| ·ÐÁø ·ÐÁø½Ã°è In 1866, Auguste's nephew, Ernest Francillon, bought two plots of land on the right bank of the river Suze at the place called "Les Longines" and brought all of the watchmaking skills under one roof - this was the first "Longines factory". With the inauguration of the new factory in 1867, the production of the first Longines movement, the L20A, commenced. At that time, watches used to be wound by means of a key. The Longines watch however broke with these traditional watchmaking methods having a "lever" movement which was wound and the time set by means of the crown. It was Ernest Francillon himself who went to Paris to present this watch at the 1867 Universal Exhibition. He returned to Saint-Imier with a bronze medal. Ever since his first watch in 1867, Francillon engraved a winged hourglass on all Longines movements. In his battle against counterfeits, he already in 1874 sent out his first warning to all Longines customers. |