Towards a new system of watch production

The putting in place of a structure for producing watch movements and watches required major effort and constant modification. From its beginnings in 1867, this vast “work in progress” continued during the end of the 19th century and into the 20th. The organisation of the factory underwent major development; additional tasks (inherited from the division of labour which applied in the context of regional établissage) were integrated and a process of specialisation led to the emergence of new operations, indeed of new professions. The changes in the organisational structure to some extent reflected the development of the production method used at the Longines factory. At the same time, mechanical production processes were progressively introduced under the supervision of the engineer Jacques David. Encouraged by the findings brought back from Philadelphia by David, Francillon continued to try to improve production by implementing the benefits of the mechanical age.

In parallel with these changes in working methods, quality and production control procedures were set up. Although the first watches produced at Les Longines are listed from 1867 onwards, it would take several years, during which the production structure was being put in place, before the documents containing this information – the livres d'établissage – began to include headings indicating the existence of a procedure for verifying production quality. Once the movement was assembled and cased up, i.e. once the timepiece was finished, the watch was subjected to a final control carried out by experienced watchmakers. The regularity of the rate was checked, and if any irregularities in the functioning of the watch were detected the watch was sent back to the timing workshops or other workshops further upstream in the production process. These production controls were carried out in what was known as the lanterne department, because it housed the special glass-fronted cupboards in which repairers and timers hung watches being kept under observation. This was the last stage carried out within the factory before the watch was put on sale.

Once the control procedure was completed, the watch and the movement inside it were placed on lists covering the entire production at the factory, the livres d'établissage. Kept in the dispatch department, these huge ledgers listed all the movements and timepieces produced at Les Longines using an individual consecutive number engraved on each calibre. In 1867, when Francillon was taking his first steps towards a “new production concept”, he immediately put in place a system which would enable him to identify all the movements produced in his factory. He wanted to have total traceability of production. All this information is recorded in the livres d'établissage, a series of documents which made it possible for quality control to be exercised on all items produced.