Longines have once again looked into their archives, and have created a new version of a classic early 20th-century military watch. The result, Longines Heritage Military, is a distinctive watch with attractive looks created above all by the characteristic Arabic numerals. It’s close to the early pilot’s watch style.

The watch dating to 1918 (left), and the new Longines Heritage Military (right)

In the new piece (on the right in the photo above), Longines have changed quite a lot with respect to the original. The dial is black, which provides a more striking and coordinated look, matching the alligator leather strap. The hands are of a different style, one that is more typical of pilot’s watches, with more room for SuperLuminova. The subdial for seconds is comparatively smaller than on the original, and closer to the centre of the dial. This is of course due to the movement they have used. The arrangement would enable the 6 numeral to have been entirely visible, if it weren’t for the date window that they have added. The date function is always a bone of contention on this type of watch, many people would prefer it without, while manufacturers say that on some markets it’s an essential feature. The bezel is wider, and the lugs larger. The strap has a steel pin buckle.

On the original watch there is a small pushbutton at 4 o’clock. I would guess that it was a stop-seconds button so that watches could be synchronized, and also to provide a rudimental stopwatch function. The ETA 2895/2 movement on the Longines Heritage Military provides the stop seconds feature from the crown.

The two crowns are also different, flatter and snug against the caseband in the new watch. The original is a watch dating to 1918, currently in the Longines Museum at Saint-Imier.

The Longines Heritage Military has a steel case 44 mm in diameter, with the standard 3 bar/30 metres water resistance (no swimming or showering). Inside is the self-winding L615.3 movement, made by ETA, calibre 2895/2 running at 28,800 vibrations per hour, 4 Hertz, providing a power reserve of 42 hours. Solid caseback.

Price and reference

The Longines Heritage Military watch is reference L2.811.4.53.0/3, price €1,720.