Longines Spirit, “The Pioneer Spirit Lives On”

Launched to celebrate the biggest figures in exploration, Spirit is the latest collection presented by Longines. What do these adventurers have in common? They all wore watches by the winged hourglass brand.

Amelia Earhart, all alone

Amelia Eahart bought her first plane in 1921, at age 24. In 1928, she became the first woman to fly solo across North America and back. Four years later, the young American pilot reached Northern Ireland after a 14-hour 56-minute flight, thus becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Her Longines chronograph accompanied her as a navigation instrument.

Elinor Smith takes to the skies

“I knew from age 6 that I wanted to fly", stated Elinor Smith. She made her first solo flight in 1926, at age 15. In 1931, she accomplished the feat of flying higher than anyone had before, reaching 9,929 metres. She asserted that her Longines watch worked perfectly, even under the most extreme conditions.

Paul-Emile Victor braves the extremes

In 1936, the scientist and explorer Paul-Emile Victor spent 49 days in Greenland at temperatures that dropped as low as 40°C below zero. “I fondly remember the three Longines chronometers I took with me to calculate longitude during our crossing of the Greenland ice desert in 1936. They were the difference between success and failure”, he declared at the end of his expedition.

Howard Hughes against the clock

In 1938, on a flight timed by Longines, Howard Hughes broke the record for the fastest round-the-world flight. His feat took 3 days, 19 hours and 14 minutes. At the most difficult times, at night or over the ocean, he relied on his Longines navigation chronometer to determine his plane's position.

The new Longines Spirit collection

In honour of these pioneers, this year Longines is unveiling a collection that combines innovation with the spirit of adventure. In the brand’s words, this new collection “is designed in the same manner as the timepieces of the famous pioneers as they conquered the air, land and sea relying on their Longines time instruments".

Inspired by pilot’s watches, the watches in this line are fitted exclusively with self-winding movements (L888.4 and L688.4) with silicon hairsprings. The movements build up power reserves of 64 and 60 hours, respectively. The Longines Spirit models come in a three-hand/calendar version (40 and 42 mm) and a chronograph (42 mm) and are available with a matte black, grained silver or blue sunburst dial. All of them are chronometer certified by the COSC.