Longines POLITICAL

Target: Longines Parent company: Swatch Group Research date: 23 October 2026 Scope: Corporate and group-level political communications, territorial operations, governance, institutional relationships, financing, and controlling principals.

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

Official statements - Israel-Palestine

No public evidence identified of an official Longines statement explicitly supporting either party, announcing a Gaza-specific humanitarian response, endorsing Israeli military operations, condemning Palestinian civilian casualties, or articulating an Israel-Palestine-specific corporate policy in the corporate materials examined as of October 2026.^{1, 2}

Public positioning

Longines’s corporate profile, available in 2026, presents the company through its Swiss watchmaking heritage, elegance, technical performance and international sports partnerships.^{2, 3}

Longines’s corporate history traces its operations to Saint-Imier, Switzerland, in 1832 and describes its international development as a watchmaking enterprise.⁴

The company’s publicly stated activities include partnerships with equestrian organisations and sporting competitions, with no Israel-Palestine-specific political position established by those partnership disclosures.⁵

Comparative communications

In June 2025, Longines publicly described its sponsorship of the Rotterdam stage of the Longines League of Nations, including its roles as Official Partner, Official Timekeeper and Official Watch.⁶

In November 2025, Longines announced that its Global Champions Tour partnership had been renewed through 2032, continuing a relationship beginning in 2012.⁷

Longines also maintains a publicly listed sales and service partner in Dnipro, Ukraine; that commercial listing does not constitute an official political statement concerning the Russia-Ukraine war.⁸

No public evidence identified in the reviewed corporate communications of directly comparable official Longines political declarations concerning Ukraine and Palestine.^{1, 2, 6}

Market framing

Longines’s public corporate profile describes an international watchmaking business operating across more than 150 countries, rather than presenting individual national markets as vehicles for geopolitical programmes.³

The company’s Israeli retailer listings present commercial watch sales and after-sales services through named local retail partners.^{9, 10}

October 2026 - The excluded frame v_pol:4019936c6df4 concerns Longines’s public representation of Israeli commercial relationships. Longines is the identifiable company actor: its official website publishes retailer information under the Longines brand. COL TIME, at Yermiyahu 6, Tel Aviv, is identified as a retail partner offering watch sales and strap replacement. The Israeli beneficiary is the named commercial retailer, which receives public identification and customer referrals through Longines’s official directory. Longines’s accompanying promotional language describes Swiss watchmaking, product quality, customer selection and maintenance. The page establishes an active public commercial representation as of October 2026, consistent with ordinary Israeli market participation. It contains no endorsement of Israeli state policy, military activity, settlement expansion or a political normalization initiative. The underlying dealership agreement, financial transfers and any deliberate geopolitical purpose remain unestablished.⁹

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

Confirmed Israeli distribution - 2026

Longines officially lists COL TIME at Yermiyahu 6, Tel Aviv, as a watch retailer offering strap-replacement services.⁹

Longines officially lists ROLTIME LTD at 7 Imber Street, Kiryat Arie, Petah Tikva, as a retail and service location offering customer service, battery replacement and strap replacement.¹⁰

Longines lists FINEGOLD at Mamila Mall, Jerusalem, as an authorised retail location offering watch sales and strap replacement.¹¹

The current Longines directory lists IMPRESS GRAND KENYON at Grand Kenyon Mall, Haifa.¹²

The Longines directory identifies IMPRESS ASHDOD at Big Fashion Mall, Ashdod.¹³

Longines also identifies GALOR Jewelry at Giron Mall, Ashkelon, as a retail partner.¹⁴

These company-published listings establish retail distribution and associated services at the named locations as represented by Longines in 2026.^{9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14}

Occupied-territory and settlement nexus

The FINEGOLD entry establishes a Jerusalem retail relationship, but its address at Mamila Mall does not independently establish that the outlet operates inside an Israeli settlement or occupied East Jerusalem.¹¹

No public evidence identified establishing a Longines-owned facility, authorised dealership, military supply agreement or service contract inside a West Bank settlement, occupied East Jerusalem settlement or occupied Golan Heights settlement.^{9, 10, 11, 12}

Legal and regulatory scrutiny

No public evidence identified in the reviewed materials of a Longines-specific settlement-related judgment, regulatory penalty, OECD National Contact Point decision or enforcement proceeding.^{1, 2, 3}

No verified Longines-specific listing was established from the available research against the OHCHR settlement-business database or the business enterprises discussed in A/HRC/59/23; the relevant source screening remains incomplete.^{2, 3}

