In Saint-Imier since 1832, Longines established close and enduring links with the village that in turn witnessed its growth and development then its accession into the exclusive circle of prestige watch firms.

In 1832, Auguste Agassiz initiated an association with a watc jobbing venture, soon taking over the business and entering the world of watch manufacturing in the process. During the 1850s, his nephew Ernest Francillon took over management of the venture to which, in 1862, he gave his own name. He soon found himself exploring ways of improving the production processes prevailing in regional watchmaking areas like his.

He finally came to the conclusion that there was much to be gained from bringing together under one roof the various assembly and finishing operations which, in his day, were widely scattered. Francillon decided to build a factory in which to assemble and finish production while resorting to mechanical production processes as he saw fit. So in 1866, he purchased two adjoining strips of land on the right bank of the Suze, the Saint-Imier valley’s modest river, at a place known to locals as Les Longines.

When Ernest Francillon finally gathered some of the workers with whom his venture did business under the same roof, he hired a relation of his, a young engineer named Jacques David, to design and build the machines which improved the methods of watch production. Despite all sorts of frustrations and hurdles, the Longines factory enjoyed buoyant development, not least because of Francillon’s visionary decisions. Convinced that the future of watchmaking lay in mechanisation and now a reputed engineer, Jacques David travelled to the 1876 Universal Exhibition in Philadelphia from which he returned to write a report that triggered a wide-ranging debate within the Swiss horological community. The 1870s confirmed the merits of the industrial direction chosen by Francillon and the factory enjoyed uninterrupted development up to the first third of the 20th century. The buildings constantly had to be extended and enlarged to keep up with a steadily growing enterprise; in 1911, Longines employed over 1,100 workers, selling its wares all over the world.

The impressive number of Grand Prix awarded to Longines.

Inaugurated in 1992, this initial part of the current Museum presents the major milestones and events of the company’s history. It highlights the contributions of important actors in the company’s rise to prominence and recalls the important dates of its corporate life. Here is where the major stream of Longines history flows, assisted by countless precious timepieces and numerous invaluable archival documents recalling its birth, development and exceptional destiny.