Watch reviews 4U - Longines Heritage Conquest Automatic L16454524 'Maxi' 40mm watch

                                         

Longines Heritage Conquest Automatic L16454524 'Maxi' 40mm watch

A review of the black dial Longines Conquest Automatic 40mm 'Maxi' watch

Longines Heritage Conquest - 

a retro design, but new take on the 1954 original

Longines has produced another super looking watch, this time for their Heritage collection. The Conquest Automatic design harks back to a 1954 original from Longines. So, how does it fare against today's other Longines offerings? Nicely. And against the offerings of similarly pegged Swiss watch companies it is now gaining new fans with friendly pricing and great style.

                        A 1950's original Longines shows the Conquest's heritage roots

The Conquest is available in silver dial, cream dial and black dial versions, each variant has the gold dial triangular markers and gold accents. I think that the black dial version is the most striking of the model options as the gold furniture stands out. I quite like the Bauhaus inspired 'minimal' modern look of the 1950's Longines designs including this one, which is why I was drawn to this attractive piece. 

I wasn't intending to buy this but it was available at a good price. I did look at some Tissot Visodate watches recently but they were a bit of let down as they had no antireflective coating to the glass.

This old Goldsmiths advert for the Conquest shows the retail price - 

new Longines Heritage watches of a similar level I have seen priced around £2950

The watch reviewed here is the black dial 40mm Conquest, it was a one owner from new off  eBay and in as new condition, but with an after market strap fitted, no issue as I have a new 20mm Longines genuine strap to hand, although this strap as on the watch is quite adequate. 

Comparison of 40mm case Longines Conquest and 1832 from the Heritage collection -

this new take on Retro styling on some models is strengthening the Longines brand

Originally priced at £750 on eBay this Conquest was purchased for £600. It was something I looked at and considered for sometime before buying after deciding against a Tissot Visodate, I am no stranger to the retro Longines, my first in 1993 being an old 1958 Longines Silvergines which I still have. The Silvergines at c.35mm is a bit small but is a nice retro piece.

I saw some youtube videos on the Conquest which showed the watch from all angles and I decided that this would be a nice addition to my Longines box! I was certainly not disappointed with the purchase, it is in fantastic condition and looks really stylish and better than the photos.

                       The Conquest dial up close - a triumph of minimal elegance

                     The hands and dial feature small but functional lume sections

The Conquest model here is available in c. 37mm and a 40mm sizes, the smaller case size Conquest at 37mm has the 19mm strap and an acrylic crystal fitted, the acrylic harks back to the originals from 1954.The 40mm has a 20mm width strap. Ladies may prefer the smaller size watch, it is not a heavy or thick case watch so will suit a smaller wrist. It is weight wise not obtrusive and is light on the wrist.

          The Conquest Silver dial version also looks fantastic with the Gold features

The 40mm 'Maxi' size watch as the Longines brochure refers to it as, has the sapphire crystal fitted which cuts the reflection back. All have a highly polished 316L stainless steel case. The 37mm case might suit the smaller wrist, I prefer the 40mm size as this size sits well on my wrist and is about as small as I usually go on a watch, the exception being my old Japan Seiko 5's at c.37mm!

This is the 37mm version of the Conquest -

a typical size more akin to the 35mm of the 1950's originals

The Conquest is quite slim at around 9mm thickness and is not heavy, making it a great watch to wear all day. The stylish design allows it to wear as a work or leisure timepiece and also follows the Longines gift of making the watch look more expensive than it actually cost! The superb styling makes the Conquest equally at home in the office, at the Races or at dinner. It is truly a watch for all seasons and for everyone.

                                           

The classy enamelled button detail in the centre of the rear case -

a tasteful and striking part of the design - a glass exhibition panel 

around the centre button would have been a nice touch in my opinion.

The rear of the case is solid, unlike most of the Longines watches of today which have glass exhibition backs, the cover is topped off with a very nice looking enamelled centre button in the case back. A really good touch in my opinion would have been to have had a partial exhibition back in the area between the flats on the case base and the central emblem. There is nothing nicer than to see the watch movement and the Longines ones are so nicely finished.

