Longines Has The Toughest Gig In The Swatch Group. Being The Next Omega.
Omega are climbing the luxury hierarchy with their shiny this and shiny that. Longines has a new assignment despite the years of neglect and suspect designs. Longines are to climb the ladder, replace Omega's empty seat and become Tudor's natural competitor.
An assignment completed by Tudor however their brand, heritage and designs are interwind with Rolex's making the job more do-able. Tudor aggressively priced flagship sport watches under entry level Omega which did the trick.
Longines are focusing on better specification, new designs borrowing from their historic design language and shiny ceramic bezels. Much like Tudor, Longines are pricing their new sports watches under Tudor's which arguably makes it them the value proposition.
The question is, will the risk of increasing prices fall flat and come to the conclusion that the brand name has lost too much of it's lustre since the 50's. After all, many of us aren't sure if we should pronounce the "s". Longines in the past 5 years carved out a it's niche, heritage re-issue brand. Swatch Group wants Longines to be more now. The everyman's aspiration luxury timepiece. That requires a big change, a big chunk of change. Another big ticket brand ambassador along side Jennifer Lawrence, alignment with a more visible sporting event and a quality over quantity approach.
For me, it's too little to late. The big step up should have been before or during the boom, not during the correction. Second hand prices are collapsing and the word "hype" is out of the vocabulary. I don't doubt Longines' brand will go up in the world. Hell they'll make a tidy return too but will we look at Longines the same way we viewed Omega a couple of years ago? I don't see it but I hope I'm wrong. The watch world will be better for it.
Welcome to my WatchCrunch profile.
Side note: does anyone know if you can still negotiate a discount on new Longines models? Or is that a thing of the past?
Interesting post, thank you 👌
Interesting post, thank you 👌
thanks for the kind words, more to come!
Two points:
Longines is French, so the "s" at the end is not generally pronounced.
Swatch Group covers a spectrum, so Longines is never going to be the "next Omega", Omega will remain the "next Omega". Watch prices overall have gone up, and the market has become more competitive at all levels. Longines getting more expensive, and stepping up specs makes perfect sense based on that alone, without making any other assumptions.
Two points:
Longines is French, so the "s" at the end is not generally pronounced.
Swatch Group covers a spectrum, so Longines is never going to be the "next Omega", Omega will remain the "next Omega". Watch prices overall have gone up, and the market has become more competitive at all levels. Longines getting more expensive, and stepping up specs makes perfect sense based on that alone, without making any other assumptions.
Point 1: "never" instead of generally
Point 1: "never" instead of generally
I always leave room for the odd exception, since every language has them.
Longines is the actual, no-kidding, oldest continuously existent watchmaker on the planet, Omega is #2. Longines has no “climbing” nor any perceived shortcomings to account for.
Interesting post, thank you for that
Side note: does anyone know if you can still negotiate a discount on new Longines models? Or is that a thing of the past?
My brother in law got 20% off without asking
My brother in law got 20% off without asking
Thanks for letting me know, I'm considering a zulu time gmt/black bay 54 - this might sway me towards the longines
Interesting post, thank you for that
thanks for the nice comment, more similar posts coming soon!
If the pricing of the new Conquest is any indication of where they’re heading, I’m not happy. A 50% increase over the previous model.
Thanks for letting me know, I'm considering a zulu time gmt/black bay 54 - this might sway me towards the longines
Although I noticed the dial he got (blue Zulu) is not as popular as the green one with gold so I wonder if it’s model dependent which would make sense lol
If the pricing of the new Conquest is any indication of where they’re heading, I’m not happy. A 50% increase over the previous model.
Agreed! When I first got into watches I wanted a luxury diver around £1k and one of the watches I tried on was the hydroconquest. I'm hoping the new £2k-ish hydroconquest GMT comes in a non-GMT version for a price closer to the £1k-ish mark.
Although I noticed the dial he got (blue Zulu) is not as popular as the green one with gold so I wonder if it’s model dependent which would make sense lol
Ah yeah I can see it being model dependant. I'm eyeing up the all black one which luckily is not as popular. The upshot is that discounts still seem possible. It was a sad day, not too long ago, when Omega ended discounts out right.
Are you referring to valfleurier?
Yeah but richemont has other brands that could be filling those volume watchmaker shoes if you know what I mean. Dont get me wrong, I don't like carrier so I'd rather see them as mass market proposition over their rivals such as piaget, bvlgari, chopard, you name it but I was just really surprised. I guess it is becoming a LV of jewelry business
I’m not - Cartier have their own movement operations which has been significantly invested into by Richemont a while ago.
