A great heritage and the epitome of elegance

The world of Carollinum

Carollinum has acquired the Swiss brand Longines, one of the most popular watch brand in the world, which offers a truly wide range of watches. Highly elegant models alternate with chronographs, calendars or moonphase watches, as well as popular divers and pilots for men and women.

A great heritage and the epitome of elegance

Carollinum has taken the brand under its wings, ushering in a new era in its modern Czech history. The globally popular brand is developing the tradition of sports watches and places great emphasis on elegance. And it is thanks to a plethora of fine women's models that Longines has won the hearts of women across all continents. Last year's turnover of $1.11 billion (the brand sold 1,600,000 watches) was more than half due to ladies' models, which is unique among Swiss manufactures.

Elegance is an attitude

The timeless appeal of the watches is underlined by the well-chosen ambassadors – the glamorous topmodel with Hungarian origin Barbara Palvin, Oscar-winning actress and women's rights activist Jennifer Lawrence, and acting icon Kate Winslet.

Longines' slogan is "Elegance is an attitude" and is based on the idea that every woman (and man) has the right to express the elegance and style in own way. In the brand's wide portfolio, there is something for the true lady, the youthful rebel or the true gentleman.

Carefree is embodied by the Longines DolceVita collection, first introduced in 1997, and the Mini DolceVita with gold and steel watches fitted with a rectangular case. The Longines Evidenza, inspired by the 1920s era, will appeal to all those who are fans of the novel design of models with barrel-shaped cases. Among the bestsellers are the round-cased watches from the Longines Primaluna and La Grande Classique de Longines model lines, which has been offering thin watches with a unique hidden bracelet attachment since 1992. The brand's motto is perfectly captured by the Longines Elegant collection.

The elegant watches are equipped with both quartz movements for those who love comfort and mechanical automatic calibres. The classic white, black or dark blue dials are complemented by poetic mother-of-pearl or brightly coloured variants that catch the eye. Romantic souls will undoubtedly be enchanted by models with an irresistible moon phase.

Mini DolceVita

In stock

Longines Mini DolceVita L5.200.4.75.9

40 300 Kč

In stock

Longines Mini DolceVita L5.200.4.75.2

40 300 Kč

In stock

Longines Mini DolceVita L5.200.4.75.0

40 300 Kč

Unavailable

Longines Mini DolceVita L5.200.0.71.6

96 200 Kč

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Watchmaking tradition

The roots of the Longines brand go back to the first half of the 19th century. In 1832, a certain Auguste Agassiz opened a watchmaking workshop in the Swiss village of Saint-Imier. His nephew Ernest Francillon joined the small business in 1852 and had a big dream: to build a real watch factory. As he was not only a dreamer but also a very enterprising businessman, he was able to officially open the factory in 1867 on a site known in the local dialect as "Es Longines" (the long and narrow field). Ernest liked the name so much that he christened the new brand the same way. In the same year, the famous logo was created, which to this day is a symbol of the quality, tradition and care that Swiss craftsmen devote to watches: the winged hourglass.

Nothing prevented further development. In 1878, the brand launched the first pocket chronograph, which was used especially in horse racing, and the early 20th century brought the first pocket watch with a second time zone indicator. Both of these complications still appear in Longines collections today. Just three years younger (1911) is the first wrist chronograph. Between the two world wars, the Longines brand excelled precisely in the field of chronographs, improving them, for example, with the flyback function. The post-war years were marked by further innovations. 1954 marked the first ever Conquest collection, soon followed by the elegant Flagship line. The first diver's watch with a case water-resistant to 120 metres, which saw the light of day in 1959, is part of the Longines heritage.

In the following decades, the brand improved its movements and continues to ensure the accuracy of its watches today. The models in the Longines Legend Diver, Longines Spirit and Record collections are high-precision chronometers with a running deviation of -4/+6 seconds per day, certified by the COSC. The brand continues its long and very rich tradition with four collections of men's and women's watches. Since 2005, the brand's ethos has been embodied by the very popular Longines Master line, which includes complicated models with calendar functions, moonphase or chronographs. The Record line has gained popularity with its elegant chronographs and quartz movements, the Heritage Classic collection presents vintage models in a contemporary guise and the Flagship line is characterised by its robust steel cases.

Current models from the Legend Diver model series

In stock

Longines Legend Diver L3.764.4.99.6

83 200 Kč

In stock

Longines Legend Diver L3.764.4.16.6

83 200 Kč

In stock

Longines Legend Diver L3.764.4.06.6

83 200 Kč

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Sporty spirit

Longines' precision chronographs could not have been absent as timekeepers at various sporting events. After all, the brand launched the first high-frequency chronograph capable of measuring periods of time to the nearest tenth of a second in 1914. Today, it is a sponsor of alpine skiing, and its role as a timekeeper in equestrianism is most prominent.

Between the two world wars, wrist-worn precision instruments were favoured by pilots, for whom accurate time and positioning during flight was essential. Among the many men and women who stood out was aviator Charles Lindbergh, who in 1927 was the first to cross the Atlantic Ocean, his flight from New York to Paris taking 33.5 hours. The aviator, along with his teacher, the brilliant navigator Phillip Van Horn Weems, designed the watch that the brand proudly offers today in the Heritage Avigation collection of pilot's watches. Known as the Lindbergh Hour Angle, the 1931 model was able to help pilots navigate the clouds with its rotating bezel and dial. This collection also includes other famous historical models, such as the Pilot Majetek, a model with a cushion case and fluted bezel designed for Czechoslovak pilots, which was first introduced in 1935.

Today, the brand devotes considerable attention to sports watches. The Conquest collection and the Conquest Classic ladies' line include a number of steel models with cases water resistant to 100 or 300 metres, and the chronographs in interesting colour combinations or ladies' watches decorated with pastel dials deserve attention.

The Longines Spirit line, which the brand introduced in 2020, offers a successful pilot watch. The Zulu Time models (more commonly referred to as GMT) boast a second time zone display, and there are also chronographs with flyback function.

The tradition of Longines' exceptional dives is continued by the sporty-elegant HydroConquest collection. Water-resistant to 300 m, the cases, including titanium ones, do not lack a rotating ceramic bezel or a second time zone indicator. The second diving collection, the Longines Legend Diver, refers to the aforementioned 1959 model. Most watches with two crowns with a bevelled inner rotating bezel have steel cases water resistant to 300 m. And as a retro throwback, the brand also offers steel milanese bracelet in this line.