BackThe Legacy Of Longines
Longines vice-president Charles Villoz speaks about the new collection and the contest to find the oldest Longines watch in India
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The new watch is smart: so say Apple, Samsung and other new-age device makers. Not Longines though. Based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, the Swatch Group company is a maker of traditional luxury watches that prefers the emotional connect of a timepiece over the latest technology. In fact, Longines’ new Conquest Classic collection is a tribute to the chronographs produced from 1881 for people attending horse races and the jockeys.
Charles Villoz, Longines’ vice-president and head of international sales, feels that despite cricket being India’s favourite sport, the new collection will do well in the country. “The middle class in India is increasingly spending on luxury," says Villoz, who was on a trip to India recently and spoke to Mint Indulge regarding the company’s future plans, its new collection, and about a contest to find the oldest Longines watch in India. Edited excerpts:
Longines enters its 181st year. How has the journey been?
The brand is doing very well. We are responsible for the legacy of our forefathers and this makes it even nicer to be in this company. You have to realize that we come from a very small place, and people are still working there since generations, which makes it even more special and exciting.
Longines remains a widely recognized name in sport watches and chronographs since the time it featured on the time board of sporting events, before it all turned digital. You have also announced your partnership with CSI Basel 2014. What’s behind this association?
Indeed, we have been in sports watches since the early stages. Back then in 1880, we had these stop watches that were used in the flat races in New York. This, again, gives us the legitimacy in sports timing. Within the Swatch Group, we have a company called Swiss Timing which does the timing for us. There is a team of about 100 technicians and sports engineers who work on our pieces whenever any event occurs. We are not only the sponsors, but also the service providers. We are also into skiing, which is popular in Europe and Japan, and a team of 10-12 technicians is always present on the slopes during our partnered ski events. We would have been present in Indian skiing as well, if it was that popular, but you guys are more into cricket.
You have recently launched your Asthmometer-Pulsometer Chronograph, which is based on a vintage Longines wristwatch from 1963, and can measure not only the time, but also a patient’s heart rate and respiration. Do you think doctors and nurses need such watches any more?
It’s more of a nostalgia piece or a heritage piece. We have one segment of our product which is called Heritage, and we found out in the last year that there is huge demand for such watches. It also shows that watches are not just a piece to show you time. For a man, it is probably the only piece of decoration, as compared to a woman who might have lots of accessories.
But the emotional aspect of wearing a watch is more important than the aesthetics, as wearing a watch is not rational, more so when you have fancy devices to tell you the time.
In 1972, you became one of the first companies to introduce an LED-display watch. How does Longines keep abreast of technology?
We are also among the first to introduce quartz watches. The LED watches were the LCD watches in the 1960s and were a rave in Japan, Europe and Switzerland at that point in time. By the 1970s, these electronic and quartz watches became a must and companies started putting in their money in these devices. However, Swatch continued its tradition of making mechanical watches. Innovation and technology is well-knitted with our tradition.
What does Longines stand for as a brand?
I think, for people, Longines is a brand that they know and trust. And then there is design. The magic is going to work if people like the design of the watch. Men, though not many women, might also look for a watch’s movement and technical details while buying. But most of them would react at the emotional level. Longines represents the surety that they made a good decision of buying the timepiece.
Do you stress on the beauty and elegance aspects more while making a woman’s watch than when you make sports or men’s watches?
Our most prominent brand ambassadors are women. We have Aishwarya Rai and Kate Winslet, who represent our brands globally. But yes, beauty is the most important aspect and this goes for our each range of watches, be it sports or men.
Longines became the first registered watch brand in the world when it registered with the International Intellectual Property Office in March 1893. Is this part of your innovation and ideation culture?
Longines is the oldest trademark or logo still in use and that tells a lot about our ideation in this industry. The innovations were many. We have come up with many complicated mechanical timepieces, Single push-piece chronograph, a few patterns in flyback technology for chronographs. We have also invested a lot in research and development. Some 80 years ago, we put a lot of research in making smaller movements to fit in the ladies’ watches. And back in the 1970s, we also introduced the double barrel in Longines.
