The early 20th century

During the first decade of the 20th century, the development of the movement – the heart of the watch and the centre of activities at the factory at Saint-Imier – underwent a process of reorientation. Spurred by the creative impetus of Alfred Pfister, who joined the company in 1896, a range of calibres was developed. While the Longines movements of the first third of the 19th century were characterised by their robustness, the design perfected by Pfister and his staff was to place a new value on aesthetics. This range of calibres was produced in sizes from 8 to 24 lines; it was also executed in a slimmed-down version. The emergence of a construction model for the movement produced according to different approaches betokened a new way of thinking about watch manufacturing, aimed at the rationalisation of production. The calibres produced in Les Longines were mainly used in pocket watches, but the wristwatch – which used movements similar to those used in pocket watches – were gradually gaining ground.

Over the first ten years of the century, Longines employed a significant number of workers - although the numbers were very much dependent on economic circumstances. While the workforce at the Longines factory numbered about 900 in 1907, this figure rose to over 1000 in 1911 and almost 1200 by 1912. In a village of scarcely more than 8000 souls, the place occupied by the company, in spite of the presence of numerous other watch manufacturers, appeared predominant to say the least. Every day a long procession of workers would march up along the banks of the river Suze in the direction of the village; this procession of workers illustrated the close connections that existed between the Longines factory and the village of Saint-Imier, whose development owes much to the watchmaking industry.