The latest addition from the brand, the Spirit Flyback Chronograph, reasserts its position as a legacy brand with significant contributions to the watchmaking industry and aviation as a whole. 

A Legacy Revisited

The facts of how the flyback chronograph function came to be is well-established but what led to the initiative to develop it remains unclear. The possibility is that as aviation developed, aviators required a way to take quick sequential measurement of elapsed time, necessary when navigating in correspondence with visible landmarks against waypoints on the map. In situations where pilots encounter poor weather conditions that hinder the pilot’s view of landmarks or light buoys at sea, a measurement of precise elapsed time from the last known waypoint, along with other tools such as a sextant and compass would help to determine position and distance from the next waypoint on the flight plan.

A flyback chronograph would essentially meet this requirement, an invention that took the basic chronograph and upgraded it with a flyback function, allowing the watch to instantaneously begin a new measurement without the usual start, stop and reset sequence. Instead of stopping after starting, a quick push of the lower pusher allows the chronograph seconds hand to instantaneously return to zero and begin measuring elapsed time again.

Being a supplier to pilots, it is no surprise that Longines would be the brand to come up with this complication, either through anticipation of this specific need, or in response to a request from the pilots who were already using Longines timepieces in their flights. In fact, it was Longines who supplied famous aviators such as Amelia Earhart, the first female aviator to do a solo flight across the Atlantic, and Admiral Charles Byrd, the first pilot to fly over the South Pole. Even Charles Lindbergh, the first man who flew solo across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in 1927, sought the help of Longines’ to develop the Hour Angle watch in 1931, a tool that would enable easier navigation over long distances.

In any case, history records that the earliest mention of a wristwatch chronograph with flyback function comes from the Longines archives dated to 1925, making the brand the inventor of this complication. It was a calibre 13.33Z chronograph modified with flyback mechanism and not mass produced. Longines filed a patent for the flyback chronograph in 1935. The parent was awarded in 1936.

In the Spirit of Reinvention

The Longines Spirit Flyback Chronograph is a modern interpretation of the brand’s historical pilot watches, with important functional elements that pay tribute to the spirit of the pioneers of aviation and their achievements, remade and dressed in contemporary materials and styling.

The large Arabic numeral hour markers and hands are coated with Super-Luminova, ensuring that the time is easy to read and oriented to in the dark. Continuing on this theme as well is the 60 minute scale bi-directional bezel with ceramic inlay also coming with Super-Luminova coating – fairly uncommon still nowadays in the watch industry – which ensures that it also remains functional in the dark. 

Being a chronograph, the dial is of a bi-compax design, with running seconds at 9 o’clock and a 30-minute chronograph minutes counter at 3 o’clock. The bronze hands and peripheral rings, and the sunk-in diamond-shaped relief for each hour are nice and subtle details, adding a hint of vintage feel to the watch. 

In a contemporary size of 42mm, the case is brushed and polished at the chamfer. To avoid making the watch any bigger than necessary, the lugs are well-proportioned and so are the pushers, which don’t protrude too much due to provision on the case for pushers’ travel distance.

Produced exclusively for Longines by ETA, the Longines Spirit Flyback chronograph runs a  calibre L791.4, which  is a column-wheel actuated chronograph movement with 68 hours of power reserve, silicon hairspring and flyback function. The COSC-certified automatic movement with the globe and “Longines Flyback” proudly etched on the rotor, can be viewed through the sapphire exhibition caseback set in place by 6 screws. The watch comes in two dial variations –  Sunray Blue and Sunray Black.

A watch with a story to tell

The Longines Spirit Flyback Chronograph may sit tall on the wrist at 17mm but this number has to be considered in context since part of the height is due to the use of a domed crystal as you look at the watch from the side. On the wrist, it wears like any typical 42mm wide chronograph and will tuck nicely under a shirt cuff that isn’t unreasonably tight. In any case, it is suitable as an everyday watch since it is formal or casual depending on how you dress it up, and best of all it is a watch with a plenty of aviation related stories to tell. The versatility of this watch is demonstrated through the availability of various band options, including matching leather straps to the two dial variations or on a stainless steel bracelet. The one I find most pleasing however, is the beige NATO strap that comes as an option with the black dial variant.

As part of the Spirit collection, the most distinguishing feature of the  Longines Spirit Flyback Chronograph is how it embodies the long-standing relationship between watchmaking and men’s quest to take flight. Furthermore, wearing a watch like this allows us to honour and remember the brave men and women who took to the skies more than a hundred years ago, into the development of aviation that we enjoy today.

