Chris Heal FBHI watchmaker
chealwatch Ltd Watch Repairs 01797 260207
Oaklands Beckley Rye Sussex TN31 6TJ UK 
email: chealwatch@btinternet.com

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watch name Longines
Range of watches quartz , mechanical
Our repair charge information We are able to Service and repair this brand and fit battery and reseal where required.
We only fit  genuine parts including original glasses , crowns and movement parts.
Straps and bracelets are available for newer models
Service charges from Chealwatch Ltd
 
 
Service mechanical timepiece £40.00
Service mechanical Automatic £60.00
Service mechanical Chronograph £80.00
Service mechanical Automatic chronograph £120.00
Service quartz battery watch £60.00 - £120.00
Service Chronograph and multifunction watches £80.00 - £150.00
Water Resistant testing and report within service. £20.00
Dial restore as original within service £100.00
battery and check sealing only 50m - 200m  £25.00

 Over view of watch service.

Official web site http://www.Longines.ch/
Sales web sites
 

History and info

 

The Longines story starts back in 1832 when Auguste Agassiz arrived in Saint-Imier and entered the "Comptoir horloger Raiguel Jeune". One year later, he founded the "Comptoir Raiguel Jeune & Cie" together with Florian Morel and Henri Raiguel. One of Auguste's sisters married Charles-Marc Francillon, a shopkeeper from Lausanne and in 1834 they had a son, Ernest Francillon.

When Henri Raiguel retired from his functions in 1838, Auguste Agassiz and Florian Morel became the owners of the "Comptoir Agassiz & Cie", until Agassiz became in 1847 the sole owner. A few years later, in 1852, his nephew, Ernest Francillon, entered the company to finally become his uncle's successor in 1862. The new company "Ancienne Maison Auguste Agassiz, Ernest Francillon, Successeur" was born. At that time watchmaking in the area used the skills of people working outside the "comptoir d'établissage", often at home.
 
In 1866, Auguste's nephew, Ernest Francillon, bought two plots of land on the right bank of the river Suze at the place called "Les Longines" and brought all of the watchmaking skills under one roof - this was the first "Longines factory".

With the inauguration of the new factory in 1867, the production of the first Longines movement, the L20A, commenced. At that time, watches used to be wound by means of a key. The Longines watch however broke with these traditional watchmaking methods having a "lever" movement which was wound and the time set by means of the crown. It was Ernest Francillon himself who went to Paris to present this watch at the 1867 Universal Exhibition. He returned to Saint-Imier with a bronze medal.

Ever since his first watch in 1867, Francillon engraved a winged hourglass on all Longines movements. In his battle against counterfeits, he already in 1874 sent out his first warning to all Longines customers.

On the 19th of July 1880 at 11:00 am Ernest Francillon registered at the Federal Office of Intellectual Property under patent number 118 and 119 the brand Longines and its original logo, featuring the winged hourglass. The Longines trademark was first registered, under patent number 2684, at 4:00 pm on 27th of May 1889 and under patent number 14 on the 27th of March 1893 at the International Office of Intellectual Property (today the WIPO, World Intellectual Property Organizaton).

International exhibitions
In 1885, Longines won its first "Grand Prix" at an international exhibition in Antwerp. Further success followed in Brussels (1897), Paris (1889, 1900 and 1925), Milan (1906), Genoa (1914), Berne (1914), Philadelphia (1926) and Barcelona (1929). Longines' record of ten "Grand Prix" and 28 "Medailles d'Or" has never been equaled by any other watch manufacturer.

Technical innovation marked the start of the decade and opened up new areas for artistic interpretation.

In 1980 the creation of the tiny ladies movement, the caliber L 960, gave free rein to the creative artists at Longines, resulting in a silver medal being won at the Bijhorca in Paris. Longines furthermore won the "Prix Montres et Bijoux Genève" with its model called "Clip".

In 1982 Longines marked its 150th anniversary with a collection of ultra-thin gold watches called Agassiz. The watch, only 3 mm thick and water-resistant, is still part of the Longines collection.

The caliber L961, a tiny "baguette" movement for ladies' watches only 1.75mm in thickness, resulted from constant research into miniaturization in 1983.

Longines and Ferrari
1982 saw the birth of a new advertising campaign, featuring a special collection dedicated to Longines' partnership with the Formula 1 Racing team Ferrari. The advertisement for this collection was photographed at the famous Paris restaurant "La Grande Cascade".

The conquest for precision
In 1984 Longines launched its Conquest model with the VHP (Very High Precision) movement, a development of Longines. These watches are thanks to a system of thermo-compensation 5 to 10 times more precise than a normal quartz watch.

Longines and the world of gymnastics
After having timed many gymnastics event, starting with the 1912 Swiss Federal Gymnastics Festival in Basle, Switzerland, Longines became in 1989 the official partner, timekeeper and data-handling operator of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) and European Gymnastics Union (UEG). Later, in 1997, it awarded its first Longines Prize for Elegance in gymnastics during the World Rhythmic Gymnastics Championships in Berlin, Germany, to Yanna Batyrchina from Russia.
 
Designed as a salute to feminine elegance, Longines launched in 2001 the Longines DolceVita Diamond Collections. During the gala evening for the launch of this prestigious collection in Milan, Italy, Longines awarded its first Prize for Elegance outside the world of sports to Alessandra Ferri, Lamberto Sposini and Sergio Loro Piana.

30 Millionth Longines Watch
On February 19, 2001, Longines celebrated its 30 Millionth Longines Watch and launched a commemorative collection of 990 pieces. This collection won later that year the most important prize in Swiss watchmaking: The Watch of the Year, chosen by the readers of the Swiss magazines l'Hebdo and Schweizer Illustrierte.

170 Years of Elegance in Watchmaking
Never modified, continually used, constantly updated, the world's oldest registered brand name in watchmaking - Longines, with its winged hourglass logo - enters the year 2002 with elegance, launching "Les Elégantes", a commemorative collection of three vintage jewelry watches during a party, celebrating 170 years of elegance at the Pavillon Ledoyen, located at the famous Champs Elysées. At the very same occasion Longines presents its ambassadors of elegance; Indian actress Aishwarya Rai, Italian actress Chiara Muti, Chinese actress Carina Lau, American actor Billy Zane and Russian actor Oleg Menshikov.


 

 

 

 

chealwatch ltd C.C.HEAL F.B.H.I. watch repairer Oaklands Beckley Rye Sussex TN31 6TJ UK
telephone : 01797 260207 or 0845 226 1752 outside UK your code + 44 1797 260207
Sending advice at
sending.htm- email: info@chealwatch.com

 

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