Words: Josh Lee
For its first launch of 2023, Longines, the winged-hourglass brand known widely as the official timekeeper for myriad sporting events across the globe, has set out its new-year stall with a tribute to aviation timepieces, blending throwback sensibilities and “a spirit of adventure” with up-to-date specs and aesthetics.
The label’s work within this pillar of watchmaking has been firmly rooted since at least the early 1920s, when it crafted the first “aviation counters” with rotating bezels. Such creations were followed up in the decade after, with the production of a model of a pilot’s watch that showcased alignment features, a lumed moving hour marker, and a straightforward rotating mobile bezel – all of which were brought together to aid the wearer to “remember the exact time of departure of a mission, or to time the flight from each new change of course.”
In 1935, following an order from the Czechoslovak Air Force, the ‘Longines Reference 3582’ was born, a model with a rotating bezel, a moving luminous hour marker and a distinctive cushion-shaped case that was registered with the International Industrial Property Office in Bern, Switzerland.
Two years later, the company developed several versions of this product, furnishing it, along with other features, with a double display of hours and minutes.
Though this 1935 model was intended for a small, airborne clientele, its simple design and no-fuss appeal helped it procure a much wider audience who sought something that melded accuracy with legibility. The ‘Pilot Majetek’, revealed in the past days, evokes that very version, with its bi-directional fluted bezel and cushion-shaped steel case being the clearest references.
To keep it up to speed with the current day, the new model has seen a tinkering of proportions – it is done out in a 43mm diameter, which, even though is 3mm wider than the original, is still a comfortable wear – and introduces curvier lugs. A new gear mechanism ensures water resistance to 100m, and, when it comes to that cushion case, the rotating fluted bezel that tops it controls the placement of a luminescent triangular pip – however, although this was, of course, a feature of the original, whereby the crystal and the bezel moved as a unit, in the new iteration, the pip is affixed to the bezel alone, with the sapphire glass remaining static.
In terms of design, the ‘Pilot Majetek’, like many of its aviator counterparts, is anchored by a matte-black dial with a grained texture – raised white numerals are also coated with Super-LumiNova old radium, and are further highlighted by a classic railway minute marker. A small seconds dial, sat where the ‘6’ usually is, acts as a further nod to the watch’s original function, and a ‘1935’ plate, featured on the exterior of the steel case, points to the muse behind it all.
Powering the piece is Longine’s exclusive L893.6 calibre that lays claim to a 72-hour reserve and a magnetically resistant silicon balance spring.
Tying things up is a two-stitch strap, which comes in either green or brown leather, or a NATO-style strap made from recycled materials. Individual watches are priced at £3,400, and a box edition is listed at £3,500.
Upsized, perhaps, but it is a fine paean to the 1935 original, with a rugged, durable and pragmatic feel that’s solid in both looks and function.
Want more watches? Check out the Tudor Pelagos 39…
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