Swiss watchmaker, Longines, has re-released a classic timepiece that was initially issued only to Swissair navigators in the 1950s, the Longines Twenty-Four Hours, which as the name implies is a 24-hour watch.

Originally, the watch compensated for periods of time where navigators would be unable to gauge the time of day accurately while changing time zones.

The Longines Twenty-Four Hour is being released for historical and functional purposes with engraving on the inside of the cover, “Re-Edition of a Longines navigation watch exclusively made for Swissair navigators, 1953-1956.”  This timepiece is an elegant and unique piece of craftsmanship and history.

In order to honour its 175 years of history, Longines has imagined a timepiece bearing witness to its rich horological heritage and constant striving for elegance: The Longines Master Collection Retrograde. This new watch, enclosing a new automatic mechanical calibre developed especially for Longines, becomes the flagship model of a collection devoted to highlighting the horological traditions of the brand.

Over the years, Longines has dedicated numerous efforts to perfecting the mechanical measurement of time. A creator of horological movements, the Saint-Imier-based firm has nevertheless also assured that a touch of added refinement always forms a part of its creations. Longines has always regarded elegance as being the fundamental underlying principle in both the arrangement of the watch calibre and in the aesthetics of the final watch. Faithful to the 175 years of its watchmaking tradition, Longines has today realised a synthesis between its technical and aesthetic heritage in the creation of a new flagship timepiece representing its collection of horological tradition: The Longines Master Collection Retrograde.

Enclosing a new ETA calibre specially developed and made exclusively for Longines, The Longines Master Collection Retrograde forms part of a collection of sober, elegant timepieces, the heir to the watchmaking past of the firm with the winged hourglass. Offering retrograde functions (day, date, seconds, second time zone on a 24-hour scale) in a movement with automatic rewinding, The Longines Master Collection Retrograde combines a mechanical horological complication with simple usage. Apart from showing the time, its functions include a display of the day, set at 12 o’clock, a calendar on the right of the dial, a second time zone on a 24-hour scale to the left and a subsidiary seconds hand at 6 o’clock. These four functions are retrograde: that is, the hands indicating the information instantly fly back to regain their starting position once they have reached the end of their travel. Dancing in harmony, the seven hands trace out a graceful ballet, making this timepiece a captivating article to own.

The Longines Master Collection Retrograde stands out for the clarity of its dial and is available in one version with the four retrograde functions (day, date, seconds, second time zone on a 24-hour scale), which are housed in a stainless steel case with a transparent sapphire cristal case back. This reveals the decorated movement and the oscillating mass adorned with the Longines logo. Available in 41mm or 44mm diameter sizes, this model can be supplied with either a steel bracelet or an alligator-skin strap in black or dark brown and triple folding clasp. The Longines Master Collection Retrograde is also available in a version with power reserve indicator. This model includes three retrograde functions (day, date, second time zone on a 24-hour scale).

Beyond its pure design and care given to the finish, the elegance of this watch lies in the combination of polished indices, silvered dial with “barley-corn” decoration and blued hands, the distinguishing mark of the traditional horological series called The Longines Master Collection.

Photography by: Robert Watson

You already know about Charvet shirts, you’ve gone to the trouble of finding the right shoes to go with a tux, and you know better than to wear a ski jacket with a suit or to tuck a man bag under your arm. But unless you have three different watches—or more specifically, at least one watch from each of three different categories—you cannot be said to have yet mastered the art of the wardrobe. Allow us to make a few suggestions to set you on the path to full sartorial enlightenment, or at least get you to dinner on time.

$500 to $1,500

Looks good with: jeans, leather jackets

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Multi-function movements. In this category, most movements are quartz rather than mechanical, but that should not suggest any sort of technical compromise. Multi-function quartz movements are loaded with features, including world
timers, barometers, altimeters, compasses, and countdown functions, even solar-powered batteries.

Steel or titanium? Both are solid options. Steel is standard and non-
corrosive (preferable to a leather strap if you’re diving in salt water) but rubber works, too. Titanium, lighter and stronger than steel, is great for sports watches, but generally more expensive.

WHAT TO AVOID

Gold plating, unless it’s used strictly for trim. You won’t get a solid 18k gold watch in this category, only electroplated gold. Plus, full gold plating can look fake. Solid plastic and ceramic are better alternatives
to steel.

$1,500 to $5,000

Looks good with: suits, ties, overcoats

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Mechanical movements, usually with at least one complication (anything beyond hours, minutes and seconds) like the large date window on the
Bell & Ross Commando, the air speed measurement function on the Hamilton or the chronograph timers on the IWC and
Raymond Weil.

In this category, you should expect some kind of outstanding quality feature, such as luminescent-coated hands and markers (Longines, Bell & Ross, IWC), guilloched finishes (Hamilton), adjustable deployant buckles (Ebel), or some sort of special coating, like the carbon case of the Bell & Ross Commando.

WHAT TO AVOID

Trends. Don’t go for anything too wacky in this category, like striking colours or obscure case shapes. You want to demonstrate a sense of style, not reckless abandon. Leave the mauve lizard straps to the ladies and Mickey Rourke.

$12,000 to $15,000

Looks good with: anything

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

Elite Swiss brands. The guys that invented watchmaking, and whose workshops routinely produce complications priced upwards of $200K, are also making high-quality watches at comparatively reasonable price points, which represents solid value and reliability. For example, Blancpain, whose average price is $20,000, makes a Grande Complication that sells for over $1 million, making the Fifty Fathoms a bargain at $14,300.

Unique bonus features, such as IWC’s iron shield for magnetic and shock resistance or Ebel’s micro-adjustable deployant buckle. A COSC accuracy rating is also common in this category.

WHAT TO AVOID

The Internet. It goes without saying that you should acquire one of these watches from an authorized dealer. Specialists at jewellery outlets are generally steeped in product knowledge and having a chat with a store’s watch expert is time well spent.

In 1933 the American aviator Charles Lindbergh set off with his wife on a trip of 47,000 km around the North Atlantic. Having achieved a remarkable technical and human feat in being the first man to fly non-stop across the North Atlantic in his Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh wanted to explore possible future air routes across the far north before returning to the USA via Cape Verde and Brazil. The equipment Lindbergh took with him on his long expedition included a wrist chronograph created specially by Longines for this very purpose. Today Longines is re-issuing this exceptional timepiece, known as the Longines Lindbergh’s Atlantic Voyage Watch, as a tribute to the historical feat achieved by this pioneer of the skies.

In the wake of his solo flight in 1927 from New York to Paris – the first non-stop flight across the North Atlantic – Charles Lindbergh gained international fame and was in great demand by aviation companies, which were being developed at the time. Wanting to be of service, Lindbergh decided in 1933 to investigate possible air routes across the far north with his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The young couple set off from New York on a trip of some 47,000 km that would take them to New Foundland, Greenland, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Russia, Great Britain, France, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Portugal, the Azores, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde before returning to the USA via the Gambia, Brazil and Cuba.

For this expedition, Lindberg decided to take a powerful aircraft with a 710 hp engine and a variable propeller. He also took two radios and an inflatable canoe in case they were forced to eject from the aircraft. During their trip, they christened their plane the Tingmissartoq, which is an Inuit word meaning “the one that flies like a great bird”. Lindbergh’s navigational instruments included a directional gyroscope, an artificial horizon, an icing gauge and two aperiodic compasses, all of which were the very latest equipment at that time.  But Lindbergh also took with him a Longines chronograph developed specially for his flight to Greenland and the far north.

This time-piece had a wristwatch chronograph movement with a 30-minute counter. It measured time to the fifth of a second and the chronograph mechanism also had a tachymeter that could measure speeds of up to 500 kph. With the flying conditions that were experienced by the Lindberghs, a reliable time-piece was one of the final safeguards as far as navigational instruments were concerned.

Longines’ creation of this timepiece for the Lindberghs’ trip around the North Atlantic was evidence of the confidence that the American aviator had in the Swiss watch manufacturer. In 1927 the time-measuring instruments created by Longines enabled the International Aeronautical Federation, for which the company had been an official supplier since 1919, to measure the duration of Lindbergh’s flight from New York to Paris with great precision. Subsequently, by virtue of his experience as a pilot and navigator, Lindbergh devised a system to improve the aerial and nautical navigation of the period. He contacted Longines, who put his invention into practice by producing the Lindbergh Hour Angle watch. Together with a sextant and a nautical almanac, the watch could be used to determine geographical position by calculating one’s exact longitude. In 1933, to mark its productive collaboration with Lindbergh, Longines designed the watch chronograph especially for the Lindbergh’s’ trip around the North Atlantic.

Today, Longines is re-issuing this time-piece under the name of the Longines Lindbergh’s Atlantic Voyage Watch as a tribute to the long trip undertaken by the couple across the far north. This mechanical wrist chronograph has a diameter of 47.50 mm and a self-winding movement. Just like the original model, it has small seconds at 9 o’clock and a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock. The time and time measurements are displayed using hands of blued steel on a silvered dial with a white surround and the watch has a tachymeter for measuring speeds of up to 500 kph. The model has a sapphire glass and a solid case back that protects a transparent back cover through which the workings of the movement can be admired. The watch is mounted on a genuine brown alligator strap. The new versions are in either steel or rose gold. The Longines Lindbergh’s Atlantic Voyage Watch constitutes an exquisite contemporary version of a timepiece that was part of a great aeronautical adventure.

A silvery moon on a spring night; a star that glistens reaches its peak and then disappears. A symbol of passing time, living time and the moon that entrances us with its rounded, delicate lines the new Longines PrimaLuna is a tribute to this silvery star. Its soft silhouette is enhanced by the exquisite purity of the dial and the whole is illuminated by a play of sparkling diamonds. Graceful, magical, this is a model that will seduce women who appreciate contemporary, sophisticated elegance.

The Moon has been used to measure time by every civilisation; this night star is feminine, cyclical and eternal. A star that produces dreams! In many cultures the New Moon is a symbol of renewal when it marks the beginning of a new year or the arrival of spring. To pay tribute to this mystical star, the famous Saint-Imier watchmaker is launching an exquisitely fine interpretation of the magic of the Moon this year: the Longines PrimaLuna.

The subtle mystery of spring, the Longines PrimaLuna emerges from a wakening world. The Moon is no longer pale but iridescent, opaline, masterful. Sheherazade moves elegantly into position under the stars…

The delicate gleam of stainless steel, the rich hue of rose or yellow gold, or the blend of rose gold and steel. A sleek bracelet of steel, gold or steel and rose gold or a leather strap. A selection of heavenly dials: white, silvered or mother-of-pearl decorated with hour symbols, Arabic or Roman numerals or diamonds. And finally, three hands, blued, gilded or rose, that marks the passing of time. As multifaceted as the modern woman, the Longines PrimaLuna range offers a selection of models in four sizes.

This ladies’ watch is at the same time a piece of jewellery. The pleasing curves of the case are enhanced by a play of diamonds. Precious pieces of pure carbon that glitter with fascination… so feminine! Similarly, the white mother-of-pearl dials of the most sophisticated models are also decorated with sparkling teardrops that will seduce any woman who appreciates diamonds.

Resolutely elegant, contemporary, subtle and carefree. The new Longines PrimaLuna offers to every woman, every modern Sheherazade, to each luminous, unique female a magical world represented by this new collection of exquisite models.