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EINSTEIN'S MISTRESS WAS A RUSSIAN SPY DURING THE MANHATTAN PROJECT, AND HE GAVE HER HIS LONGINES This is one of the weirder horological stories out there, so buckle up! The following is paraphrased from an account by former Longines CEO Matthias Breschan during an interview with Time + Tide Watches. When Albert Einstein lived in Los Angeles in the 1920s, he owned two watches. One of them was a pocket watch, and the other was a tonneau-shaped Longines. The watch has an 18k gold case and a simple dial layout with a small second subdial at 6 o'clock. Now, unbeknownst to many, including myself, Einstein had a way with women. While he was with his wife, Einstein also had a Russian mistress whom he saw for many years. Her name was Margarita Konenkova, and she was actually a Russian spy working in America. Konenkova was trying to influence American scientists during the Manhattan Project, which, of course, Einstein was working on. Einstein even introduced Konenkova to J. Robert Oppenheimer! While there's no evidence of Einstein giving away secrets to Konenkova, he did give her his watch when she left for Russia after World War II. And for decades, the story ended there. In 2006, the watch resurfaced, and Longines was requested to service the watch. Longines has a library of every watch they've ever produced and every serial number they have, so they were able to authenticate the watch as Einstein's gift to his Russian spy mistress. Longines serviced the watch using their catalog of components and spare parts from yesteryear. The watch was then auctioned off for about $600,000 to a Russian vodka producer who lives in Switzerland. Like I said, one of the more interesting watch-related stories! I hope you enjoyed it! 📸📝 Time + Tide Watches, National Geographic