Longines Military Wristwatches

Military Longines

Longines is a Swiss luxury watchmaker founded in 1832 and based in the city of Saint-Imier, Switzerland. The winged hourglass logo was registered in 1889, making it the oldest active registered trademark. Known primarily for luxury watches, a Longines watch is also renowned for its rugged dependability as a military watch, but this brand of watch can be worn by anyone in numerous situations.

Why are military Longines collectable?

A true historical collectible, Longines watches in the military collection have marched with the Doughboys in WWI, flown with Czech pilots and the elite British Special Air Service (SAS) in WWII, and slogged through the jungles of Vietnam with the Green Berets. The military service of this Longines watch collection makes the Heritage line historically significant, along with other Longines Heritage watches.

What is a synthetic sapphire crystal?

Created by exposing aluminum oxide to high temperatures until it crystallizes, synthetic sapphire is structurally the same as natural sapphire and harder than any natural substance except diamond. It can only be scratched by diamonds. This means that the crystal face over the dial of a Longines watch is extraordinarily resistant to scratches and other types of damage that can make it difficult to see the dial clearly.

What makes a Longines military watch suitable for extreme use?

• The large case of the military collection of Longines watches is made of stainless steel.
• The hands and dials are equipped with Super-LumiNova, a photoluminescence that is non-radioactive and nontoxic.
• The synthetic material straps on the collection of Longines Heritage watches meet rugged armed forces requirements.

What is the difference between hand-wound movement and automatic movement?

• The hand-wound movement, also known as a manual movement, was the movement used in the original Longines military watch. As the movement runs down, it must be rewound by hand at regular intervals.
• The automatic movement that replaced the hand-wound movement style uses the wearer's everyday motions to mechanically keep a watch from the Heritage watch collection by Longines wound. The Longines self-winding movement stays wound for up to 42 hours after the wearer of the watch stops the movements that keep the watch winding.

What are Longines Heritage Watches?

The Longines Heritage Military watch is a replica vintage watch inspired by the trench watch of 1918. The trench watch was designed as a replacement for pocket watches, which were not practical for use on a battlefield. Instead, the trench watch was the first watch designed to be worn on the wrist.

• At 44 millimeters, the case on the is noticeably large.
• The original manual movement has been replaced by an automatic self-winding movement.
• A small date display has been added at the three o'clock position.
• The watch uses large, bold Arabic numerals coated with Super-LumiNova to help provide easier reading in a wide variety of light conditions.