Deep Dive: Longines “Saurer”
I think most collectors will agree that the most important watch in their collection is not the one that’s most expensive, but rather the one with the greatest sentimental value. Personally, the watches I treasure the most have been gifted to me by friends and family, or sold to me by dear friends.
Watches make an amazing and lasting gift, and companies often awarded watches to their employees to celebrate their achievements, long time commitment, and loyalty. Normally, the caseback is engraved or a certificate is written to mark this celebration, but in very rare occasions the watch is designed entirely for this purpose.
A Zenith time-only, designed and manufactured for the Swiss company Saurer.
Saurer (Adolph Saurer AG) was a Swiss company, based in Arbon, manufacturing textile machines, trucks, and buses. They famously gifted their employees watches with their logo - truly striking and unique - incorporated into the dial design. Notably, Zenith time-only watches with this unmistakeable feature seem to appear on the market from time to time. I personally own an example, and have come close to buying at least four or five other examples with varying levels of condition. However, Zenith was not the only watch manufacturer Saurer commissioned to make special bespoke timepieces; Omega seems to have been another major brand Saurer regularly ordered from.
Another photo of the Zenith time-only, designed and manufactured for the Swiss company Saurer.
Much, much rarer seems to be Longines made for Saurer; to the best of my knowledge, only four examples are known. I was very lucky to pick this one up from a good friend in the U.K., and while I never wear this watch I treasure it as an important piece of history and a specimen of unique design. I do wish the condition were better, but I suppose one cannot be too picky with such a rare watch. Unlike on my Saurer Zenith, the caseback on this Longines fully supports its dial.
In German, the caseback reads:
Herrn
Kobler Valentin
Aktiengesellschaft
Adolph Saurer, Arbon
in Anerkennung
langjähriger Dienste
1940
In English, this translates to:
Mr. Valentin Kobler
Adolph Saurer Joint-Stock Company, Arbon
in recognition of many years of service
1940
So, the engraving confirms the dial and elaborates that this watch was gifted in 1940 to a Saurer employee in recognition for many years of service. I am not quite sure why some employees were gifted a watch from Longines rather than Zenith or Omega - perhaps it had to do with the number of years of service, the rank, or the department. Regardless of the specifics, I can only imagine the sentimental value the watch must have carried for Mr. Valentin Kobler.
An incredibly rare Longines made for the Swiss company Saurer. The striking dial design is notable. The watch was gifted to an employee in 1940.
The caseback engraving on the Longines made for Saurer. The German engraving reads that the watch was gifted to Mr. Kobler Valentin in 1940 by the Adolph Saurer company in Arbon, Switzerland, as a token of appreciation for many years of service.
On a few occasions in the past, I have gifted watches - some with personalised caseback engraving - to friends and family. Inspired by these Saurer watches, I do dream (truly long-term) of taking this to the next level, designing a bespoke timepiece that I could give out on meaningful occasions to those most important to me. Then, if another 80-90 years later the watch is appreciated by a future collector, I could consider that - beyond the personal meaning and it being the emblem of a life well lived - an important contribution to the watch collecting world.