TAKING THE LONG VIEW
LONGINES STEPPED BACK RECENTLY TO OBSERVE — AND TO COMMEMORATE — ITS 185-YEAR HISTORY, WHILE ALSO APPOINTING A NEW BRAND AMBASSADOR
“Now she’s a member of the gang!” Walter von Kanel exclaims as he hands Zhao Liying a new Longines timepiece. “I hope it gives you good luck. A watch should.”
On the small, cozy stage, with a grand temple splashed in blue and red lights in the background, the president of Longines has just announced the Chinese actress as Longines’ latest brand ambassador. It’s also a call for celebrations for their 185th anniversary, and, most intriguingly, everything was set in Beijing’s Imperial Ancestral Temple (Taimiao).
Without a doubt, the particular location was clearly chosen for its increasingly large Chinese market, and the president winks at Zhao, saying: “We always delegate the ambassador in big places for local people. We always listen to them and the locals know what’s going on in China. What I hope is you bring us young customers — this is our challenge to you, d’accord?”
Joining her fellow Asian co-stars Eddie Peng and Aaron Kwok, and the ultimate star-studded circle of Longines sophisticates such as Kate Winslet and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, it is no surprise that Zhao has been chosen, despite her youth. Making her debut in 2006 and adored by the masses for her professional acting skills, Zhao has gone on to star in countless movies and series, and is ranked fourth on Forbes’ Top 100 Chinese Celebrities 2017. A growing number of Eastern faces are joining this elegant roster, with Aaron Kwok having been part of the Longines family since 2005. But Longines’ connection with China dates all the way back to 1867, when the first Longines watch was sent to China.
The brand has always had a strong equestrian connection, and Von Kanel explains that the reason for this is because back in the days before trains were invented, watches had to be sent on coach. In fact, a life-size white horse illuminated with video-mapping was featured in their 185th Anniversary Exhibition in Taimiao. Although this is the same exhibition held in Bangkok earlier this month, its size and curation are much larger. Being situated within a stunning temple adds a fancy kick to the whole event.
A tribute to the brand’s history in watchmaking and timekeeping since 1832, vintage pocket watches, timing devices, early wristwatches and some of the brand’s most emblematic modern devices have been sourced directly from the Longines museum in Saint-Imier. Although better known for its timeless analogue and versatile elegance, with as many watches sold to both men and women, Longines actually played with digital for a bit. They even managed to develop their digital watches as prototypes for a great price, but the line was never manufactured, and all LCD products were cancelled. Not recently, mind you, but back in 1972.
For those who adore horses, the Longines archive provides an extensive collection of photographs, advertisements, films and posters of the magnificent animal, all of them a result of the Longines’ history of keeping time for the sport, and how that has pushed the brand to become more advanced. The exhibition may have folded up by now, but it has set the stage for the arrival of the Record Collection and a comprehensive historical book called Longines Through Time — the very first book to extensively follow Longines’ evolutionary moments across the decades.