With Longines in Kitzbühel: discovering the Conquest Chrono Ski Edition

Enjoying the legendary downhill race in Kitzbühel, Austria, from the front row is a unique experience for those who love the mountains and skiing. We had the opportunity to be there thanks to Longines, who has been a partner of the International Ski Federation (FIS) since 2006 (agreement renewed until 2026) and is the official timekeeper for the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup. And we took a closer look at the new Conquest Chrono Ski Edition, dedicated to the 2025 Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach. A watch that represents only the tip of the iceberg of the bond that ties the brand to snow, a 100-year history of technical challenges and passion that is worth telling.

TIMEKEEPING ON THE SNOW

Probably not everyone is aware of the fact that, when watching a World Cup ski race on television, all the numbers that appear on the screen would not exist without Longines. The same applies to those that, at the finish line, provide names and timings on the electronic scoreboard at the bottom of the run. Indeed, timing ski events is a great tradition for the brand, and it wouldn’t have been possible without the creation of its first chronograph in 1878. Forty-six years later, in 1924, Longines officially entered the world of ski competitions by supplying timing equipment for a race organised not far from its production site in Saint-Imier, Switzerland.  

Since then, the brand has never stopped the innovation process aimed at improving timing of skiers in the race. It was a long process, because for several years after that race, calculating the duration of a downhill run between start and finish remained technically difficult. Sometimes it was even decided to put a paper note in the athlete’s pocket with the start time written on it, which would then be handed to the marshals at the finish to determine the performance of the skier. If one adds to this the not-always-favourable weather conditions, one realises that the Longines engineers in those early years were true pioneers.

LONGINES AND SKIING: TECHNOLOGICAL CHALLENGES

This scenario presented Longines with technical challenges that the brand was happy to face and solve. In 1937, at the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Chamonix, France, the company presented its first invention dedicated to skiing which triggered a revolution in chronometric precision: a new timing system with electronically-operated chronographs from start to finish, connected to photoelectric cells at the finish line. After numerous tests, the first devices were installed in Crans-Montana, Switzerland, in 1945.

For the 1950 World Championships in Aspen, Longines used new electromechanical gates that recorded both the start and finish times of skiers, while in 1951 it was the turn of the Chronoson. This was an audio device that counted the seconds remaining until the athlete was allowed to start. That year, during the Swiss Ski Championships in Adelboden, Switzerland, Longines used quartz technology and the Chronocaméra for the first time in an Alpine skiing competition. It was a camera equipped with film that printed the finishing time with an accuracy of one hundredth of a second. 

The brand’s other major innovation came in 1962, at the Alpine Skiing World Cup in Chamonix. On that occasion, Longines was the first brand to install an electronic scoreboard at the finish line, on which both intermediate and final times were displayed.

THE 1960s, THE GOLDEN AGE

Progress was unstoppable, and from the 1960s onwards the technical improvements introduced by Longines in winter sports timekeeping became constant. This was also thanks to the fact that competitions began to be televised, and the Winter Olympic Games and the Ski World Cup became truly global events. Starting in 1963, race times appeared on television screens, which were later accompanied by the display of intermediate times, athletes’ top speeds, and rankings.

Decade after decade timekeeping became more and more accurate, and it was then time to focus not only on timing but also on another key aspect of sports performance: data. In 2017, Longines therefore presented another revolutionary technology: the Longines Live Alpine Data. Introduced in February, during the Ski World Cup in Sankt-Moritz, it consisted of a chip connected to the skier’s boot with a radar sensor and a motion sensor. It allowed real-time and continuous measurement of the athlete’s speed, acceleration, deceleration, time needed to reach 100 km/h, and jump analysis. All of this data was presented in the form of TV graphs to viewers at home, but the most important use was by the athletes, who could analyse their own performance.

In February 2023, during the Alpine Ski World Championships in Courchevel-Méribel, France, the brand from Saint-Imier introduced the latest improvement to the Longines Live Alpine Data system. Essentially, for the new system more attention was paid to design – not so much for aesthetic reasons as to ensure better ergonomics, to be used mainly in technical disciplines.