 

The slim watch case is topped by a Longines Logo Crown - 

The Crown's proportional size is perfectly in scale to the case

Power for the watch is provided by an ETA movement as you would expect from Longines and although some might say that the ETA movement used in this watch is not the highest grade, it is very functional and does the job with a lovely smooth seconds hand which moves without any great jerkiness always a good sign. 

Although these Conquest model watches are competitively priced, they are great value for money. They deliver a good retro Longines look with a modern movement and great style without breaking the bank, secondhand they can be very reasonably priced.

The Gold appointments against the Black dial really shows off the watch to perfection.

The small date aperture above the logo is quirky but functional -

it doesn't please all but it gives the watch its own character.

Some might suggest that the case should have been gold plated to match the dial furniture, but I think that the design's style works on all the versions.

Overall, this is a very nicely designed and well thought out watch design. The design is very nicely done, it is not heavy and is very nicely finished. It has classy retro elegance and would suit the man or lady about town. Definitely a good buy.

Watch Reviews 4U - The Longines Grande Vitesse Chronograph 42mm L3.636.4

                                           

The Longines Grande Vitesse Chronograph L3.636.4 42mm size

The Chronograph Sub Dials are much in the style of car instrument gauges

The choice of Chronograph watches from Longines is sizeable, given that the majority of watches that Longines sells are mainly the simpler style day and date watches and the proportion of watches sold in terms of Chronographs are far less by comparison. 

A leather strap version of the Grande Vitesse is also available -

although this strap shown is an aftermarket and not a genuine Longines strap

The Minutes sub dial has a jump minutes movement

The Longines Grande Vitesse range of Chronographs is set to appeal to the motoring enthusiast, on this 42mm version the main chrono seconds hand is a red stick type hand, on the 44m version it has an arrow end.  (Bremont make a Jaguar car dashboard styled chrono.)

The Grande Vitesse sub dials are as above, left - watch seconds - normal running, top - minutes and bottom - hours, the main red hand being the chronograph seconds. On the dial, the winged Longines logo sits alongside the date window with a contrasting white back with black numbers display, the whole dial design is nicely thought out and balanced. 

Unlike most other Longines watches it does not have 'Swiss made' wording on the dial at the 6 o'clock position. 

                                                

                                            Large easy to activate stop/start and reset buttons

           frame a larger Longines logo Crown with cross hatch pattern winding surface

The chronograph is the usual flyback design you will find on most Longines chrono models. The buttons are quite stiff to operate but that is often the way with chronographs unless they use quartz mechanisms. It also incorporates a Jump Minutes on the sub dial, the marker moves from one minute to the next by a sharp movement, not a smooth sweep. This is a bit like the movement style of chronometric rev counters on some classic cars, a bit staccato in motion, unlike an electric actuated gauge mechanism.

The Grand Vitesse case is nicely finished with the crystal domed at the bezel edge - the crystal has non-reflective coating giving the watch a nice finish without annoying refracted light making it hard to read in sunlight, the dial is clearly visible and pin sharp, without the reflections you tend to find on ordinary untreated watch crystals. 

Looking at some Tissot watches recently (from the same Swatch stable as Longines), the lack of anti-reflective coating on the Tissot did tend to spoil them, when the lack of glare is something you find on a modern Longines pretty much as standard. The coating does make the watch dial look more striking almost like looking at the dial without a glass on!

The Grande Vitesse packs a lot of punch for the money, formerly retailing new at around the £2000GBP Sterling mark, they were available in 42 and 42mm case sizes.

This used 42mm Grande Vitesse example with metal strap was £600 on EBay and although I don't go for modern modern sport type watches generally, this had enough Bauhaus style to appeal to me and of course as a car enthusiast too it appealed.

The Grande Vitesse gives you a lot of watch for your money, so what are the first impressions? Visually, the Vitesse shares some similarities with other brand sporting Chronograph offerings from similarly pegged big names such as Omega. 

Such similar designs often look visually similar in style with only the brand name to show the difference, the design consensus on these watches has distilled down over the years so that the products tend to have a similarity of design to each other, which is true on many other watch styles too.

