Longines CEO Matthias Breschan Talks Mini Dolcevita Watch Launch
Longines is growing its popular Dolce Vita watch range with a new collection launch.
The Swiss watchmaker debuted on Friday its new Mini Dolcevita, which is a smaller version of its bestselling Dolcevita style that originally launched in 1997. The new timepiece is designed with the same signature rectangular face, which is embellished with diamonds and comes with an array of colorful leather straps or on a stainless-steel bracelet. Prices for the collection range from $1,600 to $3,950.
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Longines’ chief executive officer Matthias Breschan spoke about the new launch during a press event in New York, highlighting the original Dolcevita collection as one of the fastest-growing watch styles at Longines and said that the new mini version falls in line with the company’s key values of being unique, leveraging its rich heritage and offering equal styles for men and women.
“We need to always make sure that this [women’s] segment keeps growing and that we need to keep evolving and innovating to make sure we remain very strong there because all of our competitors that tried to enhance their watches for women all failed,” he explained. “With the Mini Dolcevita, we go one step further because we really go in the direction of a jewelry piece. It’s much smaller and still inspired by the design of this history.”
Breschan said the new watch collection falls in line with the recent “quiet luxury” trend that’s been sweeping over the industry. He also noted the timepiece embodies the company’s slogan of “elegance is an attitude.”
“[The customer] fits into this trend of silent luxury,” he said. “A person that wants to show that she has a character that’s very much about inner and outer elegance. If a lady wears a watch like this, it’s exactly what you want to pass as a message because in many cases, a watch is the perfect accessory to say something about your personality.”
To celebrate the Mini Dolcevita collection’s launch, Longines tapped new brand ambassador Jennifer Lawrence as the face of the campaign. The Oscar-winning actress signed on as a Longines ambassador in late 2022, appearing in a campaign modeling the brand’s Master Collection watch, which led the style to become a top seller in four months, according to Breschan.
“Whenever you select an ambassador, of course the person needs to be famous, but the most important part is the link needs to be credible,” Breschan said. “The consumer understands it. When we launched the first campaign with her, the first reaction was, ‘Of course you work with Jennifer Lawrence. She’s perfect for the brand.’ That was the comment we heard from all of our customers.”
As Longines has been around for nearly 200 years, Breschan said he believes the brand has been able to stay relevant and keep a loyal customer base because of its ability to innovate and evolve, while staying true to its heritage.
“We have one of the best heritages and histories in the whole watch industry,” he said. “It’s a key element in the future for our product development because for many brands, they have to artificially make up a story when they develop a new product. We have the luxury that we can actually cherry-pick the best parts in our rich heritage and history and bring them back and then develop our products for the future.”
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