Longines, whats the story

[dimag333]

From what I gather this was a big brand at one point, but now seems to be on the level of a oris or the like pricing wise but with a better pedigree, anyone own any? Were they sold at one point or something?

I only seen one once in the wild on a groom, diver model, looked almost like an aqua racer

steve

[nwbusa]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longines

Longines is currently owned by The Swatch Group.

[dimag333]

Originally Posted by nwbusa

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longines

Longines is currently owned by The Swatch Group.

is that why it seems like no one wants them?

steve

[FTX I]

Hard to be concise when you talk about a watch company with 187 years, so I'd better post a link. Vintage Longines is the way to go IMO. It was the first vintage swiss watch that I bought - around 30 years ago, and I also got this one in 1999 in Vienna. I'm a big fan.

https://wornandwound.com/182-years-l...tory-longines/

[kieselguhr]

I inherited my father’s Longines. It’s a quartz model and is a little too small for me around 30mm. My mother wears it now. I prefer their heritage designs to their sports models and plan on finding a heritage chronograph with a pulsometer scale

[MILGAUSS88]

I think of Longines more of in the league of Omega rather than Oris.
Not quite as popular for whatever reason.
Probably due to fewer sport, watches I cannot think of one off the top of my head .
Omega has 3 iconic watches the Speedmaster, the Constellation and the Seamaster.
The only Longines I can think of is the Conquest and the Lindbergh, which is a little more obscure.

[dimag333]

Originally Posted by MILGAUSS88

I think of Longines more of in the league of Omega rather than Oris.
Not quite as popular for whatever reason.
Probably due to fewer sport, watches I cannot think of one off the top of my head .
Omega has 3 iconic watches the Speedmaster, the Constellation and the Seamaster.
The only Longines I can think of is the Conquest and the Lindbergh, which is a little more obscure.

yeah it seems the love affair with the vintage is well and alive, seeing the clock at yankee stadium a decade ago probably is what first piqued my interest.

steve

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by MILGAUSS88

I think of Longines more of in the league of Omega rather than Oris.
Not quite as popular for whatever reason.
Probably due to fewer sport, watches I cannot think of one off the top of my head .
Omega has 3 iconic watches the Speedmaster, the Constellation and the Seamaster.
The only Longines I can think of is the Conquest and the Lindbergh, which is a little more obscure.

Sure. No question. And we can't forget the iconic 13ZN caliber.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/longines-13zn-history

[bigfatpauli]

Is Longines on the same level as modern Oris or Omega?





Ahem....

Longines once made some outstanding watches with marvelous calibers. They are a good example of quartz fodder, sadly.

[FTX I]

Originally Posted by bigfatpauli

Wow

[MILGAUSS88]

Originally Posted by FTX I

Sure. No question. And we can't forget the iconic 13ZN caliber.

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/longines-13zn-history

Great movement, but not really tied to any famous model.
Like the 321 is tied to the Speedmaster.

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[FTX I]

Originally Posted by MILGAUSS88

Great movement, but not really tied to any famous model.
Like the 321 is tied to the Speedmaster.

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True

[MILGAUSS88]

Conquest is Longines equivalent to Omega's Constellation.
Just remembered Longines equivalent to the Seamaster.
The Admiral and the Grand Prize.
But just the fact that they did not immediately come to mind, tells me that they do not have the same following or panache.

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[FTX I]

I would love to own a 7042 from around 1960. (pic from the web)

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/th...s-legend-diver

[MILGAUSS88]

Since I first got into watches in 1990, I have wanted a 46mm Lindbergh Hour Angle watch.
I saw one, I am guessing 15 years ago and I did not buy it.
If I remember right it was $5,000.
But, it had a hairline in the porcelain section of the dial.
And it wasn't the version that I liked best.
Never saw one before that and I haven't seen one since then.

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[FTX I]

I started the same year. Interesting. That's when I got this one from a gentleman who was selling a couple watches from his collection. Mid nineties I had the dial restored without need. Stupid things we do in early years, but it's been looking great on the last 25 years and I'll never sell so not an issue.

