Last year, Longines marked the occasion of its 190th anniversary with the launch of a trio of classically styled dress watches in the Master Collection 190th Anniversary, two of which were limited editions. In something of a follow-up — but without any limited editions to be seen — the Saint-Imier-located watchmaker has announced the Longines Master Collection small seconds range, bringing the same traditional elegance at a price point that’s hard to be unimpressed by.
While Longines has earned plenty of praise from within the watch community for its well-made HydroConquest divers and faithful Heritage collection reissues, there’s no denying it’s probably best known around the world for its dress watches. With the Longines Master Collection’s small seconds range, that’s exactly what we get, as a modestly sized timepiece that delivers plenty of delightful details.
The case arrives as a curvaceous and nicely polished package, which takes some vintage inspiration for its sizing as it measures 38.5mm in diameter. At 10.2mm in thickness, you won’t forget that it’s on your wrist, but it remains slender enough to slip under the cuff of a dress shirt As you might hope from a member of the Longines Master Collection, the case is closed with an exhibition caseback that serves up a view of the automatic movement inside.
Despite the case being a relatively known quantity within the Longines line-up, the trio of different dials is the real reason to add an example to your collection. Each features the same finely engraved numerals of the Master Collection 190th Anniversary from 2022 (etched with a laser, but in the style of hand engraving), the vintage Longines logo and a slightly different surface finishing technique to give each reference its own character.
The stand out is easily the coppery salmon-tone dial, which is a popular shade among collectors thanks to its rarity in the vintage world and has been finished with a vertical brushing that plays with the light nicely. Strong contrast is offered by the black hands and hour markers, while the slightly recessed seconds subdial is refreshingly well-proportioned in relation to the rest of the dial.
In terms of dial finishing, the dark anthracite reference is probably the most unusual thanks to its heavily-grained surface that has an almost grit-like sparkle to it. Its hands and hour markers are both plated in rose gold to great visual effect.
The reference with the silver dial also features a matte surface — though finer in its texture — and arrives with the quintessential blued hands and darkened hour markers that work well together. Across all three references, the seconds subdial has been finished with sunburst brushing and a snailed surface pattern, featuring a heritage typeface around the seconds track that compliments the main Breguet numerals around the dial.
Flipping the watch over and you’ll see the automatic L893 calibre, which is based on the Swatch Group ETA 2892, but upgraded with a silicon hairspring and an improved power reserve of 72 hours. It’s a little thicker than the mechanically similar L888.5 movement inside the 190th-anniversary editions last year, but this height change is due to the seconds subdial that really ties the design together.
All three references in the Longines Master Collection small seconds range arrive on a black alligator leather strap, which is secured with a steel double-folding clasp that feels solidly made when you click it closed. Despite all three dial colours featuring the same colour strap, the shade of charcoal chosen actually works well across the trio.
The Longines Master Collection small seconds line-up isn’t an entirely new design from the watchmaker, but as a dress watch that has been thoughtfully designed to get the details as close to perfect as possible, it doesn’t need to be. It’s a classic style that Longines is well known for (with good reason), but is far from expected thanks to the engraved Breguet numerals, elegant proportions and articulate surface finishes.
So if you’ve been considering a dressier piece to wear to the office or an event on the horizon, all three members of the Longines Master Collection small seconds get better the closer you look at them. All three non-limited edition references are currently available and arrive with an RRP of $3,875.
This article is sponsored by Longines. Thank you for supporting the brands that support Boss Hunting.
