LEONIDAS was founded in 1842, some 120 years later it merged with Heuer creating the largest manufacturer of stopwatches and chronographs in Switzerland, and establishing Heuer-Leonidas as one of the biggest and most influential watch brands in the world. During the 80's the company came under increasing pressure to compete with the influx of cheaper quartz models from China. The brand's reluctance to compromise quality over price saw Heuer-Leonidas become Tag-Heuer with Leonidas falling by the wayside. It was in 2015 that Leonidas first tiptoed back into the watch making arena with the 5024, their first stand alone model since falling victim to the quartz crisis some 50 years earlier. Rather unsurprisingly upon their return Leonidas vowed never to use a movement powered by a battery. The unorthodox positioning of the logo on the 5024 in the bottom half of the dial was no accident - it was in fact referencing the brand's historic past when Heuer-Leonidas dominated the supply of timing devices to major sporting events. Due to the hand configuration on a stopwatch it's not possible to place the logo in the traditional space. Instead it's positioned above the nbr 30 marker (or 6 on a watch ). It's a nice touch to see it taking up the same position some 50 years later. Leonidas don't mass-produce their timepieces; with a Leonidas watch exclusivity of wear is dictated by the availability of the range rather than the ticket price. ‘We don't claim to be an exclusive brand on one hand whilst simultaneously manufacturing 3000 watches a day on the other' says Matthews (the current owner and CEO of the brand).