11 July Longines once again opened the doors of its workshops to a select group of members of our L'Orologio Club. Six enthusiasts and collectors, discovering the company's production sites and its fascinating museum, guided by people from the manufacture, working in various departments but also lending themselves to illustrating the brand's special features to the guests. And to emphasise its heritage, lingering longer, this time in the restoration workshop.
This is a magical place where spare parts for watches produced since a few years after the founding of Longines (1832) are stored. When spare parts are not available, they are rebuilt. Refurbishment of any of the company's vintage watches is offered for all those made between 1867, the year the company moved to its Saint-Imier headquarters, and 1984.
Welcoming the group to the manufacture were Daniel Hug, head of the heritage department, and Matthias Breschan, CEO of Longines, who answered all the curiosities of our enthusiasts with attention and kindness. Particularly appreciated was the presentation of the historic relationship between the brand and Italy, which has grown thanks to a strong presence in two sectors: aviation and sport.
In the Saint-Imier museum, this brotherhood between Italy and Longines can be touched, through memorabilia recalling the long partnership with Ferrari, the timing of the Giro d'Italia or the exploits of Francesco de Pinedo and Italo Balbo. The visit to the museum was also the moment in our journey that highlighted the connection between the company's recent innovations and its past.
Despite its imposing size, only the 30% of the company's production, including the gold models, as well as all the prototypes and small series, is now made at the Saint-Imier plant. The movements are manufactured exclusively in the nearby ETA plant (belonging, like Longines, to the Swatch Group), into which the production of Longines calibres was channelled in 1983. Other work is carried out in factories belonging to the Swatch Group itself.
Our trip to the manufactory ended with a wrist test of the new models, some of them a first for the market launch.
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