The Longines Master Collection Chronograph 40mm L26294783
Welcome to another Watch Reviews 4U article.
Today's subject for review is from the Longines Master collection range and is the Bi-Compax 40mm diameter case L26294783 Chronograph with silver textured dial.
The Silver textured dial and Blue hands are outstanding
Harking back to the aviation and sports chronographs of the late 30's era, the Longines L26294783 is a modern incarnation of those glorious and now very hard to find, not to mention expensive old chronograph watches.
As part of the Longines Master Collection, this watch is as you would expect stylish and sufficiently retro in its appeal. Measuring in at 40mm across the case without the crown, it is a good size when compared to original vintage Longines wristwatches that were typically smaller, from say 32-38mm size case sizes, with a Chronograph of that era typically being towards the 38mm size, sometimes rarely as large as 40mm in size.
Understated but beautiful at the same time
Although I like the larger size of watch and own a 47mm case Longines Avigation, the 40mm size case is a good size and not too small, but about as small as I would like to go on a watch.
The one I am reviewing here is a one owner watch from an owner who purchased it new and it has been worn carefully and not very often.
At around 11.7mm thickness, it is thinner than a Valjoux movement Chrono
The case is stainless steel and beautifully finished with no sharp edges, the strap is a 21mm width strap at the lug pins and this is an unusual size, the strap is Alligator top hide with a calf hide lower and is slightly padded, having contrasting white stitching which looks very stylish. The case is waterproof to around 30m, but you're hardly likely to go swimming in it!
The simple but effective deployment mechanism
It has a deployment catch mechanism which also helps the watch from coming off your wrist and becoming damaged by being dropped if the strap comes undone.
The outer chapter ring is bevelled and silver finished showing the seconds intervals marked at 5 second intervals with numbers and straight bar markings for each second interval otherwise.
Even the watch Crown has a Longines logo too
at 11.7mm thickness it is not over deep
The dial is silver coloured and finished in a 'Barleycorn' texture, in a guilloche (engraved) pattern style. The date window is at 6 o'clock and is set from the first stop of the winding crown when pulled out.
The hour numerals are paint applied and stylish, thin but easy to read. The Longines flying hourglass emblem in Silver metal stands out nicely from the dial.
On the wrist it is large enough but not 'overwatch'
The Chronograph sub dials are finished with a radial groove pattern which stands out from the main dial texture nicely. The hands are all blue finished and look impressive, the running seconds are on the right hand small dial with the main 'second' hand being operational on the chronograph function only.
The chronograph mechanism is a separate mechanism under the dial and can be replaced and serviced separately to the rest of the watch. The chronograph dials are slightly oversized and eat into the 9 and 3 numbers which is quite common on watches with this layout. However, these sub dials do make the watch more eye-catching and add to the wow factor of the observer.
The ETA watch movement powering this fine watch is visible through the exhibition window on the rear of the watch, a feature that is quite prevalent on the Longines brand watches but not always specified on the 'retro' types as some 'Heritage' styled watches have plain or embossed stainless steel case backs, as the vintage watches used in the past.
The rear of the watch is beautiful too, with an engraved rotor
and on other parts of the movement.
The chronograph operates on the familiar two button type operation with the top button used to start and stop the chronograph and the lower push button used to reset the chronograph. It is the 'flyback' style of operation where the hands literally fly back to the vertical zero position.
Setting the watch is easy, the main winding crown is pulled out one stop to allow the date to be set and to two stops for hacking and time setting. Having the hacking ability is very useful for setting the watch time to a time signal or other source.
Presentation is everything -
from the wooden watch box to the comprehensive owner's manual
this is a top quality watch and care is taken to present it as such
Powering the mechanism from a stopped condition is done by either winding the crown clockwise about a dozen times or a gentle shake to wind the mechanism to get things started. The seconds hand moves very smoothly, a demonstration of how nicely made the movement is.
Presented in a white Longines outer box with a nice wooden presentation case, this is a quality watch without question.
Wearing the watch, I found it not heavy and very comfortable, you forget it is there, the strap was comfortable and the dial was easy to read. The chronograph start's top button is a bit hard to push in but probably many of the users won't even use this function!
It is a nicely understated watch but has a nice design and style about it with a decent size, I personally find 38mm case diameter and less watch sizes a bit too small, this one at 40mm sits nicely on the wrist and does not look 'lost'. It is a lot of watch for the money and a nice size for me.
A 42mm larger version is available for around £2650 at the time of writing.
The retail price is around £2400 GBP Sterling and at £1400 used for the 40mm version, mine at £1200 was a good buy for a 4 year old hardly worn watch. I looked at about four other similar ones and this was the best condition and had the box and papers, being from the original owner was a bonus too as was it had been hardly used.
Overall I am very pleased with the watch as it has the box and papers, plus it has had little use and signs of use and in better financial circumstances could easily be worth around £1700.
Wearing the watch it feels good without being obtrusively heavy for the size and is not too large for me.
It is a great quality piece and I think of the used ones I have seen, was probably one of the best that was available and at a competitive price, as the market at this time is usually around £1600 -1700 at least for one in this condition and with the original box and papers.
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