Ligne

[2][3] The loi du 19 frimaire an VIII (Law of 10 December 1799) states that one metre is equal to exactly 443.296 French lines.

[4] It is vestigially retained today by French and Swiss watchmakers to measure the size of watch casings,[5][a] in button making and in ribbon manufacture.

This is comparable in size to the British measurement called "line" (one-twelfth of an English inch), used prior to 1824.

Ligne is used in measuring the width of ribbons in men's hat bands,[7] at 11.26 per international inch.

[8] The button trade uses the term ligne (sometimes "line"), but with a substantially different definition: 1⁄40 inch (0.635 mm).