Behind The Scenes

Men's Folio caught up with Matthias Breschan, CEO of Longines, during his recent Singapore trip to understand more about managing a brand with 190 years of history.

- Asaph Low

The last time we met, you officiated Rado’s boutique opening. How have things been for you? Yes, but we are here today for Longines’ opening. [Laughs] I started with Swatch, then Hamilton, Rado and now Longines. All these brands have a different DNA that every CEO has to always respect. It’s never that the brand has to adapt to the CEO but always the CEO to the brand. In particular, when you join a strong brand like Longines, with 190 years of history, that may be one of the nicest ones in the Swiss watch industry. During these 190 years, Longines invented so many iconic milestones in watchmaking that it is simply unbelievable. With this heritage, we have a fantastic base to build our future product development, as we have already started to do this year when you look at the Ultra-Chron or Spirit Zulu.

You took over the reins at Longines in July 2020. Now that you’ve settled in nicely, are there areas in Longines you identified with the team that you wanted to focus on? When I joined Longines, I was already working for more than 20 years in the watch industry; of course, I knew Longines very well. But when I came to Saint-Imier, particularly after visiting the [Longines] museum, I was fascinated to discover how many things Longines has developed that I was unaware of. I didn’t know that Longines invented the GMT or flyback movement; they also had a big advantage over the other brands regarding high-frequency technology. That was a fantastic surprise for me, and as I said, it’s wonderful because vintage watches are becoming popular now. Heritage and history are extremely important for a brand; all these iconic and rich developments that Longines had in the past 190 years are fantastic for building the brand’s future.