Jun 11, 2012
Reading time 6 min.
Longines 180th Anniversary Collection Embraces the Brand's History
Longines Single Push-Piece Chronograph 180th Anniversary
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The Swiss watch brand Longines was founded 180 years ago this year in the village of Saint-Imier. The current Longines president, Walter von Känel, has not been around quite that long, but his tenure is an impressively lengthy one, nevertheless: 43 years with the brand. And von Känel, who spoke with me during this year's Basel fair, is demonstrably excited about his brand's 180th anniversary and the new line of watches, called Saint-Imier, that commemorates it.
In explaining how Longines, which has been a pillar of its parent company, the Swatch Group, since 1984, has thrived for nearly two centuries, the outspoken von Känel credits the value of a consistent brand identity. "For a company to last 180 years, it needs a clear vision. You need to focus and not change every bloody day what you want to do. We are very lucky within the Swatch Group, because we have a clear mission, which is to become number one in our price segment. And it is very important for us to stay in this price segment and not to 'yo-yo' in and out of it as some other brands have."
Von Känel points out that the most successful watch brands are those that have not radically changed the look of their most popular models but also realize when the time comes to freshen up their line with new models. "Omega has the Speedmaster, the Seamaster, and the De Ville. Rolex has had the same models for 20 years, 40 years. That's consistency. This is what we've tried to achieve with our Grand Classique and Master collections. But you also have to have some imagination; you have to add some new kids to the family. So this year we have added the Saint-Imier Collection."
Longines CEO Walter von Känel
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The Saint-Imier case is based on that of a Longines model that dates from 1945; Von Känel hands me an example of the vintage piece and refers to it as the new collection's "father" and "birth certificate." As a design, it is intended to tread the line between classical and contemporary. The first three pieces in the Saint-Imier family are a three-hand with date window, a chronograph, and a "prestige" model with four retrograde functions plus day/night and moon-phase displays. All the models have mechanical movements that can be viewed through sapphire exhibition casebacks.
The three-hand models, with a date window at 3 o’clock, are available in a steel, two-tone steel and rose-gold, or rose-gold case, and in four case sizes (26 mm, 30 mm, 38.5 mm and 41 mm). Some will be set with diamonds. The choice of dials includes black, silvered, and white mother-of-pearl with diamond indices. The hands are coated with Super-LumiNova. The watches are fitted on a black or brown alligator strap, or a steel or steel-and-rose-gold bracelet, with a folding safety clasp, to match the dial. "Three-handed calendar models make up probably about 80 percent of the business in a brand like ours," von Känel estimates. So leading off the new collection with a such a timepiece was an easy decision for Longines. (Click on watch photos for larger images.)
Longines St.-Imier Three-Hand Date Silver Dial
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Saint-Imier chronograph models are fitted with an L688.2 column-wheel movement developed and produced exclusively for Longines by ETA, the movement manufacturer that is Longines's sister company within the Swatch Group. Cases are steel, steel and rose gold or, on certain models, rose gold alone, and come in two sizes: 39-mm and 41-mm diameter. The dials are silvered or in black, and have small seconds displays at 9 o’clock and a date window between 4 and 5 o'clock. The chronograph has a central sweep-seconds hand, a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock and a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock. These also come on black or brown alligator straps or on steel or steel-and-rose-gold bracelets with folding clasps.
Longines Saint-Imier Chronograph black dial
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The third model in the collection is the most complicated. It contains Caliber L707, another exclusive Longines movement from ETA that supports four retrograde functions (day of the week at 12 o’clock, date on the right-hand side of the dial, second time-zone with a 24-hour scale on the left-hand side of the dial and a small seconds at 6 o’clock) as well as a day/night display and moon-phase indication (directly below 12 o'clock and above 6 o'clock, respectively). The steel case is 44 mm in diameter; the dial is black or silvered. Each is mounted on a black or brown alligator strap or a steel bracelet.
Longines Saint-Imier Calendar Retrograde
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In addition to the new collection, Longines is releasing a quartet of limited-edition anniversary models, all reminiscent of earlier timepieces from Longines's history and all limited to 180 pieces.
The Longines Column-Wheel Single Push-Piece Chronograph 180th Anniversary Limited Edition is modeled after the first chronographs produced by Longines starting in 1878, particularly the brand's first wristwatch chronograph from 1913, powered by Caliber 13.33Z. The new watch contains Caliber L788, a column-wheel chronograph movement developed exclusively for Longines that has a single push-piece integrated into the crown for the stop, start and reset functions. The white dial features a bright red numeral "12,” a design element reminiscent of the so-called "Agassiz dial" (named for Auguste Agassiz, who founded Agassiz & Co., the forerunner of Longines) of the original version. The moving lugs, common on many vintage Longines wristwatches, also echo the 1913 timepiece. The case is rose gold.
The Longines Column-Wheel Single Push-Piece Chronograph 180th Anniversary model (above) and the vintage 1913 wristwatch on which it is based (below)
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Longines 1913 Chronograph Wristwatch
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Longines also offers two anniversary models for ladies, both of which contain quartz movements — not an inappropriate choice, since, as von Känel points out, "We offer both mechanical and quartz watches and we mean to continue with quartz." One is the Agassiz 180th Anniversary Limited Edition, a contemporary version of a watch launched in 1982. It has an extra-thin rose-gold case (25.5 mm in diameter) set with 180 diamonds. The dial is mother-of-pearl, with 12 diamond hour markers, and the strap is black alligator leather.
The other feminine model is La Grande Classique de Longines 180th Anniversary Limited Edition, which has an extra-thin, 29-mm steel case set with 180 diamonds and mounted on a stainless-steel bracelet. Like the Agassiz model, it has a white mother-of-pearl dial with 12 diamonds as hour markers.
Two anniversary models for ladies: above, the Aggasiz; below, the La Grande Classique de Longines
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Longines Grande Classique 180th Anniversary Limited Edition
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The anniversary piece with the most obviously vintage look is the Longines Lépine 180th Anniversary Limited Edition, a pocketwatch with a a manual-wind mechanical movement, Caliber L878. Inspired by early pocketwatches produced by Agassiz, its yellow-gold case has a guilloché-decorated back cover which opens to reveal an engraved caseback also in gold. The white, lacquered dial features black painted Roman numerals and blued steel hands.
Above, the Longines Lépine 180th Anniversary Limited Edition; below, the 19th-century Agassiz pocketwatch that inspired it
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Longines 1840 gold pocketwatch
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Von Känel, who describes his brand's price range as basically between $1,000 and $5,000 U.S., says that the Saint-Imier line will be the priciest in Longines's portfolio, starting at around $2,000. The 180th Anniversary models will, of course, be priced at or above the high end of that range, some exceeding $10,000. However, he believes that Saint-Imier is a natural extension of the brand rather than a harbinger of big changes in either price segment or focus. "We are talking about evolution here," he says. "Not revolution."
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