180 YEARS OF

20TH IN THE
CENTURY
rancillon died in 1900, but he had carefully
prepared his manufacture for the demands
of the new century. Jacques David,
Baptiste Savoye and Louis Gagnebin
formed the new management of the company. One of
their rst public successes was accreditation during
chronometer testing by the Neuchâtel Observatory in
1905. is accomplishment demonstrated to the entire
world that even machine-made, mass-produced movements
were able to meet the strict demands of
chronometer tests. At the same time, these movements
were less expensive than hand-made ones and could be
produced in much greater numbers.
When David died in 1912, Pster became the technical
director of Longines. Even though supply diculties
during World War I limited the work performed by
Longines, peacetime between the wars was a time of expansion
for the company, especially from a technical
point of view. Pster’s direction brought the company
numerous innovations in movement production. He
was responsible for establishing a wide range of dierent
calibers with the aim of meeting the greatest number of
dierent customer demands. Longines also began to offer
complications and to rene its movements.
e wristwatch nally conquered the market. By
1900, Longines and others had begun oering ladies’
wristwatches. Aer World War I the wristwatch nally
replaced the pocket watch for both men and women.
Longines continued to grow despite a drop in orders
during World War I and during the Great Depression of
the 1930s. By the rst decade of the 20th F
century, the company
had more than 1,000 employees. During this time,
180 Years of Longines | HISTORY
Longines began to introduce a number of benets for its
workers – from a pension fund to child care.
Strong economic uctuations in the rst third of the
20 th century presented some diculties despite the company’s
many technical innovations, its increased streamlining
of watch production under Pster’s leadership, and
expanding internationalization. Still, Longines staged
important publicity events during this period. e company
supported exploratory expeditions and distinguished
itself as a partner to some of the world’s major aviation
pioneers. Following Charles Lindbergh’s spectacular
crossing of the Atlantic in 1927, Longines developed
the hour angle watch in 1931 in collaboration with the
pilot. It soon became a legend among pilots’ watches.
Howard Hughes circled the globe in 1938 in an airplane
whose cockpit was equipped with Longines instruments.
Beginning in 1936, Longines enjoyed constant
growth due in great part to strong U.S. demand. is
growth was only slightly aected by World War II and
continued until 1970. Because of a reduction in the
number of dierent calibers made by the company,
Longines took further steps to streamline production.
And while the company focused on the manufacturing
of especially successful calibers, its special innovative
spirit continued, leading to the creation of watches for
marine navigation and for use in the tropics, in addition
to its well-known pilots’ watches.
In the 1940s, Pster began developing a caliber with
an automatic winding mechanism, and in 1946, Longines
introduced the rst automatic watch in the company’s
history. By the 1950s, the demand for automatic watches
was enormous. In 1954, Longines launched its automatic
model Conquest worldwide that quickly became a huge
success among a young, forward-looking public.
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