Arms-On With the Elegant But Accessible Longines Presence Heritage

The Heritage assortment is, certainly, one in every of my favourites within the Longines vary, and for a few years I’ve loved sharing my admiration each time the subject got here up. The historical past of this really nice model dates again to 1832, with huge archives to dive into. Thus, for the Heritage Assortment, there are many pleasant fashions to copy or function inspiration to please at the moment’s prospects. The Longines Présence Heritage, a barely neglected mannequin (to say the least), honours the model’s previous and current with this pretty reference in rose gold. And there are a lot of issues to speak about relating to the design, however it’s additionally top-of-the-line worth proposition fashions the model has to supply…

One of many particularities that contribute to my appreciation for Longines is the conferences I had through the years with Walter von Kanel, who labored on the firm for over 30 years earlier than retiring from the publish of president on the age of 79. I might say he was liable for educating me to understand mass-produced, accessible fashions. Completely different timepieces created media hype at the moment, just like the de Grisogono Meccanico DG or the Haldimann H9 Discount. The Coronel – this was von Kanel’s nickname, and he was a army coronel for actual – favored to repeat that “good high quality timepieces needs to be accessible to anybody with an trustworthy job“, instantly launching into citing the worth of Longines’ collections. And so, the historical past or the historic fashions of the Saint-Imier manufacture (Longines celebrated its One hundred and ninetieth-anniversary final yr), the standard and accessibility are the important thing speaking factors to explain the Longines Présence Heritage watch, which we had for our hands-on session.

With balanced proportions – 38.5mm diameter and 9mm thick – and a sublime and really readable dial, this watch is a pretty vintage-style timepiece that’s not a reissue of a historic mannequin however combines a number of components drawn from Longines’ early and mid-Twentieth century watches. I consider that the polished spherical case is ideal for the Présence Heritage’s traditional aesthetics and the design of its dial. It might be good to have a bigger crown; the prevailing one is tough to seize, a problem, however a extra appreciable element is more likely to destroy the looks concord.

The case with a clear caseback gives 30m water-resistance, however with this timepiece, you’ll by no means search water actions. I used to be about to say the ballroom and boardroom because the probably venues to take the Présence Heritage out, however the leisurely stress-free outside is an efficient alternative, too, particularly for those who go for a enjoyable NATO strap.

Whereas the case, with its delicate options, doesn’t current any surprises, the restrained dial is worthy of consideration. Silvery-white relying on the sunshine, with stylised painted Arabic numerals (with an early Nineteenth-century vibe), the dial is exemplary, with a three-dimensional depth due to the recessed sub-dial for the small seconds over the “6”. One might argue that the place of the small seconds isn’t superb, however at the very least it doesn’t minimize into the observe or a numeral.

Longines decreased the watch data to the naked minimal with the indication of hours, minutes, and seconds with elegant blued Breguet-style palms and, luckily, didn’t implement the date operate, which might have shattered the attraction of the dial. The one written data is the outdated Longines brand under midday and the “Swiss Made” inscription under 6 o’clock. The railroad minute observe completes the looks dial-side. I can not think about some other aspect to enhance the attraction of this rose gold traditional.

The see-through window on the again reveals the automated L609.3 calibre – good high quality, non-exclusive to Longines, ETA 2895-2 primarily based motion. The agency often makes use of L609 – it was chosen for one in every of my favourites, the Heritage 1945, to call one. It has an sufficient – as much as 50 hours – energy reserve and beats at a frequency of 28,800 vibrations per hour. The motion is adorned with Côtes de Genève and perlage on the bottom plate; the rotor is engraved with the Longines brand. Frankly, I would like a stable caseback to consolidate the gold presence and really feel of this watch, however I perceive the selection of transparency; no difficulty right here.

One of many speaking factors of this Longines Présence Heritage I talked about earlier was its accessibility. The watch is listed on the Longines web site and sells for EUR 4,010. Certainly, EUR 3,990 would look higher, however nonetheless, there are usually not many watches with the identical traits and interesting design on supply from the longest-living manufacturers of this magnitude – in rose gold circumstances, that’s. The value, nevertheless, is simply a part of the attractiveness, and this Longines piece could make somebody completely satisfied for a very long time. Classic high quality is all the time en vogue.

For extra data, please go to www.longines.com.