Longines Gold Strap Watches

Longines Expeditions Polaires Francaises — Missions Paul-Emile Victor (Ref. L2.732.4.76.X)In 1947, the French government sent several expeditions to explore both North and South Polar regions of Earth. Somehow missing the 60th Anniversary of the events and not willing to spend three more years waiting for the 70th Anniversary to happen, the Swiss watchmaking brand has presented its new Longines Expeditions Polaires Francaises — Missions Paul-Emile Victor vintage watch just for the fun of it.Although not particularly fond with Longine’s current model line-up, I find their “vintage” offerings a quite appealing. Like the Longines Lindbergh's Atlantic Voyage automatic chronograph watch first unveiled in the beginning of the year, this new timepiece may become a great buy for just about any watch enthusiast obsessed with “classic” models.Unlike the aforementioned gargantuan Lindbergh’s Atlantic Voyage, the Longines Expeditions Polaires Francaises — Missions Paul-Emile Victor has been re-issued in a relatively small case, almost matching in size the original model. Measuring only 38.5 mm in diameter, it is also quite thin, especially by modern standards.The watch owes its slimness to the Longines caliber L619, which is based on the time-proven ETA 2892-A2 automatic movement. Being only 3.6 mm thin, the base movement is also used in “slim” models from other major brands, such as the (*sigh*) IWC Portofino, Porsche Design Flat Six P’6310, and Sotirio Bvlgari Date Retrograde, just to name a few.The ebauche is generally available to select buyers in three grades: Elaborated, Top and Chronometer and it is not quite clear, which one of the first two is used in this particular model. Anyway, all three grades are quite accurate and very reliable.I hadn’t the pleasure of seeing in real life any of the original watches issued for the Paul-Emile Victor missions and so I cannot tell you how “authentic” the new model actually is, but, judging by the pictures, the watch is very close to the “military” watches produced by Longines and other European watch makers during the 1940s.Of course, due to advances in technology, the blued steel hands look more refined and the thick layer of luminous substance (previously it was Radium, but this time they used SuperLuminova, which is a lot safer) seems to be more neatly applied to them. Also, equipped with the hand-wound Longines 12.68N caliber, the original watch lacked the small date window at 3 o’clock.The rest of the dial remains true to the original with its classic convex shape, odd numerals substituted with arrow-shaped indices, and a high-contrast minute scale printed on the outer part of the dial. Just like one might expect both Arabic numerals and indices are covered with SuperLuminova providing for superb reading in night conditions.All things considered, the success of Longines Expeditions Polaires Francaises — Missions Paul-Emile Victor depends on the official retail price. If the Swiss brand will manage to keep the MSRP lower than $1200, count me in!

Longines is absolutely known for creating some of the worlds most beautiful and affordable watches for ladies.The Evidenza is a great example of both. This watch is made of stainless steel and features a diameter of 26 by 30.6mm and a height of 2.1mm. It’s a very petite watch, but that only makes it that much more exquisite and elegant.This watch has an L152 caliber with a base caliber of ETA 256.111. This piece has a gorgeous black dial with diamonds around the bezel. The numerals are made of steel dots and the hands are steel and small. The strap is a shiny black strap that goes very well with the black dial.The value of this is a surprisingly affordable $3,850. The last example of Longines watches from 2007 for ladies is the La Grande Classique.This is an absolutely beautiful and simple watch that will catch the eye of anyone with style and taste.This watch is made of stainless steel and has a diameter of 33mm and a height of 3.1mm. This piece is an L420 caliber and an ETA 282.001 base caliber. Not only does this watch have diamonds around the bezel but each hour marker is a diamond as well. Overall the watch has 64 diamonds that simply pop against the black dial and alligator strap.The watch also feature a deployment buckle. The value of this watch is an incredible deal at $3,325.