The Longines Avigation

With the Longines Avigation, a model dating from 1949 and produced for the British army has been brought right up to date. The name given to this design – a contraction of "aviation" and "navigation" – refers to a navigation system invented during the 1920s. With precision and excellence as two of its cornerstones, Longines has been involved in the development of many instruments and timepieces that have proved invaluable to pilots.

The circular steel case of this new model has the same diameter as the original one, namely 44 mm. It houses an L704 self-winding, mechanical calibre which shows the hours, minutes, seconds and date, as well as having a second time-scale. As in the 1949 model, the movement is encased in a soft iron plate and dome, which protect it from the effects of magnetic fields.

The black dial features large white numerals as well as a 24-hour scale in red. The stick hands on the main dial are rhodium-plated and the lozenge-shaped hand on the second time-scale is red. All the hands are coated with Super-LumiNova®. The upper segment of the dial bears a distinctive sign, namely a broad arrow, used in the United Kingdom to denote government property, including military equipment and therefore the watches used by the British army. The Longines Avigation is fitted on a black alligator strap with a buckle.

Photographs: Longines

Case

Shape: Round

Material: Stainless steel

Glass: Scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, with several layers of anti-reflective coating on the underside

Case back: Screw-down case back

Dimension: Ø 44.00 mm

Water resistance: Water-resistant to 3 bar

Movement and Functions

Caliber: L704.2, Self winding mechanical movement beating at 28'800 vibrations per hours and providing 48 hours of power reserve

Function: Hours, minutes, seconds and date. 24 hours hand with time zone mechanism.

Dial and Hands

Color: Black lacquered polished

Hours markers: Painted Arabic numerals, with Super-LumiNova ®

Hands: Silvered sandy hands, with Super-LumiNova ®

Bracelet

Material: Alligator strap

Color: Black

Buckle: With buckle