The Longines Master Collection

The Longines Master Collection Moon Phase Chronograph is a decidedly classic-looking watch, bordering on the retro, which ingeniously mixes two complications - chronograph and complete calendar - with undisputed charm. Its dial is rich with information, with seven different hands, three additional counters (at 12, at 6 and at 9) and three windows (day of the week, month and moon phase).

Its geometry is traditional: the date is indicated by a central hand with a crescent tip, identical to how it appeared on wristwatches as from 1915; the day of the week and month are displayed in two rectangular windows at 12 o’ clock, framed by the chronograph minute counter (up to 30); the phases of the moon are positioned at 6 o’ clock, within the chrono hours totalizer (up to 12); at 9 o’ clock we find the continuous seconds hand, which shows the regular function of the clock, as well as an addition, which is that of 24 hours; hinged in the centre of the dial are the classic hour and minute spheres, as well as the large chronograph hand, which may be started, stopped and reset to zero via the pushers placed on the case, on the sides of the winding crown.

From the arrangement of the counters, at 12, 6 and 9, it is clear that the watch is fitted with a movement derived from the ETA-Valjoux 7751 caliber, modified and customized for Longines, which has renamed it L687. The histories of ETA and Longines run parallel to each other. The two manufacturers overlapped at a certain point in their existence and, even today, calibers exclusively for Longines are made within the production plant of the Swatch Group (which also owns the Saint-Imier brand). The one used in the Moon Phase Chronograph L2.673.4.78.3 is a highly reliable mechanism which is considered to be among the best and most perfected of the Swiss movement manufacturer.

The watch strictly respects the canon of traditional watchmaking, with a 40 mm