The art of flight: Exploring my relationship with Longines
My first experience with Longines was on my Dad’s wrist. He had a Longines Diamond Dynasty watch given to him by his Dad’s Dad that he largely wore on special occasions. I thought it was one of the coolest watches I’d ever seen. He gave me that watch for my 30th birthday. I don’t have a record of every gift I’ve been given, but it’s certainly near the top of my list in terms of gifts I’ve received.
image: (Longines Diamond Dynasty circa 1950’s) personal photo
I’m not alone in finding something unique about mechanical watches as artifacts of a certain type. Yes, they’re very much jewelry, but they’re functional and they last. And boy do they last. This particular watch is from the 1950’s. It’s 2024. I wear it on special(ish) occasions and it keeps really good time. The last time it was serviced was in 2016.
There’s very little in the way of information on this exact reference of watch. To date, I’ve only ever found one example of it for sale that matches mine closely, but not 100%. The small seconds sub-dial isn’t the same on my watch as the one I found, but everything else lines up. Because of their extensive history, and because they’ve kept a great catalog of their watches, Longines provides a service where they will provide a certificate of authenticity or extract from the archives for watches of a certain age. I haven’t pulled the trigger yet, but I’m intrigued.
A brief history of Longines achievements
I’m not a watch historian, but Longines is a brand with a very rich history dating back to 1832. AKA a long time ago. Along that timeline, they’ve achieved some really amazing milestones, especially in flight. One of the most famous pilots of all time, Amelia Earhart, wore a Longines chronograph watch on her first two solo non-stop Transatlantic flights.
Some other notable achievements were:
The first pocket watch with two time zones (1908)
The first wristwatch with two time zones (1925)
The first flyback chronograph (1925)
The first waterproof chronograph (1937)
The “most accurate” mechanical wristwatch for the time “Ultra-Chron” (1967)
Most of these functions were geared specifically towards pilots and individuals within the aviation profession like radio operators and navigators.
But I’m not here to provide a detailed Longines history lesson. There are other articles that have more detail and context both historical and current.
Cultivating interest through branding
Prior to my 30th birthday gift, I wasn’t what you’d call “a student” of the brand, though I was undoubtedly into watches in general as a collectible item. I was interested in watches from a very young age, and as an adult with some discretionary income, I already owned one of my “grail” watches, a vintage Omega Speedmaster (1861 movement from 1973). Safe to say, I was starting to get interested in watches as a potential collector. My lack of knowledge of Longines at the time speaks at least in part to where I was at in my journey with watches. But I think it has maybe even more to do with the fact that Longines wasn’t putting their best foot forward when it came to their own branding. In fact, throughout this 30 minute video filmed at Longines’ headquarters, Teddy Baldassare mentions no fewer than 3 times (to the brand execs no less) that they really have to start leaning more into their history from a branding and marketing perspective.
For any company, let alone one that produces a specific category of luxury goods, it’s paramount to cultivate interest though consistent messaging and content around the brand history , especially when the roots go as deep as Longines’ do.
Longines isn’t going to beat Rolex any time in the foreseeable future when it comes to producing watches where demand far outstrips supply and the name alone does the heavy lifting. But I’d argue that Longines should be beating Omega - a fellow Swatch Group brand - when it comes to chronograph watches. And yet, the Speedmaster dominates the market. No, Longines hasn’t sent a watch to the moon on the wrist of an astronaut, but their chronograph movements predate the moon landing by quite a bit, and they have milestone achievements to show for it.
That which shall not be named
Say what you will about Hodinkee, and boy has much been said about them lately, but their collaboration with Longines in 2021 on their Heritage Classic “Sector” watch was a homerun. For me, it hit on every mark. The sweet-spot size, balanced dial, unique bracelet, reliable and serviceable movement, spot-on colors, reasonable price point, and the limited edition nature (500 pieces) of the watch appealed to the vintage enthusiast in me.
image: (Longines & Hodinkee Heritage Classic “Sector” dial) personal photo
I pulled the trigger and bought one on the day of release, which is something I hadn’t done before for any purchase and haven’t done since. I’m glad I made the purchase. Longines is the only brand of watch in my (relatively small) collection that I have two of and both watches have a small seconds sub-dial, again the only two watches in my collection with that feature.
D.I.T.C
With such a long history, there is a tremendous opportunity for expanding my Longines collection. Right off the bat, I don’t own any Longines chronograph watches, and while not a pilot, nor a race car driver, their appeal is undeniable.
I recently stumbled on one of the coolest watch pages on the ‘gram @vintagelongines. The sheer number of mint and near-mint condition vintage Longines watches on that page is staggering. And something about the unboxing of the watches from those small blue boxes juxtaposes so interestingly against the watch boxes of today that more resemble shipping crates than jewelry boxes.
There’s an undeniable appeal to vintage watches, and those with pedigree like Longines hit the sweet spot between attainable and interesting. Surely, at some point in the future, I’ll be adding another Longines to my collection, but for now, I’m going to wear the two I have proudly.