Category Archives: Longines

longines avigation bigeye closeup

LONGINES – AVIGATION BIGEYE

PERFECT VISIBILITY

Longines has long-standing links with aviation. The new Avigation BigEye chronograph continues its tradition of pilots’ watches.

Longines regularly delves into its past to re-release historic models from the 20th century, adapting them to modern tastes. The most recent, the Avigation BigEye, has joined the Heritage collection, with a design inspired by a 1930s chronograph. This timepiece respects the stylistic elements featuring in pilots watches of yesteryear, but in a smaller size, adapted to all wrists. The watch case is no more than 41mm wide. A very positive point! To provide maximum readability, the watchmakers from Saint-Imier have played on the contrasts with perfect mastery. On a semi-glossy black dial, impressive Arabic numerals coated with SuperLuminova are accompanied by equally luminous watch hands. This display makes the hours and minutes very easy to read, whatever the amount of light available. The chronograph totalisers, and particularly the over-sized 30 minute counter at 3 o’clock and the small second hand at 9 o’clock, are just as clear and simple to read.

longines avigation bigeye closeup

Impressive mushroom-shaped push buttons are used to trigger the calibre L688 chronograph. Once fully wound, the automatic movement provides 54 hours of power reserve.

To reinforce the aesthetic appeal of the Avigation BigEye, Longines had the very good idea of combining it with a brown leather strap with a pin buckle. The retro quality of the watch is also highlighted by the convex sapphire crystal.

Price: €2,350

By Dan Diaconu

longines heritage legend diver closeup

LONGINES – HERITAGE LEGEND DIVER WATCH

PLUNGING INTO THE PAST

Longines has made its re-releases of classic models a genuine collection, rich and varied. A nod to the past that has delighted numerous customers.

The archives of a brand as old as Longines, which is celebrating its 185th anniversary this year, is a little like a treasure trove. Here you can find plenty of forgotten items, and while some turn out to be of little use, since it is hard to update them to match current tastes, others can be literally presented intact to customers. This is the case of the Heritage Legend Diver Watch model, which has joined the Heritage by Longines collection, specialised in the re-release of cult timepieces.

Borrowing from the aesthetic codes of its 1960s ancestor, the Heritage Legend Diver Watch has a 42mm case. Two screw-down crowns adorn the sides of this steel setting; the first, at 4 o’clock, is used to set and wind the watch, while the other, at 2 o’clock, works the internal revolving bezel. The bezel itself is dressed in black and decorated with a diving scale inscribed in beige with a luminous triangular marker.

longines heritage legend diver closeup

The dial on this Longines watch also has a black finish and is protected by convex sapphire glass, with an hour rim made up of stick-shaped indices and Arabic numerals highlighted in Super-LumiNova®. Two central hands, with phosphorescent bodies and tips display the hours and minutes, while a small silver hand shows the seconds. At 3 o’clock, a counter edged with sand-coloured trim discreetly displays the date.

All these features are powered by the calibre L.633, an automatic movement based on the ETA 2824, and running at 28,800 vibrations per hour (4Hz), while providing 39 hours of power reserve.

The vintage shape of the Heritage Legend Diver Watch is highlighted by a Milanese mesh metal strap with a folding clasp.

Price: 2,010 CHF (on leather)

By Sharmila Bertin

longines heritage 1945 closeup

LONGINES – HERITAGE 1945

THE TIME MACHINE

The collection bringing together re-editions of past watches by the watchmaker from Saint Imier welcomes a new arrival based on a model dating from 1945.

The Longines archives are a real treasure trove. For proof, you only need to look at the aptly named Heritage collection, which is brimming with new editions of watches that have helped the watchmaking brand become what it is today. Because, without wanting to fall into the grotesque “links between tradition and modernity”, we should nonetheless note that our past has helped us construct what we now are. This observation is valid for human beings, but also for such traditional and crafted objects as timepieces. Like the rest of the collection, the new Heritage 1945 model is a recreation of a model dating from the end of the Second World War. Apart from a few details, the Longines designers have changed nothing in the original piece’s aesthetic appearance.

longines heritage 1945 closeup

But the same is not true for the manual-wind movement that powered its ancestor, since the Heritage 1945 has become an automatic, with the calibre L609 based on the ETA 2895. The mechanism runs at 28 000 vibrations an hour, while providing a power reserve of up to 42 hours, and is housed in a 40mm-wide steel case.

The dial comes in a lightly bronzed tone, half way between copper and silver, and decorated with a brushed vertical pattern. Blending black Arabic numerals and silver pearl indices, the hour rim is encircled by discreet minute markers around the chapter ring. At the centre of this fairly traditional disc, a pair of blue steel leaf-shaped hands display the hours and minutes. The seconds tick away separately in a counter with finely grooved circles at 6 o’clock.

