Roland Garros – also known as the French Open – is the biggest clay court tennis tournament in the world and one of the four Grand Slam events that have been the pillars of the sport for more than a century. This weekend will determine who will be this year’s champions, with the women’s singles final (Maris Sharapova vs Simona Halep) today and the men’s tomorrow; how long those finals will last no-one knows, but they will be timed by Longines – the Swatch Group brand that has been the official timekeeper of the tournament since 2007.

French Open: Longines clocks on-court to keep the hour and time the duration of the matches at Roland-Garros.
© FFT

But does time really matter in tennis, since the scoring system theoretically allows a match to go on forever? Momentum is actually more important, yet there has been a timing controversy in the past few days: the only time limits in tennis are the ones in changeovers (1min.30) and between points (20s); Rafael Nadal, notorious for his elaborate routines before serving, received time violations for surpassing the allowed 20 seconds in his matches versus Dominic Thiem and Leonardo Mayer – voicing his frustration, even though he is one of the players that actually wear a watch on court (the Richard Mille RM27-01 Tourbillon Fake Watches UK).

Longines Replica Watches also set up a service radar booth at Roland garros to allow the fans to measure the speed of their serves.
© © Miguel Seabra/Espiral do Tempo

“The best thing would be to have countdown clock on the court”, the Spanish champion grumbled. “That would allow us to know how many seconds we have left before serving!”.  Rafael Nadal feels that he is being targeted by the ‘anti slow-play brigade’ that has reduced the allowed time from 25 seconds to 20 seconds and strictly enforces the rule in his matches.  There have been debates among officials whether adding a countdown clock would be a good idea. That would be a third clock on court, along with the existing two.
Official Timekeeper and a new Cheap Replica Watches

As official timekeeper of Roland-Garros, Longines has clocks keeping the time of day and the duration of each match that are not only visible in the corners of the main stadiums (Court Philippe Chatrier and Court Suzanne Lenglen) but also throughout the premises. The silhouette of the analogue clock on display is recognizable, from the Master collection. Yet the star is the Conquest Classic, the range exclusively comprised of models fitted with mechanical calibres that the Saint-Imier brand has been promoting in the context of the tournament. Actually, the Conquest Classic collection was launched last year precisely at Roland Garros.

Longines is using Roland-Garros to promote its new Conquest Classic line to clients and the media.
© Longines

Beyond the mere sponsorship and the eulogy of the Conquest Classic, Longines’ dedication to tennis also includes an interesting programme promoting young players under 13 years old, the final stage of which is played in Paris during Roland Garros: the Longines Future Tennis Aces. Just like in the previous years, sixteen youngsters were brought from all over the world to have the opportunity not only to play on the French clay but also on a venue spectacularly set in the heart of Paris. Last year, it was right in front of the City Hall; this year, a court was built in the Champ de Mars, with the Eiffel Tower as a backdrop.

The young participants in the Longines Future Tennis Aces shaped up their game at the Longines Academy before their tournament held at Champ de Mars.
© Longines

The field was selected with the help of the tennis federations of their respective countries (Australia, China, France, Germany, Hong-Kong, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, U.K. and USA) and both the winner, Italy’s Federica Rossi, and the runner-up, Russia’s Daria Frayman, received an annual bursary of 2,000 USD to pay for their sports equipment until their sixteenth birthday.

Longines’ association with tennis is also highlighted by the brand’s partnership with two of the greatest tennis champions ever, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf, married to each other and both engaged in philanthropic missions supported by Longines – the Andre Agassi Foundation (to assist the youth of Las Vegas and provide them educational opportunities, including a public school for at-risk children) and Children for Tomorrow (helping children and families that have suffered the trauma of war, exile and violence).

© Longines Replica Watches UK

Win a Longines Timepiece

Take your chance to win one of the two Conquest Classic L2.786.4.56.6 watches worth CHF 2,880.

Undertaken at the beginning of the 1980s, the last stage of the work at the Grand Louvre consisted in renovating the rooms housing all the 18th century art collections. Closed to the public for nearly ten years, the estimated 2,500 m2 area that has been restored is now entirely revamped. The museography and educational presentations have also been completely revised. This redeployment of the collections allows the works to be integrated with a unique palatial architecture combining visibility and clarity.

On June 17th 2014, to celebrate this re-opening, the House of Breguet and its President & CEO, Marc A. Hayek, will be present at the Louvre to welcome approximately 300 VIPs from all over the world, for a private event. On this occasion, Breguet will also treat its guests to a unique concert by young soprano, Polina Pasztircsák, winner of the 65th Geneva International Music Competition that the watchmaker has been sponsoring since 2002.

but also reinforcing its connection with the Louvre Museum. From 1802 onwards, Abraham-Louis Breguet presented his masterpieces at the Louvre in the context of its second Exhibition of Industrial Products. A few years later, Vivant Denon, the first “patron” of the Louvre and distant predecessor of Jean-Luc Martinez, acquired a minute repeater Breguet watch as well as a bisque clock bought. Amongst the 18th century art collection at the Louvre is in addition a huge watchmaking range including very beautiful Breguet creations. But Breguet particularly owes the significant strengthening of ties between the two companies to the 2009 exhibition organised on the initiative of Henri Loyrette – then president and director of the Louvre – and entitled “Breguet at the Louvre. An Apogee of European Rolex Replica Watchmaking”.

Drawing room of l’hôtel de Villemaré-Dangé, around 1750.
© Musée du Louvre Swiss Replica Watches