The Longines Heritage Classic Tuxedo

With its newest two watches, Longines looks back to the wild parties of the later 1940s and the carefree spirit of this time. After the harsh war came a time of prosperity and celebration. Elegance was back in fashion; men wore suits and women wore recently-introduced nylon stockings. People got dressed up to go out and dance to the rhythm of jazz bands. And the new Longines Heritage Classic – Tuxedo creations – one with 3 hands and the other featuring a chronograph – are inspired by two historic pieces designed in the spirit of their time.
Collectors have nicknamed the historic watches „Tuxedo“, because the contrast of the black and white on their dials reminds us of the suits worn during the elegant and festive evenings of the time.

To respect the spirit of the original models, Longines has chosen her not to add the word „Automatic“ on the dials. In kepping with the aim to create timepieces as faithful as possible to historical models, there is also no date window on the contemporary models.
The 3-hand model stands out for the aesthetics of the dial, a typical and very popular design from the 1940s. An opaline silver disc surrounded by a sublime matt black circle of thin baton hands covered with Super-LumiNova. The small seconds counter, located at 6 o’clock, is off-centre; this detail contributes to the charm of this 38.5-mm-diameter timepiece housing the exclusive L893.5 automatic movement featuring a silicon balance spring.

The chronograph version displays matt black, opaline and midnight blue, colours as elegant as they are refined. Several zones feature on its dial, and a tachymetric sclae – quite rare for a Longines watch – also enriches its circumference, just like on the original model. The Longines Heritage Classic Chronograph – Tuxedo houses in its 40-mm-case the calibre L895.5, a movement developed exclusively for Longines Heritage timepieces.

Both Longines Heritage Classic – Tuxedo watches are presented on semi-matt black leather straps, perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the late 1940s.

Always Trending: Chronographs

Since the first chronographs were introduced, they became hugely popular and with good reason. Some feature a tachymeter scale with which lap times can be calculated, some show chronograph hours and minutes, some only minutes. All of them feature subdials and a small second. Apart from these functions, chronographs are also popular because of there sporty looks – but many of them can also be worn to the office without difficulty – they are just gloriously versatile.
We are introducing five of them today.

Two chronographs of Chrono Diamond made the cut. The first one is the Argos, named after the hero of the same name and fellow of Jason from the argonaut myth of Apollonios of Rhodos. And the watch ought to accompany its owner just as reliably. Its design is reduced and simply elegant. It shows hours, minutes, the running seconds at 9 o’clock, the chronograph minutes at 3 and the chronograph hours at 6 o’clock. The Argos shows day and month in two windows at 12 o’clock; the date is shown by a fourth central hand with a small crescent moon tip.
The Argos is powered by a quartz movement and you’ll have the choice between twelve different models: in stainless steel, with gold and pink gold PVD-coating and different coloured dials. All variations come with a leather bracelet.

The Chrono Diamond Nestor stands out with a dial that accentuates the functions of the subdials extravagantly. At 2.30 o’clock you’ll find the running seconds, at 6 o’clock the chronograph hours and at 10.30 the chronograph minutes. At 4 o’clock a small date window is placed. The dial is textured and of course, it bears the for Chrono Diamond characteristic diamonds.
Chrono Diamond offers nine different versions of the Nestor; with dark and fair dials, in stainless steel and with gold PVD-coating, with a metal bracelet or leather strap. All of them are powered by a reliable quartz movement. All-Chrono Diamond watches are Swiss Made.

The Festina Chrono Bike-Line has a longstanding tradition and is a hommage to bicycle racing. So it is no surprise that the watch manufacturer could win Richard Virenque as ambassador. The french road racing cyclist was a climber, winning the King of the Mountains competition of the Tour de France a record of seven times. During his active time he was part of the Festina Team and the partnership between them remains to this day.
The Chrono Bike chronographs come in a variety of designs. The latest model features a stainless steel 44-mm-case, the dial is protected by mineral glass. The subdials for the running seconds, chronograph minutes and chronograph hours contrast sharply with the rest of the dial.

The Longines Conquest V.H.P. comes in many different colours and designs; some in stainless steel and some in black PVD-coating. The sober case is complemented by an articulate dial. Except for the big Arabic 12, Longines opted for plain indices which are equipped with the same greenish lume as the minute and hour hands. Red accents highlight the chronograph functions – the central seconds hand, the hands of the chronograph minutes at 3 o’clock and the chronograph hours at 9 o’clock. The subdial at 6 o’clock shows the running seconds.
The Conquest V.H.P. is powered by an reliable, high-quality ETA quartz movement.

The last chronograph we’re introducing in this feature is the rugged Mathieu Legrand Avant-Garde. This model is for fans of larger, more masculine watches. The indices, the big Arabic 12, as well as the hour and minute hands are generously coated with lume, so perfect readability is given at all times, even in the dark. The chronograph seconds and the subdials are highlighted with colour. At 4.30 you’ll find a big date window.
The Avant-Garde is powerd by a Swiss made quartz movement and comes in four different versions – three with a black, one with a fair dial; in stainless steel, with a PVD-coating in gold or in a bi-colour design.

Longines Pulsometer Chronograph – for the medical professional

Longines is reissuing the Pulsometer Chronograph. It stands out for its retro-styling dial that features an unusual chronograph scale. Although a tachymeter, used for measuring speed over a known distance, is a common chronograph scale seen on sports watches, there are other types of scales that look more at home on the face of a dress watch.

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The Longines Pulsometer Chronograph is a reissue of a watch once used by medical professional to test a patient’s heart rate. The design is based on a watch from the 1920s, putting its faith in bold, contrasting colors.
The steel hands are Breguet-style and they are looking beautiful against the clean background of the dial and the dial printing in black and red makes this watch legible despite having a lot of information displayed in a small space.

The scaled-back design makes the Pulsometer Chronograph elegant; the designers have removed extraneous components. The chronograph counter must be eminently legible for medical use, so the 3 and 9 hour markers have been removed to give the sub-dials space. The 6 o’clock marker gives way to a date window.

The pulsometer function is easy to use – you start the chronograph and count 30 seconds heart beats. After stopping the chronograph the blue chronograph-seconds will be pointing at the correct heart rate.
Inside is the L188.2 movement working, a self-winding colum-wheel chronograph with a 54 hour power reserve. The movement layout is that of an ETA 7750, but Longines has made a couple of major alterations to it.

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The watch is smart and simple, made of stainless steel. It is water resistant to 30 meters. The case is 40 mm in diameter not including the crown at 3 o’clock. So the Pulsometer is designed to fit smoothly under a sleeve without grabbing much attention. The strap is made from brown alligator leather which compliments the color palette of the dial.