Longines’ distinguished watch manufacturing traditions cover a variety of time-measurement systems and techniques. From simple stopwatches for measuring straightforward time spans to sophisticated electronic timing installations, the company turns out a wide range of timemeasurement and time-display devices. In fact, Longines has over 125 years’ experience in timekeeping.

In 1912, at the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Meet in Basle, Longines introduced an electromechanical timekeeping system based on the broken-wire principle. Then a world first, this kind of automatic device soon spread to a variety of other sports. Applying the same principle to more advanced technologies, during the Second World War Longines developed a light-beam finishing line using a photoelectric cell, revolutionising the world of timekeeping in the process. From then on, photographic and electronic systems gradually replaced mechanical and electromechanical technologies. Longines itself authored a considerable number of fundamental advances in this new area, further consolidating its enviable worldwide reputation in timekeeping technology.

The Timekeeping Museum reflects Longines’ distinguished service in this area. From the 20H calibre, its first simple chronograph designed and built in 1878, to the Chronocaméra, the Chronocinégines system, the celebrated Contifort and the Chronotypogines to the Télé-Longines system, these displays highlight the devices and systems devised by Longines to time and record for posterity the world’s exploits.