Iknoor Kaur had a look at some of the oldest watches in the longines collection at a recent exhibition
To own a classy, embellished watch is as desired as owning a luxurious car or an expensive piece of jewellery is. If you are the one who is ‘crazy for classic timepieces’ you had an opportunity to witness the most exquisite pieces at longines store in Connaught Place. There were watches manufactured in 1899, displayed as part of an exhibition that introduced the guests to some of the oldest designs by the luxury brand longines.
Since last 180 years, longines is well known for its unique yet simple watches. The brand has managed to preserve antique models of their watches which they have also replicated and reworked in their latest collection. Be it a pocket watch or a ladies wrist watch, the exhibition covered a variety of heritage timepieces.
Carved silver and the Art Deco styles were a few on display at the store. The brand has collected watches from the world over and has displayed them at a museum in Switzerland. Silver, platinum and gold defined the old era of watches. Every watch was accompanied with significant engraving and unique designs. Today the scenario is different. looking at how prices of metals have shot up, the use of platinum and silver is now nil.
“Watches carry with them a sense of style. We associate the brand with elegance and we hope to preserve that by keeping a collection of our heritage designs. Our process to find the oldest longines in India has started, we hope people come forward with the antique through this exhibition,” said Assistant Marketing Manager Bheeni Kapur on behalf of longines.
They have also launched a contest as a part of their search where people can register online with the details of their antique chronometer.
The person who eventually is declared to be the owner of the oldest longines watch in India would get an all expense paid trip to the longines factory in Switzerland along with a week’s holiday package.
Our best four are:
— One of the pocket watches on display with intricate floral motif engraved in silver was the 1906 edition by Huguenin Freres. It was a part of the mechanical manually wound longines movement 18.80ZZ.
— Among wrist watches a good pick at the exhibition was the single push-piece chronograph in silver 0.900 with leather strap, with 60-second and 30-minute counters. It also had a personalised engraving on the case back. This exceptional piece was a 1919 edition.
— Another favourite was the steel sport chronograph with a precision of 1/10th of a second with 60-second and 30-minute counters. The counter hand is equipped with a Vernier scale. It is a 1962 edition.
— The 1971 wrist chronograph in steel made for a perfect conquest collection and was equipped with a quartz movement.