Longines Launch Search for Oldest Watch in India

Luxury watchmaker Longines has launched a hunt for the oldest timepiece created by the manufacture in India. The Swiss manufacture has travelled the world to find the oldest Longines watches in various countries, including Japan, China, and Russia.

For Longines, these local contests are a way of recovering treasures from the manufacture’s long history. The company was founded in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, with the establishment of the Longines factory by descendent Ernest Francillon in 1867. By 1900 Longines had won the Grand Prix at the Universal Exhibition in Paris for a pocket watch named La Renommee. From there, the brand continued innovating, from its first wrist chronograph with a single push piece to navigation instruments for pilots and its first self winding movement.

That means more than a century of history to discover. Walter von Kanel, President of Longines, told Mint, “India is a country of tradition, culture and heritage. After successfully being held in China, Russia, Japan and Taiwan, India, where the tradition of passing wealth on to the next generation has been evident since decades, is an ideal country to host this competition. The purpose of this search is to bring out the ancient Longines watches in India that have been preserved and handed down for generations. This search aims to track the footprint of Longines in India that is as old as 135 years.”

The winner of the contest, which kicks off on June 17, will receive a trip for two to Switzerland for one week, while the second and third place winners will receive new Longines watches to add to their collections. For our readers in India who want to enter their Longines timepieces in the contest, please visit the Oldest Watch in India website.