The plane ticket said Seoul. The itinerary said 36 hours. But the real destination was somewhere else entirely โ a sneak peek inside the inner workings of a nearly 200-year-old Swiss watchmaker. No trips to historical sites, no food tours. Just a closed-door look at Longines โ a name thatโs not working to catch up with the market, but to remind everyone else who was here first.
Naturally, there was a grand welcome dinner, which featured a carefully managed appearance from one of the brandโs Korean ambassadors, Suzy. It was the kind of moment that signalled Longinesโ awareness of where it was in the world and how to put its best foot forward.
But by the following morning, all focus returned to the watches, the brandโs heritage, and what its year is shaping up to look like. Seoul, as a city, receded, and the rest of the day became a study in how a Swiss watchmaker founded in 1832 continues to push forward โ not with gimmicks or trend-chasing, but with quiet precision.
The morning was spent with the companyโs upcoming and most recent product releases. At the centre of this was the Ultra-Chron Carbon โ an update, yes, but a deliberate one that has its eyes looking forward, not back. The fan-favourite Ultra-Chron that debuted in 2023 returned with its high-frequency movement intact, but the stainless steel case is replaced by forged carbon. The new material gives the watch a modern edge, while respecting the history that allowed it to exist in the first place. The message: modern performance meets traditional technique.
But the real insight came directly from Matthias Breschan, CEO of Longines, whom I had the chance to sit down and speak with again (I last met him in his Saint-Imier office). He wasnโt rushed, and he wasnโt selling. The tone was matter-of-fact, and the conversation revealed a man whoโs been thinking deeply about what the brand is that heโs leading โ and what it isnโt.
When asked which collections were driving success, Breschan pointed away from whatโs typical in the industry. โToday, more or less all watch brands have their best-selling styles as a diving watch or a pilotโs watch, but for Longines, still, the classic watches โ and in particular, the Master Collection โ remain our number one collection, which is quite surprising.โ
Thatโs not how many brands position themselves in 2025, because itโs not how hype works. But Longines isnโt interested in ever-shifting micro-trends. Itโs building momentum around consistency.
The same is true in its womenโs collections. โWe actually reduced the number of collections but increased the volume weโre selling in our ladiesโ lines, and these collections are literally exploding in all countries,โ Breschan said. โBefore, you could have said the PrimaLuna was more of an Asian success, and the DolceVita was more of a European, American, or Australian success. But thatโs no longer the case โ both are now selling very well everywhere.โ
One after another, he listed the brandโs current wins. The Spirit Zulu Time โ which debuted in 2022 โ became โa huge success in all countries.โ And then there was the Conquest: โI think the new Conquest was our biggest success in terms of volume within one year. We renewed the whole collection, and I think weโve never had a newly launched collection succeed at this level within just 12 months.โ
One of the more interesting parts of the conversation was the revelation that Longines isnโt just building new things โ itโs still uncovering parts of itself. โWe very recently discovered something new, relating to our high-frequency movements, which revolutionised precision in timekeeping,โ Breschan shared.
What they found was evidence of a high-frequency chronograph from as early as 1910, allowing sports timing to a tenth of a second, earlier than previously known. โWeโre now verifying all the details before making it public, but this is the beauty of the brand โ after almost 200 years of history, weโre still discovering things like this.โ
That sort of find might be trivia for a marketing department. For Longines, it becomes another chapter in its own story, offering fresh context and heavier weight to each new launch. It frames every boutique not as a storefront, but as a stage for this tale to be told.
โAround the world, we now have around 100 corporate boutiques and 150 franchised boutiques,โ Breschan said. โItโs not our strategy to go 100% corporate or monobrand boutiques, not at all.โ The reason for these stores isnโt about having a presence in luxury precincts around the world โ itโs about storytelling. โFor us, monobrand stores are a way to showcase our entire history and heritage [โฆ] which is impossible in multibrand environments, where you only get one or two displays.โ
That history, he noted, is still under-recognised. โMany people still donโt know Longines invented the GMT movement, the flyback movement, or the turning bezel.โ
As for the digital strategy, itโs still measured. โYes, itโs still around [5โ10%],โ Breschan said of online sales, โbut whatโs growing is the combination of online and offline. Customers can now pre-select watches online before they go into the store, knowing that the five or ten pieces theyโve selected will be ready for them to try on at their chosen time and location.โ
Then came the question he couldnโt quite answer. Of all the upcoming releases, which one was he most excited about? โThere are two we havenโt unveiled yet that Iโm very excited about,โ he said. And that was all.
Longines isnโt pivoting, nor is it reinventing. Itโs refining, iterating, and cutting closer to its core. You donโt survive for 192 years in this business by being first to react. You do it by being last to flinch.
