Unbeknownst to some, Longines traces its legacy back to 1832, when Auguste Agassiz and his fellow watchmakers opened a humble workshop in St-Imier. The success that Longines enjoys today is largely thanks to Agassiz’s forward-thinking nephew Ernest Francillon, who joined the company in 1852. Francillon opened the Longines factory in 1867, in a precinct named Es Longines, which translates to “long meadows” and from which the brand takes its name. Francillon desired a technologically advanced factory.
His brainchild incorporated the latest construction and crafting machinery, along with hydro-electric turbines, which
