Longines Watch Co. Francillon Reviews 97

I wish I had read these reviews before purchasing my Longines watch. I spent a lot of money buying a new watch which kept going to just past the end of the warranty period. Then it stopped. I was given an expensive quote to fix it and nearly 4 months later I am still waiting. No updates given. Just appalling customer service. Edit.. to be fair, the watch has now arrived and works well and looks like new.

I bought my Longines VHP watch in June 2018. Longines promised in the marketing material/website 5 years battery life, including 6 months End of Life (E.O.L.) indication and 6 month End of Energy (E.O.E.).
I have this watch for little more than 6 years and the second battery has died now. The End of Life indicator was merely a month, after that the watch stopped and it is in End of Energy now. This happened with both batteries, the End of Life indicator was only or less than a month.
Basically, the watch used almost twice as much battery as promised by Longines.

The first battery was replaced by certified Longines service after 3 years and 4 months (The Swatch Group UK Service Centre in Southampton) and was sent off from London's boutiques store where they said and wrote down, the watch has normal wear and tear.
Despite this fact, Longines services contacted me couple days later, that my watch has completely died, and they need do a full service for £180 without any explanation why. They own - Longines service - report also says the watch has normal wear and tear. Clearly something was not right there. Either Longines sold me a faulty watch/battery, or the Longines service centre just wanted to overcharge me.

A beautiful watch but incredibly low quality both in service and in the watch (or false marketing). I can safely say, I'm very disappointed. I would expect this kind of low quality and bad service from a cheap 3rd world country product, not from a Swiss luxury brand.

Lastly, I sent a complaint to Longines and also to Swatch Group a few weeks ago, they didn't even bother to answer.

I have a Longines VHP bought in December 2021 in the UK (it’s the three hand one so no Bluetooth, but it does have a perpetual calendar). After just under 3 years (November 2024) the battery showed the end-of-life indicator (ticking once every 5 seconds) . So I duly sent it off to the UK Longines service centre believing that they’d charge me £90 for a new battery. However, after a week or so I received an email saying that the watch needs “a full service” . After challenging them as to why a quartz watch less than three years old needs a “Full service” I have been informed that it actually needs “a new electronic module” (I.e. a new movement) for which they are charging me £248.00. As of yet (even after a phone call ) they have still have failed to explain why a quartz watch less than three years old needs a complete new movement. This of course raises more questions….. firstly what happens when the battery fails again in another three years ? Will it mean yet another movement ? Also, considering that the whole VHP line was mysteriously dropped from the Longines catalogue does this mean that it was dropped as the movements are unreliable? Also, as the line has been dropped what happens when they run out of spare parts? They are telling me the watch will be at the service centre for 12 weeks ….If I get a reply to this rant it will no doubt be something like, “we’re sorry that you are disappointed “ or else it maybe the standard mantra, “this is a precision instrument and requires regular servicing……”

I bought a quartz watch as I didn’t want the hassle of maintaining a mechanical watch…. Oh the cruel irony !

So Longines how come that my quartz Casio that cost £30 is more reliable than a so called ‘luxury timepiece that cost my partner the best part of £800 for my 50th birthday….

I should have bought another Casio or a Citizen Eco Drive, ….. currently kicking myself……

I have been waiting for 6 months for a quote to repair a women's watch, which was sent. from Coimbra to Switzerland! At the moment I have no information about what is happening or even where my watch is! UNACCEPTABLE

I bought the Longine Conquest, it was a brilliant experience! The watch is very good! I recommend it to everyone

On 10/26/2024 6pm, I purchased a Master Collection moon phase watch for $4,100 at Longines retail store in Aventura Mall, Miami, Florida. It instantly lost 3 minutes per day. By Tuesday it lost 9 minutes. On Wednesday morning it display 8.09 am (ET) and appeared to have stopped. This was 4 days after the purchase!

I went back to the store, and asked for a return because The watch was clearly broken before I even purchased it. I really expected they would take it back as any upstanding company would do.

The store manager Miriam refused and claimed that it can be repaired or "maybe" replaced. I pointed out that it would be the right thing to take it back as the watch was malfunctioning even prior to the purchase. I said that lost trust in the brand and quality of the watch. The company should demonstrate that it stands behind its brand as any 'luxury' brand would do.

The store manager referred to "policy", hiding behind it. Basically, greed was more important than customer satisfaction. It is obvious that the company Longines is totally fine with selling malfunctioning watches and collecting thousands of dollars without showing any responsibility.

I accepted the offer to replace the watch under protest yesterday.

I fear that the watch will stop working as the other did before after a few days. Other posts on various websites show similar failures, this tells me mine is not a one-off as claimed by the store manager.

Again, DO NO BUY Longines!!!!!! Save the money and headache. I lost trust, and I feel cheated. Do not fall into the same trap!

