Agassiz

Since the late 19th century, as society experienced continuously increasing mobility, watchmakers were challenged to invent new mechanisms to reflect the fact that the globe is divided up into 24 time zones. Thus the world time feature was created. This ingenious mechanism has been invented and patented by Louis Cottier, a celebrated watchmaker from Geneva, who worked closely with Geneva's most renowned watch manufacturers such as Patek Philippe, Rolex, Vacheron Constantin and Agassiz.

The Agassiz manufacture was founded in 1832, when Auguste Agassiz, brother of naturalist Louis Agassiz, found a job in the hamlet of Saint-Imier, Bern, Switzerland, joining Comptoir Horloger Raiguel Jeune. In 1833 he took over the business when he and two of his associates set up a company named Comptoir Raiguel Jeue & Cie. In 1847 Agassiz became the sole owner of the company which he renamed Agassiz & Compagnie. In 1867 Agassiz purchased some additional land to keep the factory and its workers under one roof. This pot of land was known as "Es Longines" which literally means "Long Medows". Just a few years later, the name of this plot of land became the trade name of the company.