Civil society and boycott campaigns

No public evidence identified of a substantiated, Longines-specific campaign led by the BDS Movement, Who Profits, AFSC Investigate or another named specialist organisation concerning Israeli settlements or military activity.^{2, 3}

No public evidence identified of an official Longines response to an organised Israel-Palestine boycott or divestment campaign.^{1, 2}

September–October 2026 - The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights published settlement-business database updates A/HRC/60/19 on 26 September 2025 and A/HRC/63/20 on 25 September 2026. Examination of the published enterprise lists identifies no entry under Longines, Swatch Group or Hayek. The 2026 update reviewed an additional 126 enterprises and introduced an involvement classification addressing contribution and direct linkage to adverse impacts. Neither report attributes a qualifying settlement-related activity to the audited company, parent or named controlling family. Absence from these lists is limited evidence: the database covers specified activities associated with settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory and is not an exhaustive register of Israeli commercial relationships, political positions or corporate misconduct.^{15, 16}

September–October 2026 - The American Friends Service Committee’s Investigate database was screened through its public Palestine company directory and published methodology. No Longines or Swatch Group entry was identified. AFSC expressly limits its coverage to companies for which its research establishes specified links to occupation or other serious human-rights violations; it does not include every Israeli company or every international business operating in Israel. Consequently, this screening provides no additional company-specific evidence of settlement activity and does not independently certify the absence of such activity.^{17, 18}

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

Employee relations

Longines publicly describes a workforce spanning Switzerland and overseas operations and identifies professional development and cultural diversity among its human-resource priorities.¹⁹

No public evidence identified of Longines disciplinary proceedings, dismissals, litigation or formal workplace restrictions specifically concerning Palestinian solidarity, Israeli military policy, Palestinian symbols or related employee speech.¹⁹

No public evidence identified of a Longines policy providing supplementary salary payments to Israeli military reservists or financial support for reservist service.¹⁹

Platform and editorial policy

The official Longines digital presence primarily describes watches, retail services, company history, ambassadors and sporting partnerships.²

No public evidence identified of Longines-operated political content moderation, asymmetric suppression of Palestinian material, government-directed map alterations or restrictions on Israel-Palestine-related expression.²

Retail and supply-chain practices

Longines’s official Israeli retail listings identify local sales and after-sales partners but do not establish the geographic provenance of watch components or identify settlement-based manufacturing.^{9, 10}

No public evidence identified of Longines sourcing watch components from Israeli settlements, applying disputed territorial-origin labels, or being sanctioned for settlement-related product mislabelling.^{9, 10, 19}

Charitable matching and grievance mechanisms

No public evidence identified of an employee-donation matching programme specifically funding FIDF, JNF/KKL, Israeli military-welfare organisations or settlement organisations.¹⁹

No public evidence identified of an Israel-Palestine-related shareholder-resolution suppression controversy involving Longines.^{1, 19}

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

Historical military associations

Longines’s current Avigation collection explicitly references its historical production of pilots’ watches, chronographs and navigational instruments associated with civil and military aviation.²⁰

[pre-2020] In May 2016, Longines introduced the Heritage Military COSD, a watch inspired by a design associated with British paratroopers in the 1940s; the historical design association remains represented in Longines’s published archive.²¹

[pre-2020] In October 2018, Longines announced the Heritage Military 1938, a limited edition inspired by an interwar military watch; the announcement is historical, and a continuing military supply relationship is not established.²²

In July 2020, Longines announced a new Avigation Type A-7 1935 model, describing the original as a design ordered by the United States Air Force in 1935.²³

These disclosures establish the use of historical military and aviation associations in Longines’s commercial branding, while providing no evidence of a contemporary Israeli defence procurement relationship.^{20, 21, 22, 23}

International institutional sponsorship

In November 2022, Longines marked ten years of its relationship with the Fédération Équestre Internationale through an awards event in South Africa.²⁴

Longines announced in February 2020 that it would extend its relationship with the European Equestrian Federation through the Longines EEF Series.²⁵

In November 2025, Longines confirmed its continuing sponsorship of the Global Champions Tour through 2032.⁷

Its current equestrian partnership directory includes the UAE Equestrian & Racing Federation, Dubai World Cup, Fédération Équestre Internationale and several other international sporting organisations.⁵

Israeli state partnerships

No public evidence identified of a Longines partnership with an Israeli defence ministry, military unit, military-intelligence organisation or state-directed public-relations initiative.^{5, 7}

No public evidence identified of Longines directly sponsoring an Israeli settlement celebration, settlement cultural programme or state-backed campaign promoting settlement expansion.^{5, 7}

