Did Longines Just Release the Ultimate Pilot Watch of 2023?
The Spirit Flyback is a total triumph
On one hand, calling Longines an undervalued brand is a silly idea. According to a 2020 Morgan Stanley report, it is the fourth largest Swiss watchmaker in the world – behind Rolex, Omega and (only just) Cartier.
On the other, Longines has a fraction of the recognition of those household names, a situation made more perplexing by its genuinely impressive legacy
Longines was winning awards decades before Rolex and Omega existed. Albert Einstein and Humphrey Bogart both wore Longines watches. When Charles Lindbergh became word-famous in 1927 for completing the first solo, non-stop transatlantic flight between New York and Paris, a journey that had killed plenty of others who’d attempted it before him, it was Longines that timed him. Even Longines’ winged logo has impressive chops – it’s the world’s oldest trademark
It's the sort of brand equity lesser companies scrabble around to try and fudge together. Longines already has a great story. Maybe it just needs to shout about it more?
Perhaps that informed the thinking behind the introduction of its Spirit line in 2020. Longines Spirit watches were a collection of fine-looking everyday sports watches that cherrypicked design elements from previous models, and were intended to honour the early pioneers of aviation, Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes, Elinor Smith and Paul-Emile Victor – who all also wore Longines.
The Spirit models came in nice mid-sized cases, had just enough retro stylings to make them interesting without being pastiche-y and were chlorometer-certified – meaning their accuracy was independently certified by the venerable Swiss body COSC, or the Contrôle Officiel Suisse des Chronomètres.
These were watches that played in the same park as Breitling, Bremont, IWC and other aviation-centric brands but, with prices starting at £2,750, at a fraction of the cost. The Spirit line may well have represented one of the best – and best-value – pilot watches on the market.
Now the brand has added a flyback chronograph model to the collection, again representing excellent value for money.
A chronograph adds a stopwatch function to a watch, one typically started with an pusher on the case at 2 o’clock and stopped with one at 4 o’clock. A flyback chronograph, on the other hand, means the stopwatch can be simultaneously stopped, reset and restarted with the single push – no need to first stop and then restart the timer, compromising accuracy. (The most common given use for a flyback function is timing laps in a race. Or, in aviation, as a way for early pilots to time different flight stages, thus helping with navigation.)
It’s a complication that typically adds several thousand pounds to a watch’s price.
The new Longines Spirit Flyback is housed in a 42mm steel case with a bidirectional bezel. It comes with a black or blue sunray dial with an interchangeable steel bracelet, a brown leather strap or a blue fabric strap.
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