I bought a very nice Longines Spirit Chronograph L3.820.4.93.0 from Jura Watches but I have to say the whole experience was pretty bad and I am not happy with my purchase for many reasons:
- bought the watch in December 2023 and got it delivered in Feb 2024 because Longines was apparently out of stock, but almost 2 months?
- specified the strap to be longer, XL size, but apparently Longines doesn't do that unless the seller makes a request and only after the watch has been delivered with the standard strap. It took 2 months to get the strap from Longines in the end.
- roughly a month later I noticed the watch date wouldn't change when the hour hand passes midnight but during the day at random times. So, I had to send it back to Longines to be recalibrated or repaired. The customer service was OK and they have fixed the problem, but this shouldn't have happened with a brand new £3K watch.
- the watch itself has a very nice design but I doubt it will last for too long as it scratches so easily and apparently breaks easily. I am working in an office mostly sitting behind a desk.
I followed the exact instructions on how to use this watch, never adjust the date between 20:00 and 03:00 and even bought an expensive Wolf watch winder to keep it moving when I was not wearing it, but to sum up, this experience was everything but pleasant and in my opinion the watch quality doesn't reflect the asking price, at all.

Just had my watch returned after I refused their repair estimate.

My experience (Disclosure - I don't own an electron microscope so my observations are based on using a magnifying glass - I think that's a reasonable test)...

Had my Master Collection watch for about 15yrs. I've always loved it. However...

After about 8yrs it started to lose time so had it serviced by a local company in London. Expensive. A few years later I had condensation under the glass after being in a hot climate. Repaired and 'serviced' more cheaply by Longines. Still pricey but happy. Recent experience - more condensation after being in high temps in Croatia. Took it to their shop and asked for this to be fixed, and only this. Basically a new seal which they say only lasts a number of years. Assistant doubtful this was possible without service. They took watch and said they would get an estimate for repair which, if accepted, would take up to 12 weeks.

A week or so later I get the quote (my 'opinion' in brackets):

This is an extract from the estimate details:

Presence of light scratches, normal wear and tear
This watch needs a full maintenance service
(no it doesn't and I didn't ask for that)
The winding mechanism requires servicing
(oh really?)
The crystal is scratched
(no it is not)
The bezel is scratched
(possibly, under a microscope - I don't care anyway)
The case is scratched
(possibly, under a microscope - I don't care anyway)
The case back is marked
(how the hell would that be possible? It's never off my wrist)
The bracelet / strap is scratched
(yep that's expected, not a problem)
Water / moisture - condensation on the dial
(nope, it's in the inside of the glass - I told you that, Einstein)
The dial has oxidised
(nope. No evidence of that to the naked eye)
A replacement of the dial is required (you are taking me for a complete fool)
A replacement of the hands is required (you are taking me for a complete fool)
Note:
deep scratch at 9, side lug 5-6 stiff pushers.
(Deep? Nope. Stiff pushers? Give me a break)

Result:
We have received an estimate from our service centre and they have recommended:

· A full service which is £460
· A replacement dial which is £168.48

Come to your own opinion.

But I will never buy another of their watches based on their customer service. In contrast, I bought my wife a Hermes a year or two before it got this watch and she's never needed to have it serviced let alone repaired and it was cheaper than mine.

Basically, dubious diagnoses aside, they seem to want me to spend around £500 - £700 every five years or so to maintain this non-Rolex. I'll chuck it in the bin rather than throw good money after bad.

UPDATE: Regarding the response - I won't be back. I wouldn't trust you with a bargepole. You should have done what I asked in the first place instead of replying with a disingenuous stock cur and paste reply trying to look like you give ****. Sort out your customer service.

I have a beautiful Hydroconquest, battery powered watch. It is a real eyecatcher, I have been asked on numerous occasions what make it is? Whilst I am always happy to tell people I also add a caveat, Longines batteries have got to be the worst in the whole watch kingdom. I bought my watch in 2017, on 28. 05. 2024 I took it to a local branch of H Samuel, they will send it away for a new battery, sealing etc. This will be, including the original battery, the third battery my watch has had, at a cost of over £100.00 a time. Surely Longines can find a better battery? I have watches whose batteries have been changed, by local watchsmiths, not overly waterproof, these batteries are still going after 5 years.

I have owned many Longines watches over the years, they are fine quality and have always been reliable and accurate. I would give the brand 5 stars, except for the fact that I had their flagship store in London remove the bracelets from two new watches for me, because I didn't want to risk marking the lugs with my watch tool and the person who did the work managed to scratch both case sides on both polished watches in the process! I can't blame the entire company for the clumsiness of one employee, but have to knock off one star for carelessly damaging two watches of mine because I was shocked at the lack of care taken.

Terrible Customer Service (NL)

Was denied a simple request on how to get a pouch based on my location, very bad service for a so-called Luxury Brand.

