Back To The Future

A conversation with Longines CEO Matthias Breschan has Augustman wondering if they're the brand to watch for enthusiasts who are increasingly priced out of their beloved hobby

- JONATHAN HO

HAVING PREVIOUSLY MANAGED Rado and Hamilton, Matthias Breschan took the helm of Longines in July 2020. Passionate about watchmaking, history and art, Breschan has set Longines on a path of mechanical watchmaking revival that might just see it becoming the brand to watch for the next decade.

You once stated that "Longines has impressive historical depth", what does this mean for your overarching strategy for the brand?

Historical depth is a great foundation to build on. The watch industry is one of the rare businesses that literally looks to the past in order to define the future when you're developing new products. Having 192 years of history and many incredible milestones like the first GMT movement, the first flyback movement and the first high-frequency movement, gives us a rich heritage that allows us to use these iconic developments and develop products and movements made exclusively for us. It's in-house but not manufacture, I like to be precise about this terminology.

These movements tell of the brand's provenance and when we design a watch using state-of-the-art technology like a silicon balance spring but within our price range of S$1,000 to $5,000. When it comes to high frequency, there's no one else on the market with something below $7,000. We will stay in this price positioning without clashing with our sister brands while offering tremendous value.

General consumer understanding with watch brands is that the older the brand, the more expensive it becomes with more history. So when you have products like this anniversary Masterpiece, how do you feel the market perceives Longines versus the positioning it has?