[MILGAUSS88]

Originally Posted by FTX I

I started the same year. Interesting. That's when I got this one from a gentleman who was selling a couple watches from his collection. Mid nineties I had the dial restored without need. Stupid things we do in early years, but it's been looking great on the last 25 years and I'll never sell so not an issue.

Well they were worth more when the dial was redone and nice and clean back then. I remember the Japanese redoing everything.

[Justindo]

During the first half of the 20th century, Longines was above Omega and way above Rolex. They fell upon hard times during the quartz era and Swatch bought them out and decided to position them above Tissot but below Omega. Longines is currently huge in Asia and they make a lot of quartz and gold plated stuff, which diminishes the brand, but their automatic Heritage and Tradition models are excellent for the price and almost on par with Omega's offerings. The movements are nothing special but they use nice and reliable ETAs.

[Wazdakka]

There are some excellent contemporary Longines in their Heritage range. The recently released sector dial for one.
Another is the Longines ‘Big Eye’ Avigation which is perhaps on of the best value chronographs around at the moment. 7750 inspired chrono, but with a column wheel, all for a very reasonable price. Not to mention the excellent looks; it is a relatively restrained 41mm wide. I especially liked the green tinted lume. It gives the watch vintage character without being ‘fauxtina’.

Cheers

[nwbusa]

Originally Posted by dimag333

is that why it seems like no one wants them?

steve

What makes you think that no one wants them?

[dimag333]

Originally Posted by nwbusa

What makes you think that no one wants them?

I just never hear about them ever, even the darling references

steve

[Mad Hatter]

Originally Posted by dimag333

I just never hear about them ever, even the darling references

steve

Just not as big in US. They are massively huge overall worldwide. Asia and Europe in particular. I own an Auto HydroConquest which I really enjoy. I can't recall where now, but I read a good article a few months back detailing just how big and how much they do in sales worldwide. Pretty big numbers. Very relevant brand, great quality for the money, go check them out.

[BigAppleBill]

Longines’ Heritage line is definitely worth a look. Some compelling designs and great value!

[Aspirin]

Originally Posted by FTX I

I would love to own a 7042 from around 1960. (pic from the web)

https://www.hodinkee.com/articles/th...s-legend-diver

I'm going to buy one of them btw 36mm and 42mm, but my wrist size just 6'25" (159mm). the pics show 42mm on my wrist, is it too large? especially the long lugs.

[kunlun]

One key point now is that Longines is on the upswing. Some of their new vintsge inspired models are excellent and something any knowledgeable collector would enjoy greatly.

[JR16]

Originally Posted by Aspirin

I'm going to buy one of them btw 36mm and 42mm, but my wrist size just 6'25" (159mm). the pics show 42mm on my wrist, is it too large? especially the long lugs.

Def too big IMO


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[dchang81]

I like the way a lot of them look, had a dolce Vita Chrono in college. The quality seemed a notch below omega etc but their pricing is also a notch below. Not a fan of the way their hands look, really wanted a diver but the hands looked rough to me, same with how my dolce Vita was

[ansharma]

Top brand with a great history- hard to beat in terms of value for money for the quality you get. I recently voted with my wallet - amazing watch!




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[scarlet knight]

I like my Longines sector watch, purchased recently


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[DJ2020]

They actually have accomplished a lot. Oldest trade mark, the HydroConquest is very nice, and thin. The new L888.5 is extremely accurate as well. And I mean EXTREMELY.

The build quality is outstanding. I have/ had Rolex, Omega, Breitling, Tag, Grand seiko and many others. Longines is a very fine watch. If they were 4X's the cost they still would be a good value imo. I think the public is overlooking a very fine watch due to the relatively low msrp. But swatch is a huge company with vast resources. And produce millions of watches a year. You can see a lot of Omega technology spilling over into Longines.

The L688 chronograph is the Omega 3330 movement with a coaxial escapement added. Longines also produced the first hi-beat movement with a +/- 2 spd guarantee. They know accuracy.