Entrenching its position

(Oct 7): Walter von Känel peers at the audience from beneath his beetling eyebrows and smiles impishly. It is early in the evening at a swish restaurant in Taipei, and the longtime president of Longines Watch Co Francillon is in his element as he hosts an elaborate and noisy event to introduce the new models of the Longines Master Collection, which feature a moon phase indicator at six o’clock and the new L899 calibre movement developed exclusively for the brand.