Sent my vintage Longines Elegant for repair after it had sat in a drawer for 20 years! Full service and buff. I got a better price for service than the capital city agent by going to the direct agent of Longines itself in Melbourne. Wonderful customer service thanks to Enoch who was patient, courteous and happily problem solved the forwarding of the repaired watch to country Australia. Returned today in full working order. Thank you Enoch.

I sent my wife’s vintage Longines watch for battery replacement and polishing. Customer service was excellent from beginning to end. The watch was returned very well packaged and looks brand new!
Great job! Thank you.

Approximately a one-year-old watch, with one year warranty left. The watch is in very good condition and well taken care of. It has been in rotation with other watches and has been more in the box than on the wrist. Some strap changes left some minor marks under the lugs. What I did recognize was that one of the lugs was a little bit misaligned so that I could not fit a metal bracelet due to too narrow lugs. I did send the watch to Longines and they said that it was caused by external factors by me, which is not true. How can a lug be bent 2 mm upwards and also 0,3 mm inwards by me when it has no dings or it has not been dropped or being touched by nothing more than clothes and my skin? Anyway, Longines wanted to replace the whole case and wanted me to pay for it and they wanted to charge me a cost (€2200) that was more than you can buy a new watch for. This is a manufacturing defect for sure. it should have gone under warranty at no cost. This is the most bizarre and disgusting behaviour I have ever seen in my almost 50-year life. They pretty much tried to rob me and this makes me wonder how often they actually got away with it and how often do they have been scamming people. I will never buy Longines ever again!

2023-11-28 update, I already sent e-mail when the watch was at service and did not get any answers about my questions and the watch fixed. So why should I do it again? I do not trust Longines at all, why would I continue to stay in contact when you tried to scam me and did not respect the warranty either. I am done with you, end of story.

I received a marketing email from Longines in October advising that they are offering a free battery change due to new Mini DolceVita launch . I brought my Watch into the Longines shop in Chadstone Melbourne, showed the staff the marketing email and left my watch there. A day later, I received the quote for a full service, which did not advise there is anything wrong for my watch. I chose not to service, only want to exchange the battery. 3 weeks later, I was advised that my watch is ready to collect. However, when I picked up my watch, I found it not working at all. The staff advised that there is some damage on my watch, hence the watch won't work. I questioned why the email earlier did not mention the damage. The Staff in the store advised that full service in watch industry means there is damage. And because I rejected the full service, so the watch won't work. They did not exchange the battery at all!!! This is ridiculous!!! If the marketing email advised that the free battery exchange will be offered ONLY when customers choose to do the full service, the customer will make the decision before they go to the shop instead of wasting time. I don't want to be forced/tricked to do the full service. I had my battery exchanged elsewhere, the watch worked well. That's a shame!

Longines spare part for the belt
Horrible spare part situation and customer service of Longines. I need a simple spare part for the belt and Longines offered me to help after the dealer expected 4-5 weeks of delivery. I SENT LONGINES ALL REQUESET informations they want to know about type and needed part. This is NOW 2 WEEKS AGO and absolute nothing happened. Never more to think about to buy a Longines watch!

I sent my watch to Longines in July for replacement of battery. This alone took almost 2.5 months to get done, mid September I finally got the message that it was repaired and would be returned upon payment. Paid for service Sept 12, and to date have not received any message for delivery.
I have tried to reach Longines Netherlands (impossible, mail / phone is no longer working); have submitted form online (no reaction), reached out to Longines Belgium who confirmed by phone the watch would be returned next day (did not happen). I called again today to get clarity on where my watch is and when it will be returned. Was told I would be called back; again, did not happen.
I am completely fed up with the customer service and would like to receive my watch back ASAP.
A very unhappy customer.

My Longines RECORD has required repair three times in the last two years. Most recently it was sent for a repair due to the minute hand not moving. I have received a n invoice for €100 despite the fact that the watch is still under warranty. I have been trying to contact customer service (in the Netherlands) to solve this issue for the last three weeks but no one picks up/responds to my emails.

Quite frankly I am fed up with this service… Thus I have resorted to writing this review.

I would not recommend Longines.

My VHP diving watch’s battery stopped after 17 months Instead of 5 years !
When returned to the Appalling slow UK service centre they said in fact the timepiece needed replacing!!
They have had my watch for one quarter of a year and still not returned
This company needs to spend less on its vast global marketing campaigns and focus on serving its customers as a priority

Bought a Longines Chronograph, cost £2,000 3 years ago. The stop watch function is sticking and it was sent back to Longines. They sent a quote back for a repair as it was one year out of warranty, £412 to free up a sticking stop watch button. This is the second Longines I have purchased, there will not be a third. Customer service was cold and perfunctory, would not discuss a more sensible price. Longines hold themselves to be a luxury watch brand- I will let you be the judge.

In response to Longines response, I have already been in contact with the CS team. I will repeat my experience, Cold, Perfunctory, incidentally I have taken the watch to a repairer who described Longines as an example of what is becoming an all too common experience, a company who is all about the sell but god help you if anything goes wrong.