FLAGSHIP COLLECTION
The Saint-Imier watchmaker’s aptly-named pared-down, timeless collection welcomes new pieces fashioned in steel, all driven by a well-proven self-winding mechanical movement.
The Flagship watch, created back in 1957, is a classical-looking piece whose name means “star product” and “admiral vessel”. Right from the onset, Longines has reworked the collection and today presents us with a new series fashioned in steel, proposed in several colors and types of faces and animated by an automatic heart.
Although some stylistic codes from the original version, such as the Dauphine-shaped hands, the small seconds at 6 o’clock, the rather central minute tracker and the number of indexes, have vanished from the new versions, the overall spirit remains the same. The new Flagship models feature a 40 mm-diameter double-gadroon steel case, polished or coated with yellow or pink PVD finish, which hosts the L888 caliber, an ETA base which Longines modified. This motor, which drives the hours/minutes/seconds (in the center and the date at 3 o’clock), delivers a power reserve of 64 hours.
A variety of dial shades and styles is proposed: matte-white with triangular relief-style indexes, Roman numerals painted in black or brilliant-cut diamonds; lacquered white or sunray-brushed gray or blue with applique hour markers; or matte-black or golden champagne with indexes or diamonds. The hands are now sword-shaped and the date is written in black on a white backdrop set in a frame-enhanced aperture.
Longines’ Flagship is complemented by a black or blue alligator strap or five-link steel bracelet where two of the links may be coated with PVD and attached by a secure folding clasp.
Price from CHF1,520 to CHF1,970 www.longines.ch
By Sharmila Bertin