So to start with I work at an AD that carry’s multiple Swiss brands from $350 price points all the way up to pre-owned PP, AP, of course Rolex, Cartier, etc. Since we are not an AD for those higher brands I like to focus on the brands that we are an AD for and one of them is Longines.

Disclaimer, the company has been great to me and wonderful to work with, that withstanding however, I am a huge fan. I think they offer exceptional value per dollar and I am keen on their vintage leaning design language rich history in the world of aviation.

So that is the why of my question, my actual question is How does the general watch enthusiast on Reddit feel about how the brand is positioning themselves in the market from any aspect such as price point, design language, marketing, public outreach, whatever. What makes them a solid or not so solid brand?

Thank you! I’m trying to get my team fired up about Longines and I want to know what people besides the people I work with think about Longines! Wrist shot of my heritage chrono for some tax.

TLDR: Do you like or dislike Longines and why?

  • RangerGripp@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’ll admit I’m a snob.

    I’ve got Cartier Santos, Rolex DJ, Blancpain, IWC Pilot and a speedy in my collection. Yea, humble brag, but no - I still think Longines is a fantastic brand. The spirit series is awesome, I love the skin diver. The finishing is great.

    If they’d settle in the 2-3k range (which they appear they are ‘doing) they will be fine.

    The finishing is as good as the top brands and to be honest a watch shouldn’t cost more than a Longines.

    • MrGrentch@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      “a watch shouldn’t cost more than a Longines” And as it happens before the “quartz crisis”* and subsequent Swiss conglomerates tiering the brands they rarely enough did(brands like Patek and AP were a tiny and very rarefied segment).

      If in say 1970 you wanted a good quality diver’s watch from the bigger Swiss brands, Omega, Longines, Rolex, Blancpain, Zenith et al they all cost an average months wages or under. Why? Well it was far less about luxury for a start and more, they were independent companies all competing for the same customers in the same jeweller’s shop window. They couldn’t afford to drift too far away from the “a quality dive watch costs 200 quid” perception. People paid more for innovations like electronic or the latest thing quartz(a lot more for the latter).

      Adverts of the time can be interesting and show how much has changed. Below is a British Omega advert from 72. The UK average yearly wage ran around 1400 pounds, or 116 per month.

      https://preview.redd.it/f0orfh4r4pwb1.jpeg?width=1300&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ce71f84dd1be0799ed760e55dadd13eb80c24f11

      The 18 carat lump of gold is obviously the most expensive at 575, but it’s the electronic watch that follows it and is more expensive than the Seamaster Ploprof and a goodly chunk more than the Speedmaster. How much are they today compared to average annual wages? There was a chap a few years ago who calculated based on wages/costs of living that an Omega Speedy today costs something like 4-5 times the price it did when astronauts were actually wearing them on the Moon. Rolex subs went up even more.

      Brands(outside Rolex, who always had a narrow range)also tended to have a much wider range of watches at widerr ranges of price. Streamlining was far less a thing with the big hitters.

      So in many ways if you wanted to get a feel for what the industry and market used to be like, Longines today is almost a time capsule of that as far as the range available and most of all their prices.

      ​

      ​

      *it was far more a digital crisis, but that’s another discussion