HIGH-FLYING HERITAGE
Since 1832, Longines’ long history has been accompanied by an archive of classic timepieces that inspire models under the Heritage collection.
Longines Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935 and Longines Heritage Classic– Tuxedo recall the Swiss brand’s ties with aviation and the post-war carefree spirit of the late 1940s.
In the mid 1930s, the US Air Force ordered a watch that had to meet rigorous specifications in terms of aesthetics, durability and precision.
The design enabled pilots to read the indices without having to release the plane’s control yoke. To facilitate the handling of the watch in the air — even when wearing gloves — the fluted crown located at 12 o’clock allowed control of the different chronograph functions — power, stop and reset — by simply pressing the single push-piece.
Faithful to the original pilot’s watch, the Longines Avigation Watch Type A-7
1935 features a black dial shifted 40 degrees to the right, a train track chapter ring, large Arabic numerals and cathedral-type hands covered with Super-LumiNova for illumination.
The 41mm stainless steel watch is driven by a column-wheel chronograph movement.
The Longines Heritage Classic-Tuxedo has been released as a 40mm chronograph and a 38.5mm model.
The smaller timepiece features a matte black circle surrounding an opaline silver disc with a small seconds counter at 6 o’clock.
With blue accents, the chronograph has two subsidiary dials at 3 and 9 o’clock and a tachymetric scale.
Tuxedo refers to the black and white colour scheme, and how people dressed up and enjoyed good times, such as dancing to jazz music, after the end of World War II.