In modern times, we have a company called ETA within the Swatch Group, which is providing the research and development for some of the brands of the group. At Longines, too, we have engineers who are coming up with the ideas and ways to improve our pieces, but our main focus is on precision. For example, all these electronic devices have magnetism and that affects the working of a watch. So we have recently launched the Longines Aviation watch that has a metal shell that protects it from magnetism.
Tell us about your new collection. How different is it in terms of technology?
Our new collection is called Conquest Classic and is meant for the world of horse racing. The collection is fitted with self-winding calibres, and is available in three different sizes. These chronographs are specially developed and produced by ETA. What makes this collection unique is the fact that these timepieces, be it the ladies’ or gents’, are beautiful. In a way, this collection is a tribute to the chronographs produced from 1881 for race-goers and jockeys in New York.
What changes have you seen in the luxury market over these decades?
I think watchmaking has become part of the luxury market. Till the 1960s, it was more of a device that showed you time. Even the watch shops were not at all fancy and the approach was very technical. It has changed over the decades, and started attracting more luxury companies. For instance, some of the French jewellers entered this industry, when they knew nothing about watchmaking. And now, some of the watchmakers are entering the jewellery market. So the whole definition has moved beyond the price and is now more to do with after-services, which are very important for a luxury brand to survive in the market.
You have your service division of Longines in India. Does that reflect the importance of this market for you?
I have been working in this company for 25 years, and for the last 20 years, we have realized that we need to have strong presence in India. We need to invest in this market. Since the inception, the Swatch Group has invested majorly on the services in this market. We have our own officers here. We currently have 80 points of sale in India and expect the country to become one of the top 10 markets in the next five-six years as the middle class is increasingly spending on luxury products.
But you have many more points of sale in China.
The thirst for luxury is much more in China. You have to remember where they have come from and how the country has changed over the years. As compared to India, the Chinese started discovering the world a bit later; their economy is opening up, and everything is happening in a very short time. Hence, the craziness for luxury is much more than India.
So you are not planning to open new points of sale in India?
We are not planning to open new stores, but we are planning to open new boutiques. We are also working with third-party partners who have multi-brand retail which will feature Longines along with other brands. Tier II is the next big thing in India as the big cities are already explored. And thus, we are looking to increase our presence in smaller markets. In addition to that, we are also planning to launch three boutiques by the end of 2014, which will make for a total of 10 boutiques in India.
How did your contest of finding the oldest Longines watch in India fit into your overall marketing strategy?
As I have said, India is our priority market, and so when we were having this contest of finding the oldest Longines in most countries to celebrate our legacy, our president Walter von Känel insisted on running this contest in India as well. There is a marketing purpose as well, but the underlying idea was to celebrate the 135-year-old association with the country.
We had a proper organization in place with officers and professional watchmakers opening the watches and trying to find the serial number. These watches were then sent to our headquarters and in our books, as every single Longines watch is registered, and we know whom we send the invoice to.
We received really interesting entries from India, with fascinating tales of the winners related to the oldest Longines watch. It makes us feel proud of our legacy.
Are you being affected by the global slowdown?
The slowdown hasn’t affected the luxury market as such. So, no, we are not suffering because of the economic slowdown, although there has been a change after 2008. The craziness for luxury has gone down, as compared to the early 2000s, where there was this mad rush for luxury products.
Have the new smart watches affected your market?
We have to be aware of what is going on and not pretend that we don’t care. It is a good thing there is some research and development being done in this area. Longines is not a specialist in electronic devices. Probably that emotional part isn’t there because as the technology advances, so do such devices. But you have to listen to the young people and understand what they want. However, I think this trend will go on and there will still be people who will want a real watch.
The oldest Longines watches in India
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