The Swiss watchmaker Longines was delighted to receive a visit from Ariella Kaeslin, its new Ambassador of Elegance and high flyer during the 2009 international gymnastics season.

Walter von Känel, President of Longines, with Ariella Kaeslin, silver medallist at the World Championships and Longines Ambassadress of  Elegance,

during the Longines press conference in Saint-Imier, this Monday, December 7th, 2009.

This summer, Longines announced that the newly crowned European Vault Champion and silver medallist at the World Championships was to become its latest brand ambassador.  Ariella can currently be seen in the international advertising campaign for the new Longines PrimaLuna Ladies Collection.

Autumn 2009 has been an exhausting though very rewarding time for Ariella. As always, the young athlete trained diligently and untiringly for the climax of the international gymnastics season – the World Championships in London. Since she sensationally took silver in the vault, the buzz around this young woman has grown ever louder. The first Swiss female gymnast to win a medal at the World Championships found some time in her busy schedule to pay a visit to Longines’ headquarters in Saint-Imier.

Ariella was welcomed by Longines President Walter von Känel before good-humouredly answering questions from the waiting media. She then signed autographs for the young members of the local gymnastics club, to their great delight. This was followed by a tour of the Longines’ watch and timekeeping museum, as well as its production facilities. At the end  of her visit, she chose a watch from the collection “La Grande Classique de Longines”, which will accompany her on the road to even greater success.

Although she is only 22 years old, Ariella has already scooped the 2008 Swiss Sports Personality of the Year award. Her talent has delighted the viewing public, and the precision, harmony and elegance of her every movement has won over the professional judges. With her elegance, natural charm, flair and exactness, Ariella perfectly personifies the Longines core values and philosophy of "Elegance is an Attitude".

„My coach has always encouraged me to execute my gymnastic exercises in a precise way, just like clockwork. That’s why Longines and I fit together perfectly.”
Ariella Käslin.


Longines has long enjoyed close ties with gymnastics, dating back to 1912 when it was the official timekeeper of the Swiss Federal Gymnastics Meet in Basel. During the 80-meter sprint event, it unveiled its new revolutionary electromechanical timekeeping system with start and finish tapes. A world-first, this automatic timing system would mark a turning point in Longines’ already longstanding partnership with the world of sport. Thanks to its technological breakthroughs Longines has been the official timekeeper of all artistic and rhythmic gymnastics competitions organised by the “Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique” (FIG - the gymnastics world governing body) since 1985. This enduring partnership was bolstered further in 2009 when the FIG extended Longines’ contract for an additional four years.

Source: Worldtempus