For more than 140 years, the Saint-Imier-based Swiss watchmaker maintains close friendly ties with the world of sports and has been the timekeeper of the most important international tournaments for over 90 years. In addition to prestigious equestrian sports and gymnastics, the brand supports competitions in alpine skiing disciplines.
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The history of partnership with skiing began back in 1933 in Chamonix. In 2007, the company became the official timekeeper of the Alpine Skiing World Cup. In the same year, the Norwegian athlete Axel Lund Svindal became the Longines Ambassador of Elegance. During his career (in February this year, Svindal announced that he was leaving the big sport), he made 386 descents and scored 36 victories, winning numerous champion titles.
Axel Lund Svindal © press service
American skier Michaela Shiffrin joined the ranks of Longines Ambassadors in 2014. The athlete, holder of the title of Olympic champion, is today considered one of the best in the world in her discipline. She made her first descent at the World Cup at the age of 15.
Michaela Shiffrin © press service
This season, Shiffrin, together with the watch brand, presented the Conquest Chronograph by Michaela Shiffrin. The watch received the first-ever aventurine glass dial in the history of the brand, which resembles sparkling snow on the ski slopes. The case back of the steel watch is decorated with the athlete's autograph.
Chronograph Conquest Chronograph by Michaela Shiffrin © press service
It was the competition on snowy slopes, where skiers reach speeds of up to 200 km / h, that allowed Longines to demonstrate its technical developments in the field of chronometric precision. So, in 1954, the first quartz watch was presented - their record-breaking accurate readings were noted by specialists of the Swiss observatory in Neuchâtel. The quartz movement formed the basis of the Chronocinégines chronometer, which provided all competitions with a photo finish. Launching the first Ultra-Quartz wristwatch in 1969, Longines developed an even more advanced caliber 276 VHP in 1984 with two quartz crystals that worked at different frequencies and compensated for temperature fluctuations.
Five years ago, for the opening of the 2014–2015 ski season, the brand released the Conquest 1 / 100th Alpine Skiing quartz chronograph, capable of recording hundredths of a second. Sometimes such negligible periods of time are decisive in the struggle on the ski slope. This is exactly what happened in Kitzbühel in 1978, when Austrian skier Josef Walcher and Sepp Verstl from Germany fought at the finish line in a hundredth of a second. “This victory was recorded by Longines instruments! We are proud to be contributing to the development of the technology used for this sport,”recalls Walter von Kehnel, CEO of Longines.
Chronograph Conquest 1 / 100th Alpine Skiing © press service
Longines Conquest VHP Very High Precision was chosen as the official watch of the last stages of the Alpine Skiing World Cup. The collection includes not only three-hands with a diameter of 41 and 43 mm, but also chronographs with a diameter of 42 and 44 mm. The newest quartz movement provides unprecedented accuracy of +/– 5 seconds per year (recall that the COSC standard for classical mechanics is –4 / + 6 seconds per day). In addition, the new watch is equipped with a smart electronic crown and an automatic hand position correction (Gear Position Detection, GPD) - after a strong blow or serious magnetic impact, the correct time will be automatically set.
Longines Conquest VHP (Very High Precision) © press service
In early March, the Rosa Khutor tracks will host the World Cup competitions among women in speed disciplines - downhill and super-giant. Starting from the next winter season, the Russian stage of the Women's World Cup will take a permanent place in the calendar of the International Ski Federation and will be held annually on the slopes of the Rosa Khutor mountain resort at the end of January.>