The Origin of Species: President Walter Von Kanel on the Past, Present and Future of Longines

Longines has been based at St. Imier, Switzerland since 1832 when Auguste Agassiz first arrived to manage a watch trading office. No watchmaker himself, Aggassiz’s contribution was access to financial and commercial networks, allowing newly minted watchmakers returning from their own apprenticeships to meld fine hand crafts with the finest technology available at the time. He might not have realised it at the time but he had already prepared the foundation for modern commercial watchmaking.

180 years later, Longines President Walter Von Kanel is not just presiding over the greatest brand growth for the last 50 years but also demonstrating a model of watchmaking which enjoys profits in excess of one billion Swiss Francs. More importantly, Longines serves an even greater function – enticement of a new breed of collectors drawn from a wide audience attracted to the high value proposition of St. Imier’s premier marquee.

You have been in the watch business for over 50 years, what are some of the biggest moments in watchmaking to you?

The biggest change was the attitudes in watchmaking. In the beginning, it was the watchmakers who decided what they wanted to make and thus, what could be sold. We eventually moved to a model of letting the market decide and then they produced what the executives decided.

Do you consider that watchmaking has gone backwards, returning to independent manufactures rather than the consolidated vision Mr. Hayek had?

You have to consider the ratio of watches – price versus volume. Longines with 1.4 million pieces is in a different league and strategic approach. I can understand that a brand making 600 pieces a year utilising maximum marketing on the worth of the movement but when I decided that we should stop being a manufacture in 1984, my decision was that we use ETA so that we would sell a watch for maximum value, with maximum quality for that value with the best workhorse calibres for reliability. Now, we have taken incremental steps with exclusive movements but we have found success in volume.

The most important criteria of a watch for the consumer and myself is that it never stops.

I want to push product not the movement because the watch is about the design and its unique characteristics. I don’t think Longines has done badly to be among the only other billionaire watchmakers: Rolex, Omega, Cartier, Tissot and Patek. One has to focus without being stupid.

Do you think a smart watch is a focused decision or a crazy one?

Apple and Samsung are the experts in this field due to their flexibility, know-how, experience and technology but most importantly, they’re very fast. Once the new model is out, the old is obsolete and they do this at a speed which the Swiss watch industry isn’t used to. I’m happy that this phenomenon is here and more importantly, it will convince the young generation to once again start wearing watches. In time, they will realise that a timepiece is not so much about time-keeping but rather a status symbol. Watchmakers who are saying they will have the most advanced smartwatch will be taking resources away from advertising budgets to our advantage. It’s a good policy to make less mistakes than other people. [Laughs]

So Longines won’t be among the early adopters of smart watch tech?

Longines released its first quartz model in 1969 just after Seiko. Today, 83% of my business in mechanical watches versus 17% in quartz with both having models for Madame and Monsieur. When you put 650,000 watches on Chinese wrists each year, the biggest problem is watches that stop. Longines will adopt new technologies only when we can reliably produce them. Longines products are planned to last for a lifetime and I will not be going into smartwatches until I am certain they will not flop.

Longines has immense heritage, is there an opportunity for you to reclaim top position by introducing higher end models?

We have history and it shows when our greatest PR (public relations) hits have been re-issues like the Legend Diver and the Heritage 1935. High quality production and a large archive of fantastic pieces gives us the opportunity to introduce consumers to the finest of our collection without betraying our new commitment to attractive price points without sacrificing quality.