The Exhibition back gives you a nice full view

of the superbly finished ETA movement

The Winding Crown is reminiscent of a Bugatti radiator cap - 

giving the watch a strong motoring related design influence

The 42mm Grande Vitesse stainless steel case is bulky but not over large, the 44mm version would be slightly heavier given the extra materials. The metal strap adds weight, there is also a leather strap version, but the watch despite that with the metal strap is not for me 'over heavy.' 

Wearing it all day it remained comfortable, but you did know you were wearing it and it might be too heavy for some, a Heritage dress type watch is by comparison hardly noticeable on the wrist, at almost half the depth and around a third of the weight! I did not find the Grande Vitesse over heavy or uncomfortable.

The watch depth is around 11mm as this has to fit in the chronograph mechanism.

The stainless steel strap is easily adjusted - 

a small watchmaker's pin vice can push out the link pins to make alterations

The strap is a beautifully engineered piece of work with a cantilever mechanism, to which both end caps one with the logo and the other with the Longines name on, snap down and meet at. 

To undo the strap, lift a cap and then the other cap to fully extend the bracelet, it is a simple, tidy and slick piece of design. It also saves the watch being lost if one cap only is opened.

The quality of finish is very evident here -

as is the textured grip on the crown seen here

I had purchased a 22mm leather strap to go on this watch in case the metal strap made it too heavy but I found that the watch was not too heavy, so I stuck with the original strap. Included links were with the watch, which I reapplied to the strap and it is now a perfect fit for my wrist. Spare links should be still available from Longines.

The cantilever bracelet closure used on 42 and 44mm versions 

The dial is available as a dark chocolate brown and also a silver dial with black sub dials is also available. The dial has simple stick hands and markers making it easy to read. An outer bezel gives a speed scale for those who would use it for sport timing.

The dark brown 44mm dial also works nicely

The Grande Vitesse is a lot of watch for the money, it is not light in weight, but it is stylish and eye catching. With an accurate ETA movement which seems the benchmark from Longines, it is something that will give good performance and the visual aspect also generates interest.

Just how many people who use the chronograph functions is open to debate, many like the dial of a watch showing lots of functionality and this does not disappoint. 

At 42mm I think this is large enough for me, although I do have a 47mm Longines, they are really just about as large as you would need. My usual watch size of 40mm to 42mm I find sits well on the wrist and at this size are large enough to be able to read the dial easily but not too large.

End Halloween single use goods - a commercial racket that literally costs the Earth! - The plague of single use plastics and Pumpkins

 

Time for us to bin this wasteful commercial orgy?

As Halloween approaches, another seasonal consumptive orgy of single use plastic and Pumpkins will soon be on us again.

In a world where some are fanatically obsessed with saving the planet, it is somewhat strange that the Eco-Warriors of the nation are not more vocal about reducing the avoidable waste generated by the commercial farce that has taken over Halloween. 

I don't see Just Stop Oil throwing paint over shops that sell Halloween tat? Not that I am suggesting they break the law, but it would be the sort of protest that they might decide fits their agenda, given that most of the Halloween tat produced is made in China from oil?

Or why the Extinction Rebellion hordes do not 'react' to the mostly wasteful seasonal Pumpkin trade? They are not blockading Greengrocers - where is Emma Thompson and her wooden cutlery when you need her?

Ian Dury wrote 'what a waste' 

- this picture is life, surely imitating art

This recently heavily commercialised 'celebration' of Halloween generates tones of plastic crap that is only used once and discarded. 

Farmers are due to demand, having to grow acres of Pumpkins which are in the main, sold to be carved into lanterns and then landfilled, not eaten. 

The tragedy is that fields that could grow crops for bio fuels or human consumption are earmarked for an almost 'straight to landfill' but profitable crop.

The Christmas Secret Santa con is another opportunity for retailers to source from places like China, limited life or single use plastic crap which no-one really wants which is then foisted onto people who are likely to bin it often without using it.

If we are so concerned about the planet, this is a good place to start some positive action by curtailing this commercialised nonsense.