Longines is the actual, no-kidding, oldest continuously existent watchmaker on the planet, Omega is #2. Longines has no “climbing” nor any perceived shortcomings to account for.
I thought that was Vacheron Constantine? If we want to talk oldest watch brand still extant that would be Blancpain, I think.
Side note: does anyone know if you can still negotiate a discount on new Longines models? Or is that a thing of the past?
I recently purchased a Hydroconquest with 20% discount from an AD. So yes, it‘s possible.
They don't have to make a third brand. Didn't they also bought Carl F. Bucherer by dint of the owners of Bucherer having shares in the watch brand and Rolex buying enough of the rest to get a majority or something?
They don't have to make a third brand. Didn't they also bought Carl F. Bucherer by dint of the owners of Bucherer having shares in the watch brand and Rolex buying enough of the rest to get a majority or something?
Rolex said it made the decision to buy the retailer after Bucherer chairman, Jörg Bucherer, the third generation leader of the family owned company, in the absence of direct descendants, was considering selling the company.
“This move reflects the Geneva-based brand’s desire to perpetuate the success of Bucherer and preserve the close partnership ties that have linked both companies since 1924,” Rolex said in [their] statement.
Source: Forbes
Great post, interesting insight. If the watch world is more like me than Longines climb will probably fall flat. I already don’t like Omega moving up, so when I see a beautful watch from Longines and they have many, I look at the price and immediately dismiss it as an option.
You do realise that Longines turns over more than Tudor. How are you ranking this because the figures would suggest it goes Rolex, Omega, Longines, Tudor. Turnover would be a good yardstick; these are businesses, they want to make money at the end of the day.
I’m going to post this again:
That’s your turnover Top 20 for Swiss brands. (2023 is not over, if you were wondering).
This is real.
Can we all study this list really carefully, re-read the original post, and start the conversation again?
I made my statement based of the premise of a theoretical luxury hierarchy, not the amount of sales that each company has. In my opinion looking a the 4 brands their current hierarchy is Rolex, Omega, Tudor and then Longines.
I made my statement based of the premise of a theoretical luxury hierarchy, not the amount of sales that each company has. In my opinion looking a the 4 brands their current hierarchy is Rolex, Omega, Tudor and then Longines.
Turnover is measurable as a way to determine how successful they are
Theoretical luxury hierarchies are not
Longines turn over more than Tudor
Rolex turns over >3x Cartier, and more than most of the Top 10 added together
This is quantifiable - Morgan Stanley do this for us every year
F**k it though - I’m out, someone else take over please. This post, and the recent AP post, literally prove that we are just content to post anything without research, and present alternative truths to the narrative despite evidence to the contrary. Contrived bs at its finest.
Longines turnover more than Tudor, but need to compete more with them? Sure, and AP are irrelevant. 2023. Facts mean f*** all.
I thought that was Vacheron Constantine? If we want to talk oldest watch brand still extant that would be Blancpain, I think.
I’m pretty sure both of those have had periods of inactivity over the course of history. The oldest watch company surprisingly isn’t Swiss at all, but Russian. Raketa was founded as Petrodvorets Watch Factory in 1721 in St Petersburg.
Don't have anything to add. Just dropping in to say, interesting read, thanks for posting
Cheers for the kind comment, more to come!
Interesting article and the whole thread is fascinating. I think you found a hot button.
Tried on the new GMT yesterday, it’s a beast! Absolutely gorgeous, finishing is as nice as anything else I tried on.
Interesting article and the whole thread is fascinating. I think you found a hot button.
Cheers for the feedback - it's interesting to see enthusiasts views on Longines, in 2023. Not long ago, I think any post on Longines would not have gotten much traction.
Side note: does anyone know if you can still negotiate a discount on new Longines models? Or is that a thing of the past?
Got a Zulu timer 3 weeks ago with a 10% discount from AD.
Turnover is measurable as a way to determine how successful they are
Theoretical luxury hierarchies are not
Longines turn over more than Tudor
Rolex turns over >3x Cartier, and more than most of the Top 10 added together
This is quantifiable - Morgan Stanley do this for us every year
F**k it though - I’m out, someone else take over please. This post, and the recent AP post, literally prove that we are just content to post anything without research, and present alternative truths to the narrative despite evidence to the contrary. Contrived bs at its finest.
Longines turnover more than Tudor, but need to compete more with them? Sure, and AP are irrelevant. 2023. Facts mean f*** all.
I agree. Longines dominates the middle market (my shorthand for its price range). Its strategy in my opinion is to expand its appeal to new and repeat customers in the price segment across global markets. I can’t really think of a close second in terms of model offerings and price. Folks will throw out Oris and Tissot as alternatives but I don’t think so (certainly not based on turnover).