“34 Million Longines Watches” Exhibition Room

Throughout its history, Longines has produced more than 34 million watches, all carefully recorded in the Etablissage books and in the documents that have since taken their place. The production of these watches has been influenced by the periods in which they were made. Responding to changes in manufacturing technology sometimes developed by Longines itself and in the aesthetic preferences and requirements of different markets around the world, the history of watch production can be divided into several phases. Each phase imposed its own notions of what a watch was meant to be, what norms it must meet, and how it should be designed; in other words, a watch can be better understood when viewed in the light of production concepts that have changed, and continue to change, over time.

This Exhibition Room, devoted to the millions of watches created by Longines, attempts to present the facts about watchmaking in a series of displays, each of which symbolises the production of one million watches. It offers a succinct insight into the challenges faced by watch manufacturers over different periods, and provides food for thought on the time required to produce a million timepieces. The displays combine iconographic elements and contemporary source materials relating to the activities that precede the assembly of a watch. They illustrate what was at stake for the company and put watchmaking in a wider context.

This approach adopted by the Museum helps to trace the history of Longines through the evolution of its productivity at Saint-Imier. The structure of this room is dictated by the changing pace of manufacturing. While the first million watches were produced between 1867 and 1899, the thirty- millionth piece was probably made between 2001 and 2002, so the timeline is not strictly accurate but representational. As a result, the acceleration of production, the progress of technology, and the changes in the commercial aspects of the industry can also be observed in this room. Each display takes a symbolic, theme-based approach to the manufacture of one million watches.