Longines supports the burgeoning field of aviation

The 1920s witnessed numerous attempts to master air travel, a field which requires time measurement instruments of extremely high precision. Thanks to its chronometers, Longines, the official supplier to the International Aeronautical Federation (IAF) since 1919, was right up there with the pioneers of the sky in their expeditions. In 1925, for example, the winged-hourglass brand accompanied Locatelli’s flight in the North Polar region; in 1926, the Saint-Imier company was there when Mittelholzer flew from Switzerland to Iran. But it was above all the human and technical achievement of Charles Lindbergh in 1927 which had a real impact in terms of brand awareness. Flying the "Spirit of St. Louis", Lindbergh succeeded in making the first non-stop crossing of the North Atlantic, from New York to Paris. His feat, officially ratified by the IAF, was timed using Longines measurement equipment. Subsequently, equipment provided by the winged-hourglass brand was to assist numerous pilots in their explorations of the skies.

The Saint-Imier brand also accompanied the Antarctic expedition led by Admiral Byrd, but it was above all in the field of aviation that Longines was to provide chronometers. Between 1926 and 1939, the company was associated with a long list of prestigious flights. Longines also provided the equipment for the "Graf Zeppelin" airship captained by Hans von Schiller during his world tour. In 1938, Howard Hughes beat the speed record for a flight around the world, circling the globe in less than four days equipped with chronometers and chronographs supplied by Longines. In 1931, however, Longines’ involvement in the conquest of the skies took on a whole new dimension when, based on a design executed by Charles Lindbergh on the basis of his experience as a pilot, the company developed and produced an Hour Angle watch. This device, which was to be of crucial importance for pilots at that time, showed Greenwich time and the corresponding hour angle.