As there are more watch brands than complications, wearing this watch on the wrist does feel a little more special since it made by the brand that invented the complication it carries. In a way, its like wearing a tourbillon watch from Breguet. The extra special dimension of owning such a watch is that Abraham Louis Breguet the watchmaker, was the man who invented the tourbillon. While flyback chronographs can be acquired from many other brands, none have as great a legitimacy for the complication than Longines.

Technical Specifications

Model No.:
L3.821.4.53.2/6/9
L3.821.4.93.2/6

Collection:
Spirit

Water Resistance:
10 bar (100 m / 330 ft) with screwed crown

Weight:
178.3 g

Case Shape:
Round

Width (mm):
42

Average Thickness (mm):
17

Lugs width (mm):
22

Case Material:
Stainless Steel & Ceramic Bezel
Transparent case back with 6 screws

Crystal:
Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, with layers of anti-reflective coating on both sides

Dial Colours:
Sunray Blue or Sunray Black

Indexes:
Applied Arabic numeral with Super-LumiNova®

Hands:
PVD Bronze color baton hands filled with Super-LumiNova®

Power Reserve:
68 hours

Movement:
Longines self-winding column-wheel movement, L791.4
COSC certified
With silicon balance-spring and magnetic resistant
13¼ lines, 28 jewels, 28’800 vibrations per hours

Functions:
Hours, minutes and seconds at 9 o’clock
Flyback function
Chronograph
Central 60-second hand
30-minute counter at 3 o’clock

Strap Details:
Longines interchangeable system

Strap Colour:
Stainless Steel Bracelet / Brown Leather/ Blue Synthetic strap / NATO synthetic strap

Buckle:
Double security folding clasp with micro adjustment system

The original “Majetek” watches were issued to the Czechoslovakian Air Force during the mid-1930s, with its original design being registered on the 1st of April 1935 by Longines. So-called the “Majetek”, because these watches would be found with the engraving “Majetek vojenske spravy” on the case back, which loosely translates to “Property of the Military”. These watches would also have a “starting time indicator”, that could be rotated by turning the bezel, and lining it up with the minute or hour hand.

The Pilot Majetek takes these original design codes from 1935, and brings them into the modern age. The watch retains its matte black dial from this era, and is highly legible with its Arabic numerals. Gone is the radioactive radium luminescent paint, and the much safer SuperLuminova is utilised on the dial, albeit with ‘old radium’ colouring to match the yellowing colour of Majetek watches from the 1930s. To the delight of many Longines fans, the dial also stays true to the original, and only shows the hours, minutes and the seconds in a subdial at 6 o’clock. 

Its stainless steel case measures in at 43mm – curiously, this contemporary version has substantial crown guards, as opposed to its design inspiration that never featured these. It does give the watch its contemporary look, as does the bezel, which features larger, more distinct fluting than its predecessors. The bezel is also used to grip and turn the starting time indicator – the triangle set below the crystal to show elapsed time – in vintage models, the crystal and bezel would turn together, whereas this modern version has the crystal fixed to aid with water resistance.

Turning the watch on its side reveals a plaque with the year 1935 engraved into it, and the watch features a solid caseback, just like the original.

The watches are delivered on a two stitch leather strap, with options of green or brown leather, and a NATO-type strap made of polyester fibre is also available.

Powering the watch is the exclusive Longines Calibre L893.6 (produced by ETA for Longines, that is equipped with an anti-magnetic silicon balance spring, boasting a power reserve of 72 hours, and is COSC certified.

The Longines Pilot Majetek is a watch that Longines does best – showcasing its storied history whilst bringing it into the 21st century. It may not be totally faithful to the original watch, however, modern manufacturing, materials and design can prove to be great for heritage designs, giving them greater wearability and durability. Longines has succeeded in bringing back the interest in these Majetek watches, and this can only prove to be a benefit for those already own the original Majetek watches, as well as bringing new people into Longines through a historical curiosity.

2021 sees a number of nice releases that go along this theme, that while not totally brand new, offer something for everyone. Most notably, all the pieces mentioned in this article, now come upgraded with silicon hairsprings, as well as a 5 year warranty (up from 2 years previously), with both practices only beginning in 2020.

The first is a new Avigation Big Eye now coming in a titanium case and with a shaded blue textured dial. The first version of this watch was launched in 2017 and featured a larger than normal 30 minute chronograph counter, making it easier to read the elapsed minutes.

