Loading...Longines was founded in Saint Imier in Switzerland in the year 1832. So now the company is over 184 years old. It all started with pocketwatches. In the 1940s they made some very nice flyback chronographs with two very high quality movements, caliber 13ZN and 30CH. Collectors are very hot on both movements, especially the 13ZN.
Before that, “among the exceptional pieces in the Heritage range, the most famous is without question the Lindbergh Hour Angle Watch, a re-issue of the timepiece developed for the American pilot Charles Lindbergh in 1931. The Longines Weems Second-Setting Watch, a tribute to the navigation system devised by Captain Philip van Horn Weems, and the Longines Twenty-Four Hours, a re-issue of a watch designed especially for Swissair pilots in the 1950s, also feature among the stars of the Heritage models.”
Longines is not only a very old watchmanufacture with a lot of history related to aviation which is why this new timepiece was introduced as part of the Heritage Collection. It is connecting the past with the present of this brand and reflects the world of flying and aviation. The design of this new watch goes back to 1935.
This wonderful chronograph with an elegant vintage style has the hour angle chronograph theme incorporated as well. The dial is turned by 40 degrees. The dial is complemented by 12 vintage honey colored numbers. The hands are timeless skeletonized Poire-hands in blued steel with honey colored laquer. The dial itself is laquered in white. The case is 41 Millimeter in size and this chronograph carries a column wheel chronograph automatic caliber L788.2. This movement was exlusively developed for Longines. It is a monopusher chonograph which controls all functions. The hour angle was designed like that to accomodate the pilot’s ease of readability while flying his airplane. He could carry the watch on the inside of his wrist and easily read the time without having to let go of his steering wheel.
In Europe the price is expected to be around 2.990 Euro depending on which country (this price is quoted for Germany).
The watch is called The Longines Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935 and has the following reference number: Ref. L2.812.4.23.2.
Overall I find this watch a great look back into the past of this manufacture. Sizewise it is reasonable, I am not a fan of 48mm or 55mm vintage inspired timepieces as they often tend to wear too large. This sounds just right with 41mm.