If luxury watchmaking has been about one thing in the past decade or so it’s been rebirth. Reimagined, reborn, reinvented, rereleased; every kind ‘re’ under the Sun has been tagged onto some new model or other; are the days of contemporary watch design dead?
Perhaps but seeing as this is what the industry continues to serve up; at least for the collectors market whose appetite for such watches remains as ravenous as ever, than of course – keep ‘em coming!
Speaking of which, Longines famously re-released the LEGENDS Diver back in 2007 of which there are now a ton of new size and color iterations. It has joined the pantheon of loved and lauded reeditions that include Tudor’s BB 58, Oris’ Divers SIXTY-FIVE etc. etc.
But even the Legends Diver has become an almost too familiar face in Longines’ diver’s lineup, and you know what they say about familiarity. Well, all I’m saying is, it’s about time for some fresh blood.
But what about the SKINDIVER, I hear you say. What about it? I don’t think it sold very well so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s put to bed but now we have something new to sit alongside the Legends Diver we have a beautiful cushion-cased diver so let’s find out about it.
Longines has launched a new model called the Ultra-Chrono that is more accurate than a chronometer thanks to a high-frequency movement that ticks away at 10 beats a second.
The Ultra-Chrono’s new high-frequency movement guarantees higher precision and profits from Longines’ rich heritage of producing high-beat movements which it has done for more than a century!
Inspired by the OG Longines Ultra-Chron Diver of 1968, the new model reflects the iconic design codes of its ancestor and is highly resistant to shocks, scratches and water-pressure. Sounds like the perfect diver!
In 1968, Longines launched the Ultra-Chron Diver, the first dive watch to be equipped with a high-frequency movement. At the time, Longines had already established itself as a pioneer in high-frequency technology.
In fact, the winged hourglass brand created its first high-frequency timekeeping device to measure precisely 1/10th of a second as early as in 1914.
In 1959, Longines developed the first high-beat movement for a wristwatch, an observatory chronometer that set new records in terms of accuracy.
The new Longines Ultra-Chron is inspired by the aesthetic codes as well as the professional dive features of the 1968 model.
It features a unidirectional rotating bezel as well as a screwed-in case-back and crown. It also offers great legibility and is water-resistant to 30 bar (300 meters) but unless a lume shot proves otherwise, it would appear that shock, horror of horrors they forgot to lume the seconds hand!
So unfortunately this could never be considered a certified diver’s watch. It’s a bit silly, really because if you look at the 1968 OG model (at the bottom of this very informative post) it has a lumed arrowhead seconds hand.
I digress, the Longines Ultra-Chron’s instantly recognizable 43mm cushion-shaped, Stainless steel case is also fitted with a diver’s bezel boasting a Sapphire inlay with a luminescent graduations, just like fellow Swatch brand, Blancpain introduced for their new FF and later for Omega’s SM 1200.
Meanwhile the Ultra-Chron’s eye-catching black grained dial features a white minute track with alternating Super-LumiNova®-coated batons and rhodium plated appliques.
The original Ultra-Chron logo is proudly applied on the dial and embossed on the case-back. The new Longines Ultra-Chron has a distinctive red minute hand which, like the hour hand, is coated with Super-LumiNova® for optimal legibility.
At the heart of the new Longines Ultra-Chron is the caliber L836.6, a high-frequency “in house” movement.
Btw a watch can only be referred to as "high-frequency" when it is fitted with a movement whose balance-spring oscillates at 36,000 beats per hour (10 beats every second).
These types of movements of which Longines pioneered in 1914 (to time 1/10th of a second) and 1916 (to time 1/100th of a second) offer improved precise timekeeping.
From 1959 onwards, Longines made use of the high-beat-movements to increase the accuracy of its watches.
Thanks to a reduction of the disruptive effects of shocks or of changes in the position of the movement, the high-beat movement proves to be more stable.
The accuracy of the Longines Ultra-Chron is confirmed by its certification as an “ultra chronometer” by TIMELAB, an independent testing laboratory in Geneva. This designation goes beyond the usual “chronometer” certification.
The “ultra-chronometer” qualification process tests the watch head and subjects the finished product to a 15-day testing period during which the watch is submitted to a series of tests at three temperatures, 8 °C, 23 °C and 38 °C, confirming that it meets the strict precision criteria (ISO 3159:2009 standard).
The Longines Ultra-Chron is available with a choice of a leather strap or a steel bracelet and it is delivered in a special presentation box containing a black NATO strap crafted from recycled material.
While it is a special re-edition watch, it is also part of the Longines production series of watches and so is not limited. It has a Swiss MSRP of 3’500CHF.
Thoughts? So they forgot to lume the seconds hand, no biggie but apart from that this is an outstanding new offering from Longines.
I mean who doesn’t enjoy the virtues of a cushion case and what a stunning dial. And that Ultra-Chron logo is so cool and of course the movement, better than a chronometer!
It's top marks from me but what do you think?
Nice, for a desk diver. But the lume is disappointing. 😕
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ReplyDeleteThat arrow seconds hand you are showing in the final pic is non-original. Original seconds hands were plain like the reissue. The lack of fitted endlinks on the bracelet of a CHF3500 (or any watch nowadays) is poor - looks a generic bracelet someone has added. Not sure the stretched case is a good move - the 'squatness/squareness' of the original was one of its main features which stood out.
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