This Watch

We have here a Longines Ultronic wristwatch from the 1970s.  We love this model 8479 and it's tonneau-shaped stainless steel case.  It is such a statement of 1970s design and the substantial 42mm size makes for a comfortable wear on both male and female wrists.

The electric blue dial has a date window at 3 o'clock and incredibly interesting indices that sit above the dial.  The markers resemble a tuning fork, which evokes the ultronic, tuning fork caliber 6312. 

Blue dials were a relatively new thing in the 1970s and electroplating was the process of choice to achieve the desired colours.  This makes all the dials age differently and we love the different variations you can come across.  This dial has a subtle aging which reminds us of a star-painted ceiling in a Renaissance church - simply stunning!

We have paired the watch on it's original stainless steel bracelet but it looks good on anything.  The watch comes with its original box.

Founded in 1832, Longines has a rich and exciting history. The company produced their first movement, the 20A, in 1867 near the Swiss town of Saint-Imier, in a place called Es Longines ("long meadows"). This movement won an award at the Exhibition Universelle in Paris in the same year. Longines are credited with advancing the industrialisation of Swiss watchmaking and it because of their new mechanical procedures, they were able to produce a simple chronograph movement, the 20H, as early as 1878. It was the first mechanism that Longines had made that could be used for precise timing and it was so popular with horse racing bettors and spectators that by the end of 1886, Longines were supplying chronographs to the majority of New York's sports officials. It is still the official timekeeper of many horse races, with over 40 in its annual calendar. The Longines brand name and logo were officially registered with the United International Bureaux for the Protection of Intellectual Property (later the WIPO) in 1889. Longines is the oldest brand name registered with the WIPO that is unchanged and still in use today. Longines is now part of the Swatch Group, having joined in 1983.

Spec Stuff