TIMELESS HEROES
The new Longines Spirit collection evokes the pioneering spirit of historical high-flyers who have continuously inspired us to explore beyond our limits, pursue new ambitions and believe in the impossible. Their stories are closely entwined with Longines. Here are the legends who inspired the Longines Spirit collection.
Amelia Earha
, Aviator
Wearing her Longines chronograph timepiece, Amelia Earha flew solo nonstop across the Atlantic in 1932. Thanks to her intrepid spirit, she succeeded in fighting icy winds and mechanical failures, becoming the first woman to connect the continents. Prior to that, in 1928, she had already become the first woman to ever fly over the Atlantic, as a co-pilot.
Elinor Smith, Aviator
While flying at 30,000 in 1931, American Elinor Smith blacked out. She was trying to break a record, when her plane dropped towards the ground. Smith woke up at the last minute and managed to land safely. Ten days later, she soared even higher and set a new record at over 32,000 , relying on her trusted Longines watch. A er becoming the youngest licensed pilot in the world at just 16, Smith set multiple solo endurance, speed and altitude records in her lifetime.
Paul-Emile Victor, Explorer
Victor spent seven weeks crossing the Greenland ice cap in 1936. Even in the harshest weather conditions, his Longines chronometers continued to work uninterrupted, allowing him to calculate longitude accurately. “These watches made the difference between failure and success,” said the explorer who devoted his whole life to polar expeditions.
Howard Hughes, Pilot and Entrepreneur
Hughes’ round-the-world flight record was timed by Longines in 1938.
The eccentric American was famous for his twin passions: aviation and film. He is the best-known user of the Longines Siderograph, an on-board device for celestial navigation that was patented by Longines. The crew in Howard Hughes’ aircra relied on Longines chronometer watches, set to Greenwich Civil Time and to Greenwich Sidereal Time, and wore Longines Second-Se ing watches for observation.