Founded in 1832 in the Swiss town of Saint-Imier, Longines boasts a long tradition characterised by the elegance of its timepieces. The maison was originally a watchmaking comptoir, one of the many that were opening in that area during those years. In 1867, Ernest Francillon chose to break with the traditional production methods applied by Swiss watchmaking up to that point. He therefore brought his workers together in a single building, adopting and developing mechanical production processes: the Les Longines factory was born. Since then, the Saint-Imier manufacture – with its lucky winged hourglass – has continued to develop further, creating numerous timepieces that have earned it international recognition. Today, Longines is in fact the watchmaking brand that has received more than 10 Grand Prix awards at International and Universal Exhibitions. Since 1919, Longines began to supply its time-measuring instruments to the world of aviation, accompanying the pioneers of the sky in their endeavors (remember Lindbergh's famous flight from New York to Paris ). The watchmaking Maison also earned a position of great prestige in sports timekeeping by designing measuring instruments that gave it worldwide visibility. Today, Longines preserves its long watchmaking tradition and continues, as it has always done throughout its history, to fully embody its values. The elegance or sporty character of its models still reflect the choices made by the Maison over 175 years ago.