Time flies, no pun intended, when a simple, pilot-themed watch series grows from its neo-vintage origins to become a substantial pillar in the foundation of a prolific and well established Swiss watch manufacturer. Among the most significant new watch releases in the pandemic-plagued year of 2020 (does masking up for the supermarket really seem that long ago?) was the Longines Spirit collection, which celebrated the brand’s century-plus connection to aviation milestones and took its cues from vintage timepieces worn by pioneers like Amelia Earhart, Elinor Smith, and Admiral Richard Byrd.
The first Spirit models were either time-and-date-only steel timekeepers, at 40mm or 42mm, or steel 42mm automatic chronographs. Since then, we’ve seen the collection’s slow but deliberate growth: new materials like titanium; an expanded range of case sizes, from the initial 42mm down to 37mm; and most notably, complicated line extensions like the wildly successful Spirit Zulu Time family, and the model at the pinnacle of horological savoir-faire, the Spirit Pilot Flyback. Now Longines introduces new versions of the no-date Spirit Pilot (which is the smaller, dateless version of the original Automatic) and the Spirit Flyback in sure-to-please matte blue colorways, on bracelets and leather straps, for a total of four new references in all.
The new blue-dialed Spirit Pilot editions feature 39mm cases in brushed and polished stainless steel, 11.50mm thick and water-resistant to 100 meters. The sapphire crystal has antireflective coating on both sides and the fluted crown screws securely into the case, which spans 47.2mm lug to lug. The matte blue dial’s 12 applied hour numerals and sword-shaped hour and minute hands are rhodium-plated for a silvery shine that makes for high-contrast legibility with the azure tones of the dial. They’re also coated with Super-LumiNova for a bright green glow in the dark.
Inside the watch is Longines’ self-winding Caliber L888.4, an ETA-based movement that is exclusive to Longines (both ETA and Longines are part of the Swatch Group), with a silicon balance spring that helps maintain a magnetic resistance up to 10 times greater than the ISO 764 standard. The movement beats at 25,200 vph and amasses a weekend-proof 72-hour power reserve, and the entire watch has been certified by COSC for its chronometric performance. The Spirit Pilot is mounted on either a blue rubber strap with a steel pin buckle or a three-link steel bracelet that fastens with a double-folding, push-button-operated safety clasp and allows for micro-adjustment.
Occupying the more complicated echelon of the dual launch is the Spirit Pilot Flyback in the same cerulean livery, also available on either a steel bracelet or a dial-matches blue rubber strap. The stainless steel case of the Flyback is just a bit larger than that of the time-only model — 39.5mm diameter, 13.4mm thick, and 47.4mm lug to lug — and features two pump-style pushers on the right side in addition to the screw-down crown. This model also sports a bidirectionally rotating bezel, with a blue ceramic insert, which is etched with a countdown scale. The dial, set under a box-shaped sapphire crystal, has the same rhodium-coated, luminous-treated hands and applied numerals, here with the addition of two subdial counters at 3 and 9 o’clock, for 30 elapsed minutes and running seconds, respectively.
The proprietary movement inside the 100-meter water resistant case, the manually wound Caliber L792.4, is on view behind a sapphire exhibition caseback. Built upon the case of the ETA A08.L11 (itself a descendant of the classic Valjoux 7750) and modified exclusively for Longines, it has 23 jewels, a magnetic-resistant silicon balance spring, and a 68-hour power reserve. It uses a column wheel to drive the chronograph functions, including the eponymous flyback functionality that enables the user to instantly reset the central seconds hand back to zero, without stopping it, to begin timing a new interval. Like the Pilot’s self-winding caliber, this mechanism carries a COSC chronometer certification.
The Longines Spirit Pilot in blue retails for $2,700 on the rubber strap (Ref. L3.809.4.93.9) and $3,100 on the steel bracelet (Ref. L3.809.4.93.6). The Spirit Pilot Flyback is priced at $5,250 on the strap (Ref. L3.721.4.93.9) and $5,550 on the bracelet (Ref. L3.721.4.93.6). With this new burst of blue in its youngest contemporary product family, Longines appears to be signalling that the sky is the limit (if you’ll pardon one more pun) in adding to the Spirit Pilot’s palette. More details can be found at longines.com
