Pre-Owned Longines Heritage Classic For Hodinkee 40990297/AS05435

Why we love it

In our opinion, Longines doesn't quite get the respect that they deserve.

That is not to say that they aren't held in high regard. But the level of innovation, craftsmanship, and design that Longines has demonstrated over the course of their history simply cannot be understated, and certainly extends to a wide variety of timepieces across the board.

We believe this to be the case not only for vintage pieces, but for contemporary watches as well.

Take this limited edition designed in collaboration with HODINKEE from this past year for example... It features a perfectly sized 38.5mm case, a multi-toned silver sector dial with a blued-steel handset, subsidiary seconds at the 6:00 position, a comfortable and stylish beads-of-rice bracelet with a signed clasp, and Longines' Calibre 893.4 automatic winding movement within.

Limited to just 500 pieces worldwide, this is a great opportunity to scoop up a complete package of one of the best Longines designs to come out in years!

In terms of elegant design and horological prowess, this watch packs an awful lot of bang for the buck!

The Story

Founded in 1832 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, Longines was at the sharp end of the watchmaking spear. Constantly innovating, they were a company to be compared with the other major Swiss manufactures. 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 probably the Lindberg Hour Angle watch, a wristwatch designed by Charles Lindberg in conjunction with the brand to allow aviators to calculate, with the help of a sextant and their latitude, their exact geographic location. 

From the 1930s to the 1950s, Longines also put out a series of simply 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 34mm, a standard size for the time. Like the Patek Philippe Calatrava, these watches by Longines were known for their perfect proportions and the elegant simplicity of their designs.