial Vocation - Longines watch movements (1832-2007) - Tradition, know-how, innovation'. The book will tell everyone interested a story about the development of the brand's calibers.
The readers of the book will discover interesting information about the numerous watch movements developed by Longines since the first half of the 19-th century till the present day. The historic work was written by Patrick Linder, a young researcher studying deeply the history of watchmaking. The writer has analyzed the evolution of the watch calibers manufacturing through the most important phases in the watchmaking industry. The book has richly illustrated little-known facts about the brand's industrial adventure.
To pay tribute to 175-year-history of the manufacture activity at Saint-Imier, Longines has opened two new rooms of its Museum. The first room displays the results of watchmaking during 1957-2007, while the second room demonstrates the brand's advertising development. Longines has also displayed the factory books that comprise lists of all watches produced in the workshops.
Following the festivities organized on 26th September, the brand has inaugurated a unique exhibition, tracing the entire history of the brand, including the many facets of the brand. The exhibition at the Cite du Temps became a perfect reflection of the Longines 175-year history. The exhibition will be welcoming the public till 14-th October.
Located right in the heart of Geneva, the Pont de la Machine, a bridge over the Rhone River, has served as an emblem of the city since 1840. It was initially built for supplying water to the new public fountains and gradually became a symbol of the city's industrial development. The Swatch Group has been managing the Cite du Temps building on the bridge since 2005. The Cite du Temps has represented a unique interactive space for holding permanent and temporary exhibitions.
The Longines maison in Saint-Imier is proud of 175 years of continuous watchmaking expertise as well as 125 years of sporting heritage as the brand has acted as timekeeper for world championships and partner of international federations.
Today Longines timepieces are sold in more than 130 countries all around the world. The brand is part of Swatch Group S.A., the leading watch manufacturer in the world.