To highlight the vintage silhouette of the Heritage 1945, Longines has provided it with a natural coloured strap that has been aged to give it the same soft feel as nubuck leather, with ivory topstitches around the lugs.

Price: 1 700 CHF

 By Sharmila Bertin

longines record collection

LONGINES – RECORD

185 YEARS: A LONGEVITY “RECORD”

To celebrate its 185th anniversary, the watchmaker from Saint Imier has unveiled a complete collection of steel watches with an automatic movement, and officially certified as chronometers by the COSC.

Longines has now been in business for 185 years: 185 years since the birth of the brand from Saint Imier – a town famous for its pool of watchmaking talents – and 185 years of mastery in technique, timekeeping and aesthetic appeal. If we had to sum up Longines in a few words, we would mention timeless elegance, efficient mechanisms and attractive prices. The watchmaker’s two main strengths are the wide range of its watches and accessibility. This 185th anniversary is the occasion for a new collection of watches named Record and equipped not only with an automatic mechanism, but also a chronometer certified by the COSC.

longines record collection

This line of Record watches includes a large variety of steel models available in several different diameters (26, 30, 38.5 or 40mm) and adorned with a wide range of dials. Some of these models, mainly those designed for women, include a bezel decorated with diamonds.

The various colours on offer on the dials are quite traditional: opaline mother-of-pearl, lacquered black and studded with a diamond index, matt white featuring Roman numerals, silvered with a sunburst finish and decorated with triangular hour markers, or black, blue or silver featuring an hour rim made up of Arabic numerals and index, to mention just some of the designs. At the centre of each dial is a couple of metallic or blued steel dauphine-style hands displaying the hours and the minutes, along with a second hand. To round things off, the date appears in a window at 3 o’clock.

The hour and calendar functions are driven by the calibre L592.5, based on an ETA design, an automatic mechanical movement that has been officially certified by the COSC and provides a power reserve of over 60 hours.

Priced from 1 850 CHF (steel, 26mm) to 4 260 CHF (steel set with diamonds, 30mm)

By Sharmila Bertin

longines conquest vph closeup

LONGINES – CONQUEST V.H.P

PRECISION CONQUERED

Last week, at the Neuchâtel Observatory, the watchmaker from Saint-Imier unveiled a series of watches powered by a quartz movement, symbolising the major strides made in this technology.

Between chronometry – “The art or science of accurately measuring time” (OED) – and Longines, the love story has lasted for decades. It was in 1954, in fact, that the clockmaker was given a certification for the precision of a quartz clock by the Neuchâtel Observatory, the first in a series to be awarded in the years that followed. A precursor in the quartz field, the watchmakers from Saint-Imier again proved that this technology still has a great future at the beginning of April when they launched a new watch collection called Conquest V.H.P.

V.H.P stands for Very High Precision. We might even say “Ultra-Precision”, with two quartz movements specially developed by ETA for Longines and that will not gain or lose more than 5 seconds a year. These powerful mechanisms are equipped with a long-life battery – with an E.O.L. indication to let the wearer know when the battery’s life is over – and GPD (gear position detection) technology, which resets the watch hands in the event of an impact or exposure to a magnetic field.

longines conquest vph closeup

This new Conquest V.H.P collection is available in two steel models, a chronograph and a three-hand watch with the date, and they in turn are available in different diameters (42 or 44mm for the first, 41 and 43mm for the second) and several dial colours (blue, silver, black and a carbon pattern).

On the chronograph version, driven by the L.289.2 movement, the hour markers are made up of luminescent applied indices and a large Arabic number 12. The two central hands are stick-shaped and display the hours and minutes, while the seconds appear in a counter at 6 o’clock. In the centre, a red-coated second hand counts the chronograph seconds around a scale on the chapter ring. As for the minutes and hours, they are counted off in two blue subdials placed at 3 and 9 o’clock respectively. A window open at 4.30 displays the date.

The “simpler” version of the Conquest V.H.P has a very similar basic set up: the same hour markers, but including the Arabic number 6 (instead of the second counter), the same second scale displayed on the chapter ring and the same shape for the hour and minute hands. The date, however, is shown at 3 o’clock and not at 4.30.

Price: 950 CHF (three-hand model with date) – 1550 CHF (chronograph model)

By Sharmila Bertin

LONGINES – AVIGATION WATCH TYPE A-7 1935

Tribute to 1930s aviation

The new Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935 harks back to Longines’ classic models. The contemporary yet retro piece stands out for its dial angled at 40°.

