Inspired by the Longines spirit of exploration, the Swiss luxury watchmaker has released a new 18-piece collection, and you can shop the collection exclusively at Grahams Jewellers.
The collection captures the spirit of aviation and highlights the brand's ongoing and historic connection with the industry.
In a time when fewer people are flying than almost ever before, the collection raises some well-needed awareness for the struggling aviation industry.
The collection also highlights and honours some of the legendary pioneers who placed their trust in Longines. It celebrates their lives and shares their inspiring stories.
The Pioneers Behind Longines Spirit
In 1932, Amelia Earhart embarked on a solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic from Canada to France.
Two hours into her flight, she ran into trouble and had to divert to Northern Ireland because ice started to form on the wings of her aircraft.
Strapped to Earhart's wrist was a Longines chronograph timepiece which she later credited for its reliability and accuracy in times of need.
In 1936, Paul- Emile Victor spent seven weeks crossing the Greenland ice cap with a Longines chronometer.
He set off on the journey with two scientists to gather information so they could better understand the physics of the earth.
Their equipment included three Longines chronometers and fifteen highly accurate Longines wristwatches.
Victor, who devoted his whole life to polar expeditions, said the technology was the difference between failure and success because the chronometer allowed him to calculate longitude accurately.
In 1931, another female aviation pioneer embarked on a life-changing journey with a trusted Longines watch.
Elinor Smith shattered the women's altitude record when she flew a six-seat Bellanca up to 27,419 ft.
As she approached the desired altitude, she suddenly blacked out and only managed to wake up at the last minute to land safely.
During the whole ordeal, Smith noted that the Longines watch functioned perfectly even under the most extreme conditions.
In 1938, American pilot Howard Hughes embarked on a journey to circumnavigate the globe and it took him just 3 days, 19 hours, and 14 minutes.
How do we know this? Well, the entire journey was timed by a Longines.
The crew in Hughes' aircraft relied on Longines chronometer watches, set to Greenwich Civil Time and to Greenwich Sidereal Time.
They also wore Longines Second-Setting watches for observation.
Longines Spirit Collection Features
It doesn't matter which Longines Spirit Collection piece you are purchasing, each watch boasts some impressive features.
The range is well rounded and caters for almost everyone. It offers a range of dial, strap, and size options with a main focus on three cores ' the 40mm, 42mm and 42mm chronograph.
All of the watches are available with a black, silver or blue dial, and are also available on either a steel bracelet or leather strap.
They all offer a mix of classic heritage design cues and modern touches that cater to everyone's desires.
Across the collection, the cases are made from stainless steel and are all well balanced across the different models.
All of the watches are comfortable enough to be worn daily because they aren't overly tall and won't restrict your wrist.
Whilst there are some subtle finishing differences between all of the watches, they all have a lot of visual depth.
The dials feature the word 'chronometer' and five stars which Longines has used throughout their history to indicate watches of superior quality.
Regardless of the model, you can expect an accurate chronometer-certified automatic movement with a decent 60 hours of power reserve and other standard luxury watch features like ultra-tough sapphire crystals.
And of course, like any good watch, you will receive 100m water resistance so you can enjoy surfing swimming, snorkelling, sailing and water sports to your heart's content.
The only difference between the features comes in the chronograph model where it has a screw-down pusher at the 10 o'clock position.
The Longines Spirit Collection consists of:
L: LONGINES SPIRIT AUTOMATIC MEN'S WATCH
M: LONGINES SPIRIT L38104736 AUTOMATIC CHRONOMETER STAINLESS STEEL MEN'S WATCH
R: LONGINES SPIRIT CHRONOGRAPH AUTOMATIC MEN'S WATCH
Still Not Convinced?
Fair enough, but we can assure you, this collection is not one to be missed.
They are attractive watches that offer plenty of awesome features, value, and wrist appeal!
Longines' Vice-President of Marketing, Matthieu Baumgartner highlighted why everyone needs to embrace the pioneering spirit.
''We found that maybe it was not only about elegance and that what was behind this collection and this era was the pioneering spirit,'' he said.
''And that spirit lives on. It's part of our history, it's part of the history and the early days of aviation and exploration. But we are also convinced that the pioneering spirit still resonates today for young people. Of course, it is different than what it used to be in the 1920s or the 1930s.
"The Spirit is not really an interpretation of a specific model from our museum or our archive ' it's not part of the heritage segment.
"You look at all the different aesthetic and technical elements of this watch, and they're inspired by multiple watches. This is really important and why the Spirit is genuinely a new collection."
What are you waiting for? Shop the Longines Spirit Collection exclusively at Grahams Jewellers today.
