Longines Flagship

When we think about the best entrance into the world of vintage watch collecting, lots of watches come to mind, but quite a few look a lot like this Longines Flagship Automatic.

Today, mechanical watchmaking is largely a luxury exercise. Whether luxury because of price point or because it speaks to something out of the ordinary, that transcends bare necessity we all have our reasons for our love for the special and purpose-built.

With this mindset for collecting, it’s sometimes hard to remember that this wasn’t always the case. Prior to the advent of quartz, everyday people were all wearing mechanical watches. That’s both an exciting and a humbling realization.

This Longines Flagship Automatic is a great representation of vintage categorically. It has the versatile aesthetics of a great everyday piece, the utility of an automatic winding movement and a date window, and the nostalgia of a gorgeous Longines multi-link bracelet. But perhaps what’s coolest about this piece is that it comes from a time when everyone wore mechanical timepieces. This wasn’t a luxury product. This was a working-man’s watch who wanted quality and elegance.

This piece features a silvery dial, minimalist stick indexes, a framed date window, and beautiful straight lugs. It measures a comfortable 35mm in diameter with a signed crown, acrylic crystal, and seemingly unpolished case.

Manufactured in the 60s, this piece was intended to serve a purpose and do it with reliability and style. In the world of contemporary mass-production and mechanized manufacturing, to us here at Analog Shift, there’s something incredibly alluring about this type of watch, and perhaps that’s why this is such a great introduction to not only what makes for a great mechanical watch, but also what makes vintage the coolest segment in the watch community ...

... Sorry, someone has to say it!

Founded in 1832 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, Longines was at the sharp end of the watchmaking spear during the beginnings of modern horology. Constantly innovating, the company devised some of the most important wristwatches of the 20th century. Indeed, by 1919, Longines was the official supplier of timepieces for the International Aeronautical Federation, working to develop highly accurate navigation chronometers for many of the era's great aviation pioneers.

Most famous among Longines' forays into navigation pieces is the Lindbergh Hour Angle watch, a wristwatch designed by famed aviator Charles Lindberg in conjunction with the brand to allow aviators to calculate, with the help of a sextant and a known latitude, their exact geographic location.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, Longines also released a series of stunning time-only watches. Often referred to as “Calatravas” after the iconic model by Patek Philippe, most of these watches had thin stainless steel cases at 32-35mm, standard sizes for the time. Like the Patek Philippe Calatrava, these timepieces were known for their perfect proportions and the elegant simplicity of their designs.

But it wasn’t just time-only watches that drew the attention of clients the world over — particularly in the Americas: The company’s caliber 13ZN, first released in 1936, is widely regarded as one of the finest chronograph movements ever devised by any brand. This development would form the basis of work in sports timing, in which Longines developed timepieces with flyback functionality as well as 1/100th-second counters.

Today, Longines produces a remarkable number of watches annually — over 1.5 million of them — and rakes in over $1B in annual revenue through the sale of everything from simple quartz watches to sophisticated moon phases and chronographs. Incredibly, they produced their 51 millionth timepiece in 2019 and in some ways, it feels like the brand is just getting started.

Our Pledge

Analog:Shift stands behind the authenticity of our products in perpetuity.

Condition

Since our pieces are vintage or pre-owned, please expect wear & patina from usage and age. Please read each item description and examine all product images.

Warranty

We back each Analog:Shift vintage timepiece with a one-year mechanical warranty from the date of purchase.

International Buyers

Please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.

All of our watches include complementary insured shipping within the 50 states.

Most of our products are on hand and will ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. In some cases, watches will be shipped directly from one of our authorized partners.

We generally ship our products via FedEx, fully insured, within 5 business days of purchase. An adult signature is required for receipt of all packages for insurance purposes. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost. We are also happy to hand deliver your purchase in Manhattan or you may pick it up at our showroom.

Returns must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. A restocking fee may apply. Watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.

We welcome international buyers, please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.