[3] Several years later, Agassiz brought in his bright, enterprising nephew, trained economist Ernest Francillon, into the business.

One early stroke of genius from Francillon was to solely produce crown-wound pocket watches rather than the prevalent key-wound alternative.

Francillon sent Jacques David to the 1876 World's Fair in Philadelphia to gather new ideas and strategies from American watchmakers.

Upon returning, David wrote a 108-page report detailing what he learned during his trip; the report is considered one of the most significant documents in watchmaking history, detailing the inner workings of American watch factories, including the entire production process, from raw materials to finished watches, and the highly-effective internal structure and quality control measures implemented in American factories.

In his analysis, David concluded the Swiss watchmaking industry needed to change significantly to keep pace with its American competitors.

Longines counterfeits were not only directly stealing business and revenue from Francillon, but also potentially damaging his company's reputation.

[15] In the 1990's, Swatch differentiated and repositioned its various brands in order to better compete in all market segments, with Omega becoming the high-end brand intended to compete with Rolex and Cartier, while Longines was positioned in a less-expensive segment, its watches redesigned as objects of elegance and classicism, emphasizing the historical tradition of manufacture, as opposed to the craft of watchmaking.

[20] Since Longines developed its first chronograph movement in 1878, the brand has steadily built strong relationships with various sporting organizations, events and teams worldwide.

Today, Longines is designated as official timekeeper, partner, and watch for competitions worldwide including:[21] Notable Longines brand ambassadors and timepieces owners include Humphrey Bogart, Harry Connick Jr., Audrey Hepburn, Dr Nahum Sokolow, Aaron Kwok, Lin Chi-ling, Eddie Peng, Steffi Graf, Andre Agassi, Aishwarya Rai, Kate Winslet, Mikaela Shiffrin, Simon Baker, Jung Woo-sung, Bae Suzy, Barbara Palvin, and Jennifer Lawrence.