Longines
Longines was founded in Saint-Imier Switzerland in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz who started as a watchmaker along with lawyers Henri Raiguel and Florian Morel. The companies original name was Raiguel Jeune & Cie. By 1846, Raigeul and Morel had retired from the watch industry, leaving Agassiz as the owner to carry on the company. Agassiz continued to work and build the company adding his nephew, Ernest Francillon to the company. He developed the crown wound pocket watch as opposed to the key wind and eventually took over the company when Agassiz passed away. With Fancillon running the company a modernization occurred including a push to mass production in 1867 by establishing his first factory in St. Imier known locally as Les Longines. This is how the name came to be. Francillon also brought on Jacques David, a talented engineer and appointed him as Technical Director. This allowed in house watch movement production which began a year after the factor was built in 1867 just in time for the exhibition in Paris. Francillon sent Jacques David to the 1876 World’s Fair in Philadelphia where he learned from the Lancaster, PA watch companies and created a report about American watchmaking.
By 1880, Longines was known for its timepieces. and counterfeiters began copying their watches until Fancillon trademarked the Longines name in 1880. In 1927, P.V.H. Weems began working with Longines and together they produced Longines first wrist watch. Business was stable for many years and in 1983 Longines merged with SSIH which eventually became The Swatch Group in 1988.
By 1880, Longines was known for its timepieces. and counterfeiters began copying their watches until Fancillon trademarked the Longines name in 1880. In 1927, P.V.H. Weems began working with Longines and together they produced Longines first wrist watch. Business was stable for many years and in 1983 Longines merged with SSIH which eventually became The Swatch Group in 1988.