A Beautiful Vintage Longines Time-Only Watch with an Explorer-Style Dial and Gilt Applied Furniture, Manual Wine, c.1956

Longines, a Swiss watch brand, has been synonymous with precision and elegance since its inception in 1832 by Auguste Agassiz in Saint-Imier. The name “Longines” comes from the long meadows (“longines” in French) where the company was founded. Over its nearly two centuries of history, Longines has established itself as a pioneer in both technology and design. In 1867, Longines manufactured its first movement, the 20A, which won an award at the Universal Exhibition in Paris for its innovative winding mechanism.

This marked the beginning of Longines’ legacy as a leading watchmaker. The brand gained international fame for creating the first chronograph movement (13ZN) in 1936 and later introduced the Flyback Chronograph in 1952. Longines also played a crucial role in sports timing; it introduced the first automatic timing system at a ski competition in Switzerland in 1933. This innovation laid down the foundation for modern sports timing.

What’s on Offer

This beautiful Longines time-only piece will be a joy to those who appreciate the ageing process of vintage watches, the dial has begun the tropicalisation process and presents a beautiful deep ivory colour with a spattering of patina. The dial has. relatively simple Explorer-style design with applied quarter Arabic numerals combined with gilt arrowhead hour indexes. The dial is completed with beautiful faceted leaf hands and an applied Longines emblem. The watch is powered by the Longines 12.68 ZS caliber, a manual movement with a power reserve of 41 hours. The case and lugs are crafted from polished stainless steel and are in nice shape. The watch is mid-size at 35mm and looks beautiful on the wrist and we are the sure the wearer will get many years of timekeeping.