Swiss brand Longines was founded in 1832 and is best known for its many sporting collaborations and sports watches. For example, Longines timed the first ever modern Olympics in Athens in 1896. The brand is rooted in sports and hasn’t stopped exploring timing over the years e.g. launching an automatic timing system in 1912 that was all the rage. Longines has set the benchmark in the most famous sporting competitions and lent its name to a variety of races and events. Its values of style and classicism ooze from its slogan: “Elegance is an attitude.”

longines avigation watch type a closeup

Longines takes us back in time with its new Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935, to the 1930s to be exact. The 41mm steel model stands out for its dial angled at 40°which enabled pilots to see the display without having to let go of their aircraft’s controls. The model was also commissioned by the US army in 1935. The polished white lacquer dial on the Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935 is seriously retro with oversize honey-coloured Arabic numerals and blue pear-shape hands. The monopusher chronograph has a central seconds hand, 30 minute counter at 12 and date display at 6. The watch is covered by anti-glare sapphire crystal and is waterproof to depths of 30m.

When Longines decided to restore a classic to its former glory, it held onto the functional side it had for the army e.g. the notched crown was designed so it was easy to handle even in gloves. The timepiece has a self-winding ETA L788.2 calibre with a monopusher and column wheel chronograph mechanism and 54-hour power reserve. The movement has been especially designed for Longines and controls the chronograph’s various functions. All you have to do to start, stop or reset the watch is press the button built into the notched crown. A brown alligator strap with a pin buckle secures the watch to your wrist.

Price: 3,500 USD

By Inès Aloui

LONGINES – HERITAGE 1969

Introducing the Longines Heritage 1969

The Heritage collection plucks vintage models from the brand’s archives, some of which are currently at the Longines Museum in Saint-Imier. One of them is the new Heritage 1969 inspired by a model from the late 1960s whose design oozes 70s style with its square shape and smooth lines.

Its shiny cushion-shape steel case has curvy lugs and measures 36x36mm. The self-winding L888.2 movement brings to life the time and date functions alongside the 64-hour power reserve.

longines-heritage-1969-zoom-watchesnews

The brushed silver dial has an hour rim with a slim black minute track and rose gold “applied” markers. The warm gold also coats the baton-shape hour, minute and seconds hands in the centre whilst a black-on-white date display lies at 4.30.

Price: 1900 CHF

By Sharmila Bertin

LONGINES – Conquest 1/100th St Moritz

Nestled in the Grisons canton, Saint Moritz is one of the oldest ski and winter sports resorts in the world. It set the stage for the first Winter Olympics in Switzerland in 1928 then hosted it again twenty years later. It was also the first resort to have a ski lift in 1935. Its image is associated with the official sports timekeeper Longines which has devoted a watch to the resort: Conquest 1/100th St Moritz. The sturdy 41mm steel case houses a quartz movement which fuels the time, date and 1/100th second chronograph functions. The silver dial features an hour rim with an Arabic 12 numeral and metal baton indices all coated in Super-LumiNova®. The hours and minutes are tracked by two wide central hands whilst the seconds appear at 6. The chronograph minute counter lies at 3, the hours at 12 and the date is displayed at 4. Price: 1,300 CHF. Sharmila Bertin

Mini

Was the Saint-Imier watch brand inspired by the 1966 song “Mini, mini, mini” by French star Jacques Dutronc? Has it designed its own take on the proverb “big things come in small packages”? Or perhaps it’s riding the current trend for leaving anything that’s big/heavy/bulky for things that are small/mini/cute? Whatever the reason, it looks amazing! The steel case is just 16mm in diameter and its bezel is adorned with a glittering ring of 42 brilliant-cut diamonds. Its round white mother-of-pearl dial has been stripped back to basics: four diamond markers shimmer at 3, 6, 9 and 12 o’ clock and elevate the iridescent surface. The march of time (hours and minutes) is tracked by two rhodium-plated baton-shape hands in the centre. The watch is finished with two leather straps in black, red, beige or lavender blue (my personal favourite!). Price: 1350 CHF

Conquest 1/100th Roland Garros

The French Open, better known as Roland Garros, is a highlight in the tennis calendar. Longines has supported the fantastic Grand Slam tournament since 2007 and has designed a Conquest chronograph to coincide with the 2015 event. The 41mm steel case houses a quartz movement designed in collaboration with ETA to record split times. The calibre’s microcontroller with flash memory enables you to reset the watch instantly. Two luminescent spear-shape hour and minute hands glide above the steel dial whilst the seconds appear in a counter at 6 o’ clock and the date lies at 4 o’ clock. The clay courts’ orange glows on the chronograph markers (1/100th of a second hand, silver counter hands at 2 and 10 o’ clock, graduations on the chapter ring). Price: 1,500 CHF