1910s: The first shaped watches

As early as 1912, Longines watches began to lose their round silhouette, the better to explore, and exploit, the geometry of elegance. Truly revolutionary for the period, Longines’ rectangular and square-shaped models marked the start of a century of Longines design. Style followed style in any number of variations as taste turned into trend and trend into fashion, made possible by ever finer craftsmanship and sophisticated technology

Longines and gymnastics
Longines entered the world of gymnastics at the 1912 Swiss Federal Gymnastics Meet in Basel, Switzerland. The partnership resulted in a world’s premiere: the introduction of automatic timing. Longines used an electromechanical system with start and finish tapes, fielded for the first time for the 80-meter dash. It marked a turning point in Longines’ increasingly close cooperation with the world of gymnastics.