Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
There was a lot of excitement around the Longines Spirit collection when it launched in 2021, and the enthusiasm for this vintage-inspired line of sports watches has only grown during the intervening years. The collection, which now numbers more than 60 variants of the Spirit, Spirit Chronograph, Spirit Zulu Time, and Spirit Flyback, combines Longines’ heritage as a pioneering maker of 20th-century aviation instruments with its 21st-century expertise with movements and materials.
These factors, plus a highly competitive price range from $3,200 for the original stainless steel model to over $6,000 for top-end titanium chronographs make the Spirit line one of the most appealing propositions in the modern sports watch arena. This month, Longines ratchets up that appeal yet again with the release of two new editions, the first Spirit Zulu Time in titanium and two new Spirit Flyback models with gold-accented cases.
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
The new Longines Spirit Zulu Time is a modern 39mm GMT watch that combines the durability and lightness of a titanium case and bracelet with a design steeped in history. As any student of aviation timekeeping history will know, Longines patented the first pocket watch displaying two time zones, and in 1925 migrated this technology into a line of wristwatches. The new Longines Spirit Zulu Time is a descendent of those watches (the name refers to the letter Z, an indicator of universal time used by aviators and sailors) but aside from its name and a few vintage flourishes on its dial and hands, it’s a totally modern watch in every way. Powered by the Longines GMT calibre L844.4, it’s equipped with a silicon balance spring that makes it ten times more resistant to magnetic fields than the ISO 764 reference standard, with a power reserve of up to 72 hours and chronometer certification from COSC.
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
Longines Adds 18k Gold & Titanium to Its Newest Spirit Models
The new editions of the Spirit Flyback, meanwhile, push the top-end of the Spirit line slightly higher thanks to cases crafted from steel and 18k gold. In much the same way as the Spirit Zulu Time, the Spirit Flyback builds on a legacy that began when Longines produced its first flyback chronograph in 1925. Named for a seconds counter that “flies back” to zero and restarts with a single press of a pusher (thus allowing for successive timing of different stages of a flight) flyback chronographs were a major improvement in the navigational technology of the day. New for this edition are dials in rich shades of green and brown with colour-matched ceramic bezels, matching leather straps, and accents in either 18k yellow or rose gold.
The Longines calibre L791.4 carries over from previous Spirit Flyback editions, with a silicon balance spring, a power reserve of up to 68 hours, and a COSC certification. The watch also features a transparent case back that reveals a gold oscillating weight engraved with the Longines Spirit collection’s globe emblem. These gilded details make the new Spirit Flyback models the most luxurious additions to the Spirit collection thus far. Given the Spirit’s popularity and unfettered growth over the last three years, however, they surely won’t be the last.
