Winning awards and protecting Longines’ reputation (1867-1889)

Indeed, the production route taken by Francillon was to receive confirmation in the form of distinctions and prizes awarded at universal exhibitions held internationally. In the last third of the 19th century, the production of the Longines factory was regularly honoured by various accolades testifying to the quality of a production concept which attempted to integrate, on different levels and according to different experimental approaches, the contributions that machine tools could make to watchmaking. In 1874, Francillon also took protective measures to guarantee the authenticity of his production, and to guard against the counterfeits that were attempting to take advantage of the Longines name. He published a notice stipulating that all watches and all movements produced in his factory from 1867 onwards were to bear the name of Longines or the winged hourglass which is the symbol of the brand. From that time onwards the Longines brand and the winged hourglass symbol became firmly established. In 1880 the brand name was filed with the Federal Office of Intellectual Property, while the symbol was registered in 1889. In 1893 worldwide protection was provided when the brand name and symbol were filed with the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property, the forerunner of WIPO. Longines is thus the oldest brand name to have been registered with WIPO and still in use unchanged today.