Precision is paramount in timing sports events.
Longines specialises in highly accurate and reliable instruments that earned its role as official timekeeper of world championships and partner of international sports federations.
The Swiss brand dates back to 1832 in Saint-Imier, a small town in the Jura mountains. Its first timing instrument, a chronograph pocket watch with a monopusher crown, was developed in the late 1870s.
In the following decade, its stopwatches were used for equestrian races in the US. The first official partnership began in 1912, when Longines timed a show jumping event in Lisbon, Portugal.
Longines’ timing of sports events began with equestrian competitions.
Its professional timekeeping is ensured by fast-beating movements capable of measuring 1/10th or 1/100th of a second.
The "high-frequency" refers to oscillation of the movement's balance spring at 36,000 vibrations per hour (10 beats every second). Longines developed the high-frequency movement for a stopwatch in 1914.
Enhancing the speed of the balance to 360,000 beats per hour enabled the exact reading of 1/100th of a second, which Longines achieved in 1916.
After equestrian competitions, the watchmaker became involved in winter sports from the mid-1920s.
Precision was further assured in 1938, after the development of a high-frequency skiing timer with a split-second hand, equipped with Calibre 24 Lines, measuring 1/10th of a second. Later its variant measured 1/100th of a second.
Other sports included motor racing, for which Longines introduced a timing system capable of recording 1/10th of a second via a series of photos in 1949. It was certified by the International Automobile Federation in the following year, when the Grand Prix de Monaco and the Indianapolis 500 in the US as well as Formula 1 races were all timed by the Swiss brand.
The International Automobile Federation also adopted the Chronotypogines developed in 1954 with a sensor to automatically start and stop time. After introducing a new method to time each car independently by using radio waves in 1980, Longines became the Official Timekeeper for all Formula 1 races from 1982 to 1992.
A high-frequency skiing timer equipped with Calibre 24 Lines introduced in 1938.
The relationship with the world of cycling began in 1951, with the Tour de France providing an opportunity to test a new system that combined a camera at the finish line with a device recording each contestant's time on film.
This timing system solved the photo-finish problem when closely grouped competitors reached the line at nearly the same time.
Besides being the Official Timekeeper of the Tour de France until 1982, Longines has timed the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta in Spain.
Today, its involvement in sports focuses on equestrian and alpine skiing competitions, as well as being the Official Timekeeper of the Commonwealth Games that will take place next week in Birmingham, England.
