Swiss watchmaker Longines will open its first Canadian boutique in downtown Vancouver, joining the city’s growing concentration of luxury watch and jewellery stores.
Construction is underway at 765 Burrard Street, where Longines-branded hoarding now covers the storefront. The corporately operated boutique will span just over 1,000 square feet within the commercial building commonly identified as 755 Burrard Street, at the intersection of Burrard and Alberni streets.
Trevor Thomas of JLL represented Longines in the lease transaction. Mario Negris and Martin Moriarty of Marcus & Millichap represented the landlord.
An opening date has not been announced.
Longines is already distributed nationally through authorized watch and jewellery retailers, with dozens of points of sale across Canada. The Vancouver store will be the brand’s first dedicated boutique in the country.
A Strategic Downtown Location
Longines has selected one of Vancouver’s most prominent luxury retail settings for its Canadian debut.
Cartier occupies the corner storefront in the same building, while Tiffany & Co. operates a large flagship across Alberni Street. Hermès, Louis Vuitton, Dior and Gucci are nearby, and Alberni Street extends west from the intersection through a dense collection of luxury fashion, watch and jewellery boutiques.
The location is immediately north of Robson Street, one of downtown Vancouver’s busiest and best-known shopping corridors. It gives Longines proximity to established luxury brands, along with the pedestrian traffic, hotels, offices and tourism activity concentrated around Burrard and Robson streets.
Retail Insider has long referred to the area surrounding Burrard, Alberni and Thurlow streets as Vancouver’s Luxury Zone. Longines will be positioned near its eastern entrance, where the broader downtown shopping district transitions into a concentrated collection of international luxury storefronts.
The setting places the boutique among some of the best-known names in jewellery and watchmaking while keeping it highly visible to shoppers moving between Robson, Burrard and Alberni streets.
Joining a Growing Watch and Jewellery Cluster
The opening will add Longines to an increasingly significant cluster of dedicated watch boutiques in downtown Vancouver.
Rolex currently operates a boutique at 1119 Alberni Street, while Tudor and Chopard have neighbouring locations at 1106 and 1108 Alberni Street. The Tudor and Chopard boutiques were opened by local operator Global Watch Company as luxury retail activity expanded westward along Alberni.
Other watch houses on the same block as Longines include IWC Schaffhausen, Panerai, Jaeger-LeCoultre and Vacheron Constantin, forming one of Canada’s most concentrated collections of mono-brand watch boutiques.
Many of those brands are part of Swiss luxury group Richemont. Cartier, which occupies the corner of the 755 Burrard building, also belongs to Richemont in an owned space.
Longines is part of Swatch Group, whose portfolio includes Omega, Tissot, Blancpain, Breguet and Harry Winston. Its arrival will further diversify the ownership and pricing mix represented in the district.
The brand generally occupies a more accessible segment of the luxury watch market than some of the haute-horlogerie houses located farther west on Alberni. Its assortment spans dress watches, sports models, aviation-inspired timepieces and diving watches, giving the boutique broad appeal across the luxury market.
Its arrival expands the range of dedicated Swiss watch retail available downtown and strengthens the district’s appeal as a destination for watch shoppers.
A Swiss Watchmaker Dating to 1832
Longines was founded in 1832 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, where the company remains based. It is recognized by its winged-hourglass emblem, described by Swatch Group as the oldest registered trademark still used in its original form.
The company built its reputation through precision timekeeping, technical innovation and longstanding associations with aviation, equestrian sport, alpine skiing and other timed competitions. Its current collections include Conquest, HydroConquest, Longines Spirit, the Master Collection, DolceVita and La Grande Classique.
Longines combines nearly two centuries of Swiss watchmaking history with pricing that is generally more attainable than that of many luxury watch houses operating nearby.
The brand appeals to mechanical-watch enthusiasts as well as customers seeking an established Swiss name for milestone purchases, gifts and formal occasions.
A dedicated boutique gives Longines greater control over the presentation of its history, collections and visual identity. It can also display a broader assortment than is typically available through an authorized multi-brand retailer and provide a customer experience centred entirely on the brand.
The Vancouver boutique will be corporately operated, representing a direct investment in the Canadian market.
A Building With Deep Luxury-Retail Roots
The Longines boutique will become part of the history of 755 Burrard Street, a building that helped establish Vancouver’s modern luxury retail district in the early 1990s.
Chanel opened a roughly 1,300-square-foot boutique in the building in 1991. A Celine boutique operated next door through luxury retailer Collections International. The two stores helped establish Burrard Street as a destination for international luxury shopping before Alberni Street developed the concentration it has today.
Over the following decades, the building housed a changing collection of upscale retailers. Chanel and Celine were followed by tenants including Hermès, Coach and Wolford, while Cartier eventually established its current presence at the corner.
The former Chanel and Celine premises were later combined to accommodate Coach, which operated in the building for years before closing.
The former Coach space, immediately next to the future Longines boutique, is expected to welcome another upscale fashion tenant. The incoming brand has not been publicly announced.
Along with Cartier at the corner and Longines under construction, the latest leasing activity will strengthen the building’s luxury positioning.
The property’s longevity carries an architectural irony: the low-rise commercial building was originally conceived as a temporary development. More than three decades later, it remains at one of Vancouver’s most valuable and recognizable luxury retail intersections.
The building has adapted repeatedly as Vancouver’s luxury market has matured. Longines marks the beginning of its latest chapter.
Downtown and Oakridge Develop Distinct Luxury Identities
The opening comes as Vancouver’s luxury retail market increasingly operates across two major destinations.
Downtown Vancouver’s Luxury Zone remains centred on Burrard, Alberni and Thurlow streets. It is characterized by street-facing boutiques, nearby luxury hotels and office towers, and a strong concentration of watch, jewellery and fashion brands.
Oakridge Park, located outside downtown on Vancouver’s west side, opened in May 2026 as a large mixed-use luxury shopping destination. Its retail offering includes international fashion houses, watch and jewellery brands, restaurants and extensive new residential development.
The two districts have developed different tenant mixes. Oakridge has attracted brands including Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari, Brunello Cucinelli and other global luxury names. Several major stores were still under construction when the project opened, including a large Chanel flagship.
Downtown retains a particularly strong concentration of brands belonging to Richemont and Kering. Richemont’s downtown presence includes Cartier and several specialist watch and jewellery houses. Kering brands also maintain a significant presence in the district. Neither group currently operates a comparable collection of open boutiques at Oakridge Park.
Vancouver now has two substantial luxury destinations with increasingly distinct identities.
Oakridge offers a purpose-built, enclosed shopping environment connected to a major residential redevelopment. Downtown offers an established street-retail ecosystem with a deeper concentration of mono-brand watch boutiques, luxury hotels and international tourism.
Longines’ decision to establish its first Canadian boutique downtown reinforces the continuing strength of the older district as investment and attention also flow toward Oakridge.
