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I may not be Charles Lindbergh, but it’s a cool perk for us terrestrial dwellers and proves to be more than a gimmick. While my left hand rested on the steering wheel, the dial perfectly aligned with my viewpoint. Today’s buyers can enjoy a similar benefit while driving. The elephant in the room, of course, is the 40-degree twist of the dial, but as mentioned earlier, it was designed for pilots reaching for the controls. While on the topic of differences, multiple fonts are used throughout the dial, but everything remains surprisingly balanced and cohesive. The sub-dial hands differ from each other, with a leaf-shaped hand for the counter and a simple baton-shaped hand for the seconds. The blued-steel cathedral hands are filled with paint matching the hour numerals, while the central chronograph seconds hand is blue. Within the seconds sub-dial is a date window with black print on a white background, and although I appreciate its function, the dial would aesthetically benefit without it. Two sub-dials sit at 12 and 6 o’clock, with a 30-minute counter at the top (with a vintage serif font printed every three minutes) and small seconds at the bottom. A chronograph seconds track spans the outermost perimeter with numerals printed every five seconds. The dial is polished white lacquer with oversized painted Arabic numerals with a faux patina. The case has a nice weight to it and is water-resistant to 30 metres. The silhouette of a plane is engraved on the back with LONGINES stretched across the wings and a sunburst pattern radiating towards the edge.
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Although I prefer exhibition casebacks, especially with a decorated chronograph movement, the solid cover is again period correct. A domed sapphire crystal with an anti-reflective coating covers the dial while the caseback is solid steel. To keep things simple, the crown moves in only one position to set the time with a separate (flush) pusher to set the date at 7 o’clock. A single pusher sits within the crown and I found it required enough pressure to engage to never accidentally start the timer after setting the watch. The 316L stainless steel case is period correct with round edges and a full-mirror polish, and a large onion crown at 12 o’clock (or about 1:30, if the dial wasn’t angled). The newest edition has a restrained 41mm diameter and is 14mm in height (lug to lug is 49mm). The watch is based on a model released in 1935 (hence the name) with oversized Arabic numerals and a porcelain dial. The brand previously released the Avigation Type A-7 Limited Edition (Avigation stands for aviation and navigation) with a large diameter and limited count of 100 pieces, but the latest reissue tones things down a bit with a more manageable size and standard availability. Louis and later supplied pilot’s watches for the U.S. Longines partnered with Charles Lindbergh as the official timekeeper of his historic flight across the Atlantic in the Spirit of St. The watch that served as an inspiration for the present reviewed piece – photo by Antiquorum The company is now an official timekeeper for the French Open, FIS Alpine Ski World Cup and Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, among many other sports. The initial goal was to become a major force in the world of sports, and Longines began timing horse races and other equestrian events in the late 19 th century. Its first chronograph movement (calibre 20H) debuted in 1878 and like the Avigation Type A-7 1935, it was a mono-pusher that utilized a single button at the crown for all chronograph functions (start, stop and reset). The brand registered its logo in 1889, a winged hourglass, which remains the oldest, unchanged, active trademark in the world. Longines was founded in 1832 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland. And while the Avigation BigEye had a lot of personality, this one’s just dripping with character. Although the dial could simply be straightened within the case, there was a purpose for this unconventional aesthetic as it provided a direct view when a pilot’s arm was outstretched to the controls (and they often wore it on the underside of the wrist). Army Air Corps, it appears as if the crown were fitted at 12 o’clock with the case then rotated 40 degrees to move it away from the lugs (it would clearly obstruct the strap). Modelled after a 1930s Type A-7 for the U.S. The company’s Heritage collection pays homage to many more vintage pieces and the Avigation Type A-7 1935 is a quirky one with design elements to help pilots read the time and operate the chronograph quicker. The 2019 Rado Captain Cook Limited Edition, Seiko’s Prospex Diver 300m Hi-Beat SLA025 and Longines’ own Avigation BigEye are recent examples (and let’s not overlook the brand’s Legend Diver). It’s quite common for brands to reissue watches from a bygone era, especially military and dive watches.