WATCH TO WATCH

Longines Heritage Military: Time Marches On


Few brands have re-created as many vintage timepieces from their archives as faithfully, and prolifically, as Longines in recent years. The newest addition to Longines’s Heritage Collection, which consists entirely of such vintage-inspired models, is the Longines Heritage Military, whose design is based on a watch from 1918.

Longines Heritage Military - reclining

The dial design of the original watch (below), which resides at the Longines Museum in the company’s headquarters in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, was a popular style used in many of its early-20th-century pieces. Its large Arabic numerals, Breguet-style hands, railroad-track chapter ring, and small seconds subdial at 6 o’clock have all been retained on the contemporary version, along with a few notable changes and updates that mark the Longines Heritage Military as a suitably modern timepiece.

Longines Vintage Military Watch

Among these changes are the satin-brushed 44-mm steel case with integrated curving lugs, the matte black dial, and the use of Super-LumiNova on the painted Arabic numerals, which in this model are rhodiumn-plated. The Longines logo below 12 o’clock is of the more modern variety, as is the fluted crown that replaces the original’s vintage-style onion crown. The biggest change, both aesthetically and functionally, is the addition of a date window, which overlaps the 6 o’clock small seconds subdial.

The movement in the Longines Heritage Military is the automatic Longines Caliber L615.3 (a modified ETA 2895/2), with 27 jewels, a 28,800 balance frequency, and a 42-hour power reserve. The sapphire crystal above the dial is scratch-resistant, with a multilayered nonreflective coating. The watch comes on a stitched, black alligator strap with a steel buckle and retails for $2,050. It will be available in the U.S. in November 2016.

Longines Heritage Military - front
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  1. C L Schiff

    The pre-owned watch market seems to have taken a huge tumble. I would like to see an in depth piece from on this ugly situation. Thanks

    Reply
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