Vintage and pre-owned luxury are thriving like never before. In the watch industry, the pre-owned market is booming, as collecting vintage watches is more popular than ever and has become a sign of expertise. Originally limited to auction houses, pawn shops, and a few watch dealers, the pre-owned luxury watch market has dramatically changed over the past few years. It has become professional and attracted strategic investors. Several brands have recently entered this market. Longines is the latest to launch its Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) program, introducing the 'Collector’s Corner' at the opening of its new boutique on Rue du Rhône in Geneva. This is where beautifully restored vintage watches are showcased.
Most watch brands that have developed CPO programs so far mainly focus on the luxury segment. However, Longines stands out with its ability to offer truly interesting models, considering the brand's exceptionally rich heritage, at (relatively) very affordable prices. The first selected watches are priced between 2,500 and 12,500 Swiss francs, which seems very fair given the quality of the watches and the work done. The idea is also to offer watches whose prices are relatively comparable to those of current Longines collections, so do not expect (at least for now) to find one of the sought-after 13ZN chronographs, which sometimes sell at auctions for over 100,000 Swiss francs.
All the 'pre-owned' watches offered for sale in the Longines Collector’s Corner were originally manufactured more than 30 years ago and are equipped with in-house movements - thus, they are more about vintage watches than classic pre-owned models. These watches have been selected, restored, and certified by the Longines Heritage workshop and come with a two-year warranty on the work performed. This has been made possible by Longines maintaining a significant stock of original components and having the internal capabilities to restore or reproduce parts.
We have chosen a few examples among the first watches offered in the Longines Collector’s Corner that will allow you to form your own opinion.
LONGINES FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH 30CH (1965)
This beautiful 1965 manual winding chronograph with a flyback function is presented in a 38mm round case with mushroom-shaped pushers. The silvered dial features two well-proportioned registers, a blue tachymetric scale, and a red telemetric scale. The 30CH movement, introduced in 1947, is a successor to the legendary 13ZN caliber. This 29.80mm manual winding chronograph with a column wheel and flyback function operates at 18,000 vibrations per hour.
Quick Facts: Reference 7413 - 38mm steel case - Hesalite crystal - Silvered sunray dial with applied gold faceted indexes - Manual-winding caliber 30CH - Flyback chronograph - CHF 12,250
LONGINES PILOT’S WATCH MAJETEK (1938)
The so-called Longines Majetek are large pilot wristwatches that the brand produced for Czech military pilots. They were usually engraved with the inscription "Majetek Vojenské Spravy," meaning "property of the army." The 40mm cushion-shaped steel case features a rotating fluted bezel with a radium index for setting the time. A large 24mm leather strap attaches to distinctive lugs. The dial is covered with black enamel, and the cathedral hands are filled with radium.
Quick Facts: Reference 3582 - 40mm steel case - Black enamel dial, cathedral hands with luminescent radium - Caliber 15.94 with manual winding and bimetallic balance - CHF 6,150
LONGINES FLAGSHIP IN ROSE GOLD (1958)
This elegant dress watch is presented in a 35mm 18-carat rose gold case with an elegant thin profile (8.5mm) and a domed Hesalite crystal. The stylish dial combines applied indexes and numbers, along with an applied Longines signature and logo. The watch is powered by the manual-winding caliber 30L.
Quick Facts: Reference 6827 - 35mm 18-carat rose gold case, Hesalite crystal - Silvered brass dial with applied gold indexes and Arabic numerals, dauphine hour and minute hands in rose gold and a subsidiary seconds hand - Manual-winding caliber 30L - CHF 3,895
LONGINES SUPER WATER-RESISTANT DIVER FLYBACK CHRONOGRAPH (1969)
This quirky chronograph is presented in a 43mm x 41mm cushion-shaped case that was designed to withstand water pressure up to 200m. This reverse chronograph is equipped with a second hand featuring a "Vernier" type graduated scale at the end, allowing readings accurate to tenths of a second. The movement is the Longines 30CH (see more details above).
Quick Facts: Reference 8225 - Stainless steel case 43mm, mineral glass - Matte black dial with luminescent square indexes, hour, minute, and chronograph functions with a yellow Vernier scale for reading 1/10 second - Manual-winding caliber 30CH - CHF 6,990
LONGINES RECTANGULAR ART DECO WATCH (1937)
These elegant Art Deco style watches were manufactured in 1937. They are presented in a 19mm x 29mm rectangular steel case. The movement is a shaped manual-winding caliber (26.00mm x 17.80mm) Longines 25.173.
Quick Facts: Reference 3804 - Steel case 19mm x 29mm, mineral glass - Black brass dial with Arabic numerals, minute hand, and white Longines signature - Manual-winding caliber 25.173 - CHF 3,250
The Longines Collector’s Corner watches can be purchased at the new Longines boutique at 40 Rue du Rhône in Geneva. The watches are also presented online, but can only be purchased at the boutique. For more information, please visit www.longines.com.