Longines’ CEO Matthias Breschen on the Conquest's 70th anniversary

The anniversary celebration is already off to a great start with a revival of the central power reserve model

At the beginning of the year, Longines generated quite the buzz on social media after it unveiled an updated version of its Conquest timepiece with a central power reserve indicator. Its release coincided with the 70th anniversary of the Conquest, which was the first family of watches in Longines to have its name protected by the Federal Intellectual Property Office in Berne in 1954.

This one-of-kind indicator first appeared in the Conquest in 1959, a Longines invention comprising two rotating discs placed at the centre of the dial. A baton hand with a wide rectangular tip points to an external coiling disc graduated from ‘64’ to ‘0’ (the numbers refer to the hours). The operation allows the aesthetics of the dial to change over time—rewinding the watch by crown or by moving the wrist will cause the coiling disc to rotate.

Powered by the automatic L896.5 calibre with silicon balance spring, the Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve comes in a 38mm steel case in a choice of champagne, anthracite or black dial.

Above Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve in 38mm steel with a champagne dial

Matthias Breschen, CEO of Longines, shares his thoughts on the Conquest and what one can expect from the anniversary celebration.

Please elaborate on the significance of the Conquest watch at Longines.

Historically, the Conquest has always been an important family. It was the first product family to be given a name in 1954. We will celebrate its 70th anniversary with two major milestones this year.

The first is the [revival of] Conquest Central Power Reserve because it’s a true Longines innovation. I think it’s beautiful to see the very complicated and complex construction of the dial which is divided into three parts.

The second milestone is that we have renewed our entire Conquest collection. We started this exercise last year, with some references like the automatic chronograph in 42mm, the gents' model in 41mm, and the ladies in 34mm. They were very successful and we believe the momentum will continue this year as we introduce additional references.

Photo 1 of 2 Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve with anthracite dial

Photo 2 of 2 Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve with black dial

Why did Longines decide to put the power reserve front and centre?

I think it’s a fantastic idea to put the power reserve indicator as the focus and the way it has been designed makes the watch look extremely balanced. Note how the date is also not at ‘3’ but at ‘12’. In terms of geometry, it’s balanced.

Since we invented it, we have the authenticity to do it and to my knowledge, we’re the only brand today to have this feature. It’s also the continuation of our strategy that all Longines watches leaving our factory have exclusive Longines movements.

What is so unique about the Conquest collection?

In the Conquest, you clearly find the Longines DNA of elegance and heritage. The importance of authentic heritage has become more important because of the increasing consumers' interest in vintage watches.

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Photo 1 of 2 Longines Conquest in 41mm

Photo 2 of 2 Longines Conquest in 34mm with diamond hour markers

When talking about the Conquest, we sometimes recall the VHP which has since been discontinued. But will we see more innovations like this from Longines?

Longines has always been known for its innovations. I think we must never be satisfied with what we have achieved. We always need to try to do better and be innovative because the day that you stop innovating, you start killing a brand.

We’re seeing Longines elevating its branding with more and more precious materials. Why is it important for you to do that?

Because today it is all about desirability. That said, we’re not repositioning the brand in terms of pricing. We always want to be in the range of US$1,000 to US$5,000. Our objective is to bring state-of-the-art technology to this price segment.

The last flyback [chronograph] that we produced was in 1973 because we were not able to incorporate the complication in our price segment until last year. We also did it with the GMT (in the Hydroconquest) last year, and now the central power reserve. So this is something very unique about Longines.

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Tatler Asia

Longines’ CEO Matthias Breschen on the Conquest's 70th anniversary