Second Life for Longines Avigation Fine Watches

producing navigation instruments and high-end luxury watches for pilots almost parallel with the development of the aviation history. So it is not a secret that from time to time the company gives the second life to its most prominent historical fine watches from the Heritage collection – it is enough to remember Lindbergh Hour Angle luxury watch, the reissue of the Conquest model or special timepieces developed in the 1950s for pilots of Swissair. Not so long ago the brand again appealed to the 50th with its Avigation model. But this time the main theme of renewed nice watches for men has become “On Her Majesty's Service”. What does it mean?

Let's go back to the period when King Henry VII created the Office of Ordnance. In 1585, it was headed by Sir Philip Sidney better known as one of the most brilliant poets of the Elizabethan era. He proposed to use a simplified version of his own family crest (a heraldic figure of the arrow, the so-called pheon) as a sign to signify British military weapon purchased from the monarch's money. Thus, the “broad arrow” frequently appeared on all government property including high-end luxury watches ordered for officers' equipment. During the Second World War, the requirements of the Army to such timepieces increased considerably. In this way, the official suppliers at the time were only 12 Swiss luxury watch brands including Longines. So it was the incentive for the creation of the iconic Avigation model. Manufactured for the British Army in 1949 it has eventually served as the inspiration for the modern version of Longines Avigation.

The black aviation dial is marked by the textured white "broad arrow" - a sign of the Crown. It is surrounded by red 24-hour and white 12-hour scales with Arabic numerals - both complemented with luminescent hands of the corresponding color. It is the original Longines system of the 1950s contributing to the rapid distinction of time zones and navigation (the red hand may also function as a compass that alludes to the name of the model combining the words "aircraft" and "navigation"). Each piece of these brand new watches comes in a true pilot's 44 mm round-shaped stainless steel case equipped with anti-reflective scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, screw-down case back, and water resistance up to the depth of 30 meters. In addition, it features a central seconds hand and a date aperture located at the 3 o'clock position. And finally, the new high-end luxury watches, as well as the original version, are powered by an automatic L704 caliber with a GMT complication protected by the anti-magnetic Faraday cage. It beats at the frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour and provides 48 hours of power reserve. The Longines Avigation stainless steel watches (ref. L2.831.4.53.2) come with black alligator leather straps closed by classic buckles. However, we are sure that there are still a lot of sources of inspiration for the bright, spectacular reissues of the well-known Heritage designer watches in the archive of the famous Saint-Imier company. bekijk meer replicas horloge en franck muller crazy hours/ color dreams