That watch has gone on to become a favourite among enthusiasts, and the reason is clear when you look at it – it’s a handsome watch with a nice vintage flavour after-all.

The new variant from 2021 departs from the stainless steel case of the first version and uses titanium instead and at the same case size of 41mm. This helps to make things lighter and accords with the aviation theme as well. Another big difference is inside the watch, with the same L688 column wheel chronograph with 54 hour power reserve now being equipped with a silicon balance spring, which helps the watch be more anti-magnetic than the previous version.

Will these are more invisible upgrades, what is most obvious are the aesthetics of the dial. Instead of the sober white on black of the previous version, this new one comes with Arabic numerals in “fauxtina” coloured Superluminova and a shaded petrol blue and textured dial.

I’m not sure if the colour chosen is historically viable, (I suspect not) but it is an attractive combination nonetheless. The texture on the dial also gives some amount of visual interest

The watch comes with a natural brown leather strap that adds a nice rustic charm to the overall presentation as well.

Next is the Legend Diver, a long standing member of the collection that was launched in 2007 and that recalls the super compressor diving watch from Longines that first came out in 1959.

Instead of an external bezel, the more common way of doing things with most diving watches, it’s an interval one instead, and is controlled by the upper crown to align the 60 minute marker to the minute hand, just as you would do any diving watch.

I’m not sure if this style of diving watch is easier to use, but you have the advantage of not having an external bezel get bumped and is entirely viable given its 300 metre water resistance, a modern upgrade to the 200 metres on the vintage ones.

The new Legend Divers come in two new colours, with shades lacquered dials in blue and brown, with matching coloured straps in blue structured leather and brown leather.

The choice here for me is the brown one since it has a dial that under certain lighting conditions looks like it is rusted, which increases the vintage inspired quotient that much more.

The last offering for Longines under the Heritage collection is the Silver Arrow.

This is a watch that has been remade to look like the original which came out in the 1950’s. This is a bit of a strange one, since there is no specific inspiration being it’s creation, although one might think of the Mercedes Benz racing team, whose cars are also known as Silver Arrows.

Instead this watch was released at a time when futurism was taking hold of people’s imaginations. With the nuclear age having already begun in the 1940s and with the Gemini space program just starting, it was an era when a new world of technology was starting to become possible.

The original Silver Arrow then was launched against this backdrop and was a watch meant to recall the fastest race cars and supersonic planes of the time.

By modern standards, it doesn’t scream “futuristic” as much as the name would imply, but the subtle and minimalist attitude of the watch is shown by the unique striated indices and sword hands against the silver opaline dial.

To complete the theme, there is an engraving on the caseback of a Supersonic plane just like the original.

It’s a nice watch overall, with a comfortable size at 38.5mm and an automatic movement with a silicon hairspring. I think however, that Longines could have gone a little bit further with this one, and introduce this watch on a bracelet just like the original instead.

Sure, there have been bezel inserts in ceramic that were introduced fairly recently in the collection, but none have gone as far as the recently released HydroConquest Full Black Ceramic, a watch that I had heard about but never seen in person until today.

The watch is truly a stunner in person and wears its credentials proudly with the text “ZrO2” printed on the dial. That stands for Zirconium Dioxide, the type of ceramic that the watch case and bezel is made in.

With a polished finish for the former and brushed for the latter, there is a nice contrast that makes the overall presentation visually interesting. In fact it is the polished surface of the case that gives the watch a feeling of sophistication even in low light, even while largely maintaining its stealthy feel.

Mounted on a rubber strap with a double folding clasp also in ceramic, the 43mm case is large yet fits comfortably, and that is down to the way that the lugs curve down sharply as they extrude from the case.Legibility is excellent as well, with white Superluminova used on the polished Arabic numbers, indices and hands.

The benefits of ceramic are well known – scratch-resistance, lightweight, heat-resistance and anti-allergic. It also has a unique feel to the touch. Given that Longines is part of the Swatch Group, some amount of technology transfer must have occurred from sister brands Rado and Omega to make this particular case. Of course, if you wanted a 300m water resistance diver from Rado, you would not find one, as it is a brand that doesn’t really focus on dive watches. You could get one from Omega, but you’d be looking at a higher price from this particular Longines model.It’s no surprise then, that I was told off-handedly that this watch has largely accounted for a spike in sales from the HydroConquest collection in 2019. Given the value of what is being offered here. I can believe it to be true.

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