Dubai (United Arab Emirates) / Saint-Imier (Switzerland), 10th January, 2017 - Swiss watchmaker, Longines presented the first set of Dubai World Cup Carnival races at the Meydan Racecourse on Thursday, 5th of January, 2017. As Official Timekeeper and Pillar Partner of Meydan, Longines kicked off the thrilling Dubai World Cup Carnival that sets in motion the countdown to the Dubai World Cup, which will be held on the 25th of March, 2017.

The Dubai World Cup Carnival, runs from January to March every year and is a season of high-class international race days contested by the most high-profile owners, trainers, horses and jockeys in the world. Longines together with the Meydan Group recently announced the continuation of their partnership, wherein the watchmaker is the Official Timekeeper for all equestrian events organized by Meydan. In addition, as part of this partnership, Longines becomes the Title Partner of the Longines Dubai Sheema Classic, the biggest race in Dubai that takes place at the Dubai World Cup.

The Official Watch of the Dubai World Cup Carnival opening night was a model of The Longines Equestrian Collection. This line is a token of Longines’ long-running passion for equestrian sports and is linked by its references to the equine world. Shapes and materials derive their inspiration from symbolic elements of this environment, like a sublime echo of the world of horse lovers. Longines thus celebrates the elegance of riders and their mounts.

Longines Equestrian Timepiece

This model (L6.130.0.71.2) comes in the 26.50 mm size and similar to other stirrup inspired timepieces in the collection; the steel case houses a quartz movement and also comes in a diamond-set version. The polished black lacquer and mother-of-pearl dials are adorned with diamond indexes, while the silver-coloured flinqué dial features Roman numerals and the silver-coloured sunburst dial Arabic numerals. The stirrup-shaped model with a mother-of-pearl dial is also available in an even more dazzling version, decorated with a double row of diamonds. All the watches in this collection are fitted with overstitched leather straps matching the rider outfit.

As Official Timekeepers of this esteemed event among many others worldwide, Longines continues to further its dedication towards the equestrian arena as it sets the stage for the Dubai World Cup.