The Saint-Imier watchmaking establishment is founded by Auguste Agassiz, brother of the famous naturalist Louis Agassiz. Auguste and his two partners make and sell pocket watches with crown-wheel escapements similar to those produced by the Swiss watchmaking industry in general.

Agassiz becomes head of the company. Thanks to his family contacts in the United States, it is hugely successful abroad, particularly on the other side of the Atlantic.

Ernest Francillon, Auguste Agassiz’s nephew, joins Saint-Imier. This qualified economist gradually takes over the family business.

The Longines factory, located in Saint-Imier – or, more precisely, in Es Longines (‘long meadows’) – is inaugurated in 1867 by Ernest Francillon. That same year, it produces its first movement, the 20A. This 20-line calibre has an anchor escapement, as well as a pendant winding and setting mechanism. It wins an award at the Universal Exhibition in Paris in 1867.

All the factory’s watches bear the Longines name on the dial. A winged hourglass is also engraved on the movements.

Jacques David, technical director at Longines, goes to the United States for the Universal Exhibition, held in Philadelphia, as a delegate of the Société Intercantonale des Industries du Jura ('Intercantonal Industrial Society of the Jura'). The report he writes upon his return is generally regarded as being the catalyst for the industrialisation of Swiss watchmaking, which at the time was still based on the system of établissage, characterized by a network of highly specialised artisans working independently. Thanks to Francillon’s intuition and David’s hard work, Longines is able to be a pioneer in mechanised production.

With its new mechanical procedures, Longines produces a simple chronograph movement, the 20H calibre, patented by the watchmaker Alfred Lugrin. This is the first mechanism manufactured by Longines that can be used for precise timing, an area in which the brand will invest heavily from the end of the 19th century.

The oldest known advertisements for products by the brand with the winged hourglass are related to horse racing. Pride of place goes to Lugrin's patented chronograph featuring a single push-piece. The first Longines chronographs sold in America are not only for bettors, to assist them in their assessments, and horse racing spectators, but for everyone involved in the sport: buyers searching for future champions, riders aiming to improve their performance, stud farms, and riding schools. As early as 1886, Longines is already supplying the majority of New York’s sports officials.

Having laid the foundations for a production system using machine tools, Longines now becomes involved in high-precision timekeeping and produces its first movement for a certified chronometer, the 21.59 calibre. This chronometer movement is based on a calibre developed in 1878 which is adapted to improve its accuracy.

Francillon takes measures to protect his business. From 1880, the brand name is filed with the Federal Office of Intellectual Property, while the logo is registered in 1889. In 1893, worldwide protection is provided when the brand name and logo are filed with the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property, the forerunner of the WIPO. Longines is the oldest brand name registered with the WIPO still in use, unchanged, today.

Longines is associated with exploring for the first time, when it equips Prince Luigi Amedeo of Savoie, Duke of the Abruzzi, in his Arctic expedition.