Historical institutional positioning

[pre-2020] Longines’s 2012 anniversary announcement described watchmaking, sports timekeeping and international expansion as the company’s established commercial activities; that historical profile remains consistent with the company’s current corporate presentation.^{26, 2}

On 25 July 2025, the European Equestrian Federation (EEF) confirmed that Israel participated in the Longines EEF Series for the first time during the 2025 season. The Series, established in 2021, is an international show-jumping competition for national teams, organised through four European regions with regional qualifiers, semifinals and a final. Israel’s participation therefore establishes documented Israeli national-team involvement in a competition sponsored by Longines. The EEF described the inclusion of Israel as part of the Series’ expansion to additional participating nations.²⁷

The sponsorship arrangement applied to the competition as a whole. In a statement published on 25 June 2025, Longines CEO Patrick Aoun explicitly identified the company as Title Partner and Official Timekeeper of the 2025 Longines EEF Series, while promoting the Budapest semifinal and the Longines Conquest collection as the event’s Official Watch. The arrangement provided commercial sponsorship, branding and timekeeping support for an international sporting competition in which national teams participated, including Israel during the 2025 season.^{27, 28}

On 4 December 2025, the EEF announced that its partnership with Longines had been extended through 2030. The renewed agreement retained Longines as Official Partner and Official Watch of the EEF and as Title Partner and Official Timekeeper of the Longines EEF Series. The EEF specified that the partnership supported timekeeping and data-handling services for athletes, national federations and organisers across the competition’s qualifiers, semifinals and final. This confirms that the sponsorship was an institutional arrangement between Longines and the EEF, supporting the multinational competition rather than an agreement specifically directed at Israel.²⁹

2025–2026 - no public evidence identified: the EEF’s July 2025 participation announcement, Longines CEO’s June 2025 sponsorship statement and EEF’s December 2025 partnership renewal were examined for evidence of a separate Longines sponsorship agreement with the Israeli national equestrian team, payments specifically to the Israeli federation, or preferential financial support for Israeli participation. None of these disclosures establishes such an arrangement. The documented relationship is sponsorship of the multinational EEF competition, with Israel participating as one of its national teams.^{27, 28, 29}

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

Political lobbying and advocacy

No public evidence identified establishing Longines lobbying specifically for Israeli military policy, anti-BDS legislation, settlement recognition or restrictions on Palestinian advocacy.^{1, 2}

No public evidence identified of a Longines corporate PAC, Israel-related political expenditure programme or verified contribution to a geopolitical pressure group.^{1, 3}

Corporate financial contributions

No public evidence identified of Longines corporate donations to the IDF, Friends of the Israel Defense Forces, JNF/KKL, Regavim, Im Tirtzu, Israeli reservist funds or settlement-support organisations.^{2, 19}

No public evidence identified of Longines funding Israeli military-welfare programmes or financially sponsoring settlement-linked organisations through its confirmed Israeli retail partners.^{9, 10, 11}

Crisis asset mobilisation

The company describes its relevant Israeli commercial relationships in terms of watch sales, servicing and maintenance.^{9, 10}

No public evidence identified of Longines providing military equipment, logistics, complimentary services, transport, financial infrastructure or other crisis resources to the IDF or Israeli state-aligned organisations during the Gaza conflict.^{9, 10, 19}

Constructive-notice chronology

Longines’s official Israeli retail listings remained publicly accessible during the October 2026 research, including listings associated with Tel Aviv, Petah Tikva and Jerusalem.^{9, 10, 11}

The available listings establish publicly represented commercial relationships after 19 July 2024 and November 2024, but do not independently establish the original contract dates, particular transactions or a post-2024 expansion of those relationships.^{9, 10, 11}

No public evidence identified of a specific Longines military donation, political lobbying initiative or settlement sponsorship commencing or escalating after those dates.^{1, 2, 19}

2023–October 2026 - no public evidence identified: searches for Longines, Swatch Group, Nayla Hayek, Nick Hayek and Marc A. Hayek in connection with Israel-Palestine political advocacy, lobbying, political financing, Israeli military welfare, FIDF, JNF/KKL and settlement-support organisations produced no independently verified qualifying transaction or institutional agreement in the accessible sources examined. The published AFSC company directory and UN settlement-business reports likewise contain no attributable entry for these actors. These negative findings concern the reviewed public records and do not establish that all private donations, indirect financing or undisclosed relationships have been investigated.^{15, 16, 17, 18}

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Origins and commercial identity

Longines traces its origins to 1832 in Saint-Imier, when Auguste Agassiz founded a watchmaking enterprise; Ernest Francillon subsequently played a major role in its development.³⁰

[pre-2020] The company’s 2012 corporate announcement expressly identified Longines as a member of Swatch Group and described watchmaking, sporting timekeeping and international commerce as principal activities; current corporate material continues to identify the brand as part of Swatch Group.^{26, 3}

Longines’s 2026 human-resources description states that it operates internationally and belongs to Swatch Group SA.¹⁹

Foundational mandate

Longines’s published historical and corporate materials describe a Swiss commercial watchmaking company rather than a company established to implement Israeli state policy or military objectives.^{3, 4, 30}

No public evidence identified of a Longines founding charter requiring support for Israeli geopolitical objectives, state-directed defence infrastructure or settlement activity.^{3, 4, 30}

Ownership and state control

The reviewed corporate information establishes Swatch Group membership but provides no evidence of an Israeli state-held controlling interest or golden share in Longines.^{3, 26}

No public evidence identified of an Israeli government mandate directing Longines’s commercial or political decisions.^{3, 19}

The relevant parent-company attribution boundary is Swatch Group rather than every retailer selling Longines products. Public corporate-governance disclosures identify the Hayek family and associated entities as an important voting bloc, while Longines’s Israeli retailer listing represents an ordinary distribution relationship. The reviewed UN and AFSC materials contain no basis for attributing an Israeli retailer’s independent political activity to Longines, Swatch Group or the Hayek family merely because a commercial relationship exists. Establishing such attribution would require evidence of the relevant action, funding, instruction, control or institutional sponsorship.^{9, 16, 18}

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Current leadership

Longines identifies Patrick Aoun as President and CEO and Yannick Jenni as Vice President Sales International in its current management directory.¹

Independent reporting dated 2 June 2025 confirmed that Patrick Aoun replaced Matthias Breschan as Longines CEO, following Breschan’s approximately five-year tenure.³¹

The same reporting describes Aoun as a longstanding Swatch Group executive whose earlier responsibilities included markets in the Middle East and Asia.³¹

Previous leadership

Matthias Breschan served as Longines CEO from July 2020 until May 2025, according to the June 2025 leadership-transition report.³¹

Longines’s 2026 management directory identifies Patrick Aoun as the incumbent CEO, superseding historical references identifying Breschan as CEO.¹

Founder and historical principals

[pre-2020] Longines’s official museum history identifies Auguste Agassiz as its founder and Ernest Francillon as an important subsequent figure in the development of the enterprise; their involvement was historical and is discontinued.³⁰

Personal philanthropy

No public evidence identified of verified personal donations by Patrick Aoun or Matthias Breschan to FIDF, JNF/KKL, Israeli settlement organisations or Israeli military-welfare institutions.^{1, 31}

No public evidence identified of a relevant executive-controlled foundation funding Israeli military units or settlement activity.^{1, 31}

Public advocacy

No public evidence identified of Patrick Aoun or Matthias Breschan publicly endorsing the Gaza military campaign, Israeli settlement expansion, anti-BDS legislation or measures restricting Palestinian civil society.^{1, 31}

No public evidence identified of those executives signing a publicly documented Israel-Palestine advocacy statement in their Longines corporate capacity.^{1, 31}

Board memberships and political affiliations

No public evidence identified of the named Longines executives serving in a leadership capacity at AIPAC, FIDF, JNF/KKL, Regavim, Im Tirtzu or another identified Israel-Palestine political advocacy organisation.^{1, 31}

No public evidence identified of a verified executive equity investment, in their personal or Longines corporate capacity, in an Israeli defence, surveillance or military-intelligence company.^{1, 31}

Post-2024 leadership activity

The June 2025 appointment of Patrick Aoun establishes a change in Longines executive leadership after the July and November 2024 legal milestones, without demonstrating an associated change in Israel-Palestine political policy.³¹

No public evidence identified of Longines executive-level political fundraising, military donations, settlement sponsorship or other qualifying regional advocacy after November 2024.^{1, 31}

2023–October 2026 - no public evidence identified: the reviewed UN enterprise lists and AFSC Palestine directory were checked for the Hayek surname alongside Longines and Swatch Group. No matching enterprise entry or attributable Israel-Palestine political conduct was identified. These institutional sources principally examine business enterprises and specific corporate activities; they cannot establish a comprehensive history of personal political statements, charitable contributions or memberships by Swatch Group’s controlling principals.^{15, 16, 17}