Longines Sports - Collection Overview

Indeed Longines, like so many of the more venerable luxury watch brands, has a long and distinguished connection to the intrepid explorers and devil-may-care speedsters of years gone by.

As far as exploration goes, its connections go way back and it is inordinately proud of them. Just witness its recent reissue of the watch that Paul-Emile Victor took polar expeditioning just after the Second World War.

Its most famous brand endorser, though, and perhaps the most historically prolific inspiration for any watch brand, anywhere, is Charles Lindberg. Longines was around to time both ends of his 1927 transatlantic flight, and subsequently signed the aviator up to design the Hour Angle watch, which could also help flyers calculate their longitude.

On the sports front, Longines has been involved with gymnastics since 1912 and in tennis and skiing for almost as long. It also claims to have developed the first timing system linked to a photo finish, in 1952, and has a long-standing relationship with motor racing and crack Italian scuderia Ferrari in particular.

However, Longine’s Sports Collection is not about looking back. Witness the Conquest, a chronographic vision in steel and smooth black ceramic that looks impeccably modern while retaining its sporting credentials.

The Grande Vitesse, a line dedicated to the speed merchants of race track and auto circuit, air and water, featuring a 42mm case and a tachymeter on dial or bezel, is as much instrument as timepiece. But there are also subtle variations reflecting different target markets: the Cavalier has a chestnut dial with Arabic numerals, while the Racing Model’s dials come in black or dark brown, with the 12 o’clock in classic racing style.