06/30/2020

Longines’ Legendary Spirit Shines Through In The New Spirit Collection

Longines brings its rich heritage back to life with a new collection inspired by the famous pioneers who conquered the air, land, and sea with a Longines timekeeper.

By Sophie Furley

Contributor

Longines was founded in 1832 and has a long history of connections with explorers and aviators, many of whom entrusted their lives to their Longines timepiece long before the age of computerized instruments.

Thanks to Longines’ reputation for accuracy, reliability, and robustness, adventurers such as Amelia Earhart, Paul-Emile Victor, Elinor Smith, and Howard Hughes were able to depend on Longines timepieces for their calculations as they conquered unknown lands, encountered extreme weather, and braved treacherous seas.

Ground-Breaking Adventures

The new Longines Spirit collection has been designed with the same attention to detail as those early timepieces made for the pioneering explorers from yesteryear. Let’s take a quick look at four of these incredible adventurers who counted on Longines during their incredible exploits.

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart was an American aviator who achieved numerous flying feats, but she is perhaps best remembered for her non-stop, solo flight from Canada to Northern Ireland in 1932. It took her 14 hours and 56 minutes, as recorded on her Longines chronometer. Fighting icy winds and mechanical problems, Earhart become the first female pilot to complete a solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Amelia Earhart

Paul-Émile Victor

Paul-Émile Victor was a French ethnologist and explorer who was renowned for his polar expeditions. In 1934, he crossed the ice cap of Greenland in seven weeks. During the trip, he encountered some of the planet’s harshest weather conditions, but his Longines chronometer never let him down, helping keep track of his position. He was quoted at the time saying, “These watches made the difference between failure and success.”

Paul-Émile Victor

Elinor Smith

Elinor Smith was an American aviator who set multiple solo endurance, speed, and altitude records. She once attempted to break the altitude record but blacked out at 30,000 feet. Luckily, she awoke in time to regain control of her plane. Ten days later, she was back in the skies and breaking the record by reaching 32,576 feet with her trusted Longines timepiece, of course.

Elinor Smith

Howard Hughes

Howard Hughes was fascinated by the worlds of both flying and films. In 1938 he broke the “’round-the-world” record in three days, 19 hours, and 14 minutes while using the Longines Sidérograph, an onboard instrument made especially for celestial navigation. All of Hughes’ crew also wore Longines chronometers to support him in his calculations.

Howard Hughes

The Design Of The New Longines Spirit

As a tribute to these brave men and women, Longines is unveiling this new Spirit collection, which links history to innovation by taking the traditional features from the brand’s historic pilot’s watches and combining them with contemporary details.

The New Longines Spirit

The oversized crown, the flange, the pronounced step around the dial, the distinction numerals, diamond-shaped indexes, and the large luminous baton-shaped hands all recall design elements from the past, and yet they have been reworked to bring a contemporary feel to the watches.

The New Longines Spirit

Technology You Can Count On

The Longines Spirit is committed to offering the most modern technology as Longines always has so that the next generation of explorers can also take on the world. The collection is powered by the COSC-certified L888.4 and L688.4 self-winding movements, featuring silicon hairsprings to guarantee extreme accuracy and increased longevity. Other technology of note includes a domed sapphire crystal with multi-layered anti-reflective coatings on both sides, a screw-in crown, and an engraved caseback that is fixed with six secure screws.

The New Longines Spirit

Three Models To Choose From

The Longines Spirit Collection comes in three versions – a three-hand calendar model in either 40mm or 42mm and a chronograph in 42mm. There are three dial choices in matte black, grained silver, or sunray blue. Five stars have been stamped onto each dial just below the Longines logo to represent the highest standard of movement beating within. The Longines Spirit comes on a stainless steel bracelet or a leather strap in dark brown, light brown, or blue. There is also a “Prestige” edition that comes with three interchangeable straps (steel, leather, and NATO).