Longines’s vintage-inspired Heritage collection continue to grow, and the latest makes it exclusive U.S. debut this weekend at WatchTime New York, America’s largest luxury watch show, being held at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall. Here’s what you need to know about the Longines Avigation BigEye, which we discovered this evening.
A modern re-issue of a chronograph that Longines produced in the 1930s, the Avigation BigEye (“Avigation” is an amalgam of “aviation” and “navigation,” which are the two functions the original watch was engineered to serve). The modern watch is distinguished by its extra-legible, semi-glossy black dial with big luminous Arabic numerals and extra-large 30-minute chrono counter at 3 o’clock (presumably, the “big eye” referred to in the model name). The dial, protected under a domed sapphire crystal with several layers of nonreflective coating, also has a 12-hour counter at 6 o’clock and a subdial for running seconds at 9 o’clock; a central hand counts the chronograph seconds; the hour and minute hands, like the hour numerals, are coated with Super-LumiNova. The 41-mm stainless steel case is water-resistant to 30 meters and features two prominent chronograph pushers for easy handling, even for a pilot wearing gloves.
Powering the watch, albeit hidden behind the engraved caseback, is Caliber L688, an ETA A08.L01 modified exclusively for use by Longines. The self-winding movement has a 54-hour power reserve and column-wheel chronograph control. A brown calf leather strap with contrast stitching completes the vintage-aviator look.
Stunning timepiece