Compagnie des Montres Longines, Francillon S.A. was founded in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz, and is based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. Agassiz initially had two partners, Florian Morel and Henri Raiguel, who both retired from the watch industry by 1846. Longines’ flying hourglass logo is the oldest unchanged active trademark registered with WIPO. In 1993, the parent company of Longines merged with SSIH, which resulted in becoming a subsidiary of the Swatch Group.
Custom Ferrari Timepieces
Scuderia Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari began commissioning small batches of Ferrari-branded watches from Bolognese jeweler Gerardo Veronesi in the 1950s to give as gifts to drivers, collaborators, and close friends. These early gift watches included brands like Zenith, Vetta, Super Royal, and Longines.
Official Timekeeper of Formula One and Team Sponsorships
In the early 1980s, Longines bought Heuer’s ACIT (Automatic Car Identification Techhnology) system and became the Official Timekeeper of Formula One in 1982 along with Italian computer manufacturer Olivetti. Longines was also a sponsor of Scuderia Ferrari from 1980 to 1987, during which time a number of Longines Ferrari watches were produced. The Swiss watch brand also had a partnership with Team Renault during the same time from 1981 to 1985. Heuer took over official timekeeping duties in 1992 as the somewhat recently rebranded TAG Heuer.
References
https://www.grandprix.com/sponsors/longines.html
https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/a1973631/prancing-horses-and-sweeping-hands-history-ferrari-watch/
https://www.watchesandculture.org/forum/en/watch-brands-and-formula-1/
https://monochrome-watches.com/watches-formula-1-episode-1-history-rolex-official-timekeeper/
https://www.longines.com/en-us/magazine/pioneer-spirits/timing-formula-one
https://www.longines.com/en-us/magazine/pioneer-spirits/timing-ferrari-with-longines/
https://www.longines.com/en-us/magazine/pioneer-spirits/racing-with-renault/
https://magazine.tagheuer.com/en/2024/06/28/tag-heuer-a-long-history-of-performance-on-the-tracks/