Fresh news this week: Longines celebrates its 190th anniversary with a trio of models for the Master Collection.
We talked about it with Giuseppe Miccio at the beginning of March and finally it is time to unveiling for the public. The path chosen by the brand for this birthday is as classic as it is apt.
The new Master Collections for Longines’ 190th Anniversary
Three new models, each with a different metal: steel, yellow gold and rose gold. Longines celebrates its anniversary in style by presenting 40mm dress-watches with an ultra-thin 9.35mm case. We had the pleasure of discovering them firsthand on the wrist and being able to tell you about our feelings (which you will read at the end of the article).
But how did we get to 190 years of history? Longines was born in 1832, thanks to Auguste Agassiz, who opened his small watchmaking workshop in Saint-Imier, a remote village in the Swiss mountains that today has just 5,000 inhabitants. From here were created the first pocket timepieces that made the history of aviation and watchmaking: Longines is a pioneer of numerous complications.
A dial with engraved Breguet numbers
As I said in the Ultra-Chron article before summer, Longines is committed to taking care of the smallest details of its watches, from the choice of materials to the design of its dials.
In the case of the new 190th Anniversary Master Collection, we have three types of dials, united by the engraved Breguet numbers. The latter are of a unique elegance and refinement, and make the watch a Dress-watch with a capital D.
A different type of finish has been chosen for each metal: the steel is sandblasted, the yellow gold is vertically satin-finished and the pink gold has a grained finish.
Blued hands for hours, minutes and seconds to complete the picture
The hands of the new Longines 190 ° Anniversario have the so-called “leaf” shape, in versions matched according to the type of case. For the steel case we have beautiful blued hands that vibrate fascinating vintage vibes. Indeed, we all know that blued hands were very common in the good old days, but do we know why?
I will tell you why. Technology at that time did not offer accurate thermometers, so watchmakers used the color blue as a mean to measure temperatures, to ensure that the hands had the required physical properties. By taking a steel hand and heating it with a flame, the object was tempered, with the aim of improving or stabilizing its mechanical properties.
During this process there is a variation of colors, where blue indicates the correct temperature for the characteristics required by the watchmakers. Hence the tradition of having blue hands even on modern watches, which actually exploit technologies much more advanced than those used at the time.
In the meantime, if you want to learn more about the shapes of hands, we invite you to read our article.
In-house caliber L888.5
Thanks to the sapphire caseback we can see the automatic manufacture caliber L888.5 with silicon hairspring. The power reserve of this mechanism is approximately 72 hours. On the caseback we also read The Longines Master Collection and below the commemorative engraving “190th Anniversary”.
Yellow gold models and rose gold models are limited to 190 and individually numbered. The icing on the cake? The oscillating weight that allows the watch to be wound is combined with the metal of the case, so in pink and yellow gold we will have the corresponding masses in pink and yellow.
Worn on the wrist
We had the opportunity to test all three models in preview and a little more in detail the steel version. Aesthetically, I think the case and dial are really well made, the fit is perfect on small, as well as medium-large, wrists. The dial is super sophisticated, full of details. The plays of light that are created under the Sun are very pleasant.
The only suggestion is on the alligator strap, which in the first few times you wear it is particularly hard and difficult to adapt to the wrist. I would opt for something softer and with a pin buckle on the steel version, instead of the deployant. Overall, however, the strap is the least of my thoughts, it is a detail that can be changed very easily.
Price and availability of The Longines Master Collection 190th Anniversary
The new The Longines Master Collection 190 ° Anniversario will be produced in a continuous collection for the steel model, but will instead be a limited edition of 190 pieces each for yellow gold and pink gold.
The steel has the reference L2.793.4.73 and a retail price of € 2.310. Yellow gold has reference L2.793.6.73.2, while pink gold has reference L2.793.8.73.2. Both a retail price of € 11,630. These last two versions are equipped with a very special wooden box.
Conclusions
It would also be wonderful to see a box containing all three Longines Master Collection 190 ° Anniversario. Who knows if the most loyal collectors to the brand have already applied after today’s presentation of the watches!
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