American influenceĭue to the increasing fame of the U.S. This innovative adaption of the pendulum clock’s system won Longines an award at the Paris Universal Exhibition that same year. The technicians built the 20A with an anchor escapement that users could wound and set via a pendant crown. Longines Watch Company produced its first watch movement, the 20A, in its new factory following its stability. In his pursuit of excellence in the Watchmaking industry, Francillon sought the expertise of Jacques David, a talented engineer, as the new technical director.
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The name “ Longines” was a tribute to the “long meadows” surrounding the business’ physical location. Imier, which finalized his plans to start mass production. Now at the helm of affairs, Ernest Francillon started the seceding process of the company from the etablissage system to move towards a more advanced production method.īy 1867, he established the first factory in southern St. He produced the crown-wound pocket watches that overtook the popular key-wound option, so he naturally took over the company’s leadership when Agassiz became weary with age. He introduced his brilliant and enterprising nephew, a trained economist Ernest Francillon, into the business to manage the growing business.įrancillon was pivotal to several unique innovations that distinguished Longines from its counterparts in the watchmaking industry. In 1846, his partners Raiguel and Morel retired, so Agassiz became the sole company head. Early DaysĪgassiz’s budding firm quickly became known for well-crafted pocket watches, and his network of overseas friends helped his brand. This process led to progress despite the Swiss Jura’s dying economy and lack of necessary natural resources. The system embraced the highly recognized rich Swiss-making traditions and innovations by enabling the production of quality watches. Individual merchants, workshops, families sold finished parts to companies instead of in-house production. The Etablissage system was the dominant Swiss technique for making watches in the late 19th century. They worked well and produced high-quality watches despite passing through complicated exchanges and processes. On the other hand, Skilled Watchmakers focused on producing just one or a specific type of watch component.ĭue to the environment and region’s geography, the workshops were in far remote areas throughout the mountains, so they worked individually from home or in small workshops.Īfter gathering enough parts from merchants, the Comptoirs sent them to assembly (Etablissage) and finishing specialists. The Comptoirs operated as the central channel for watch production, which was in charge of getting parts, trading, and marketing wristwatches. They, however, switched to in-house production under Francillon’s status quo-defying leadership.īefore we proceed, let’s discuss the foreign terms to better understand the Longines Watch Company’s evolution. Initially, the partners set up their business as “ Comptoirs” according to the “ Etablissage” system. This area was very famous for making watches in the Bernese Jura Mountains. The Longines Watch company began as a partnership between businessman banker Auguste Agassiz and lawyers Henri Raiguel and Florian Morel under the name “Raiguel Jeune and Cie” before becoming Longines in 1832 St.
LONGINES SERIAL NUMBERS AND DATES HOW TO
How to Identify a Vintage Longines Wristwatch.
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The Conquest Watch Collection (1960 – 1969).