How Longines Name Came About by: Yvonne Hammouda-Eyre
It appears the watch case was made by D.S & Sons of London mid 1900s.
It's an interesting story how the Swiss luxury watchmaker Longines actually got the name...
Fast rewind to Mr Auguste Agassiz who entered the world of watchmaking in 1832, establishing a partnership with a watchmaking counter in Saint-Imier.
Before long, Agassiz took control of the enterprise and renamed it "Agassiz & compagnie". The company assembled watches according to the "établissage" method, which involved people working at home, and developed trade links that enabled the company to sell its timepieces around the world, particularly in North America.
In the 1850s, Ernest Francillon, a nephew of Agassiz, took over the management of the company and looked for ways to improve the traditional manufacturing methods used in local watchmaking. His ingenious idea was to group the different operations involved in the creation & finalization of timepieces under one roof, together in one factory, where he would use mechanical production methods to assemble and finish complete watches.
To accomplish this, Francillon purchased two adjoining plots of land on the right bank of the river Suze in the Saint-Imier valley in 1866. This area of land was called "Les Longines" and so we come to understand that Longines - Swiss luxury Watches were named after a plot of land in the Saint-Imler Valley in Switzerland!
best wishes
Yvonne
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longines
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Longines History by: Anonymous
Longines has been based at St Imler, Switzerland since 1832. Its watchmaking expertise, built up over 175 years, reflects a strong devotion to tradition, elegance and the sporting world: it has generations of experience as the official timekeeper at world championships and as a partner of international sports federations. Longines is a member of The Swatch Group S.A., the world?s leading manufacturer of watches and associated products. With an excellent reputation for creating refined timepieces, the brand, whose emblem is the winged hourglass, is now established in more than 130 countries.
http://www.longines.com/brand
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D.S & S Signature by: Anonymous
Hi there I might be able to shed some light on the signature.
D.S & S is the signature for David Sutton & Sons (found mostly on accessories & novelties, London, UK) from the 1930s - 1970s.