LONGINES AND SNOW AMBASSADORS

Naturally, a brand like Longines could not fail to involve some of skiing’s greatest champions as brand ambassadors, both men and women. Among women in particular, the brand has brought into its ‘team’ not one of the greatest champions, but the greatest ever: the American Mikaela Shiffrin, the most successful athlete in the history of the Alpine Ski World Cup.

With two Olympic gold medals, seven World Championship titles, five World Cups, one Super-G World Cup, two Giant Slaloms, eight Special Slaloms and over 150 World Cup podiums, Mikaela Shiffrin at just under 30 is unanimously considered the strongest athlete ever to have put her skis between both wide and narrow poles. An ambassador of elegance for Longines, the American combines grit on the slope with an innate grace that she shows off on formal occasions, with the brand’s watches on her wrist.

The Swiss Marco Odermatt, on the other hand, is the crown jewel among Longines’ men ambassadors. Two years younger than Shiffrin, he aims to follow in her footsteps in terms of results. Winner of an Olympic gold medal, two world golds, three World Cups, three Giant slaloms, two Super Giants and one Downhill, he is considered the most complete athlete in the men’s field today, for both his skills and his versatility. Longines has dedicated a limited edition of the Conquest Chrono to him in 2023.

Both ambassadors were present last October in Sölden, Austria, at the start of the 2024-2025 season. They held the unveiling ceremony of the new Conquest Chrono Ski Edition by Longines, dedicated to the 2025 Alpine World Ski Championships in Saalbach, Austria.

THE NEW LONGINES CONQUEST CHRONO SKI EDITION

During our stay in Kitzbühel, we had the opportunity to see and wear it: the best situation to be able to write advisedly about a watch. Limited to 2025 pieces, this chronograph combines a robust structure with sporty elegance, highlighting the tight bond between the brand and Alpine skiing. Which is its main feature, expressed in the engravings on the caseback: a skier in action, symbolising the 48th edition of the 2025 World Championships, accompanied by the inscriptions SAALBACH 2025 – FIS ALPINE WORLD SKI CHAMPIONSHIPS and LIMITED EDITION – ONE OF 2025.

Otherwise, it is in all respects a Conquest Chrono as we have come to know it after its latest restyling. A 42 mm diameter steel case, water-resistant to 10 bar, alternating polished and satin-finished surfaces; tachymeter bezel and black ceramic insert; sapphire crystal with multi-layered anti-reflective treatment inside and out. In addition to the engravings on the back, what distinguishes it from the other references in the collection is the anthracite-coloured dial with a vertical satin finish that makes it very sporty. On the anthracite, the red details of the 12-hour and 30-minute chronograph hands and the tip of the seconds hand stand out. They match with the edges of the luminescent squares at the tips of the hour markers and the TACHYMETRE inscription on the bezel.

The movement is also the one we know from the Conquest Chrono collection. We are talking about calibre L898.5 with a silicon balance spring, developed by Longines based on calibre L895.2, itself derived from the ETA A31.L01. Unlike its predecessor, which worked at 25,200 vibrations per hour for a 54-hour power reserve, the L898.5 calibre oscillates at 28,800 vibrations per hour and has a slightly longer power reserve: 59 hours.

The Conquest Chrono Ski Edition is sold with either a three-row steel bracelet or a black rubber strap, both with a folding clasp. The special tool for swapping bracelet with strap and vice-versa is included in the package. The availability of both strap and bracelet, together with the fact that it is a limited-edition watch, puts this reference in an important price bracket for Longines: 4,750 euros.

In conclusion, therefore, we can only emphasise the importance of what moments like the ones we experienced in Kitzbühel represent for the press and the customers. These are appointments in which, on the one hand, it is possible to touch and literally experience the affinity that ties Longines to the ski world. On the other, they are often unique opportunities to come into direct contact with the watches, the real and ultimately most important players in the brands’ history – beyond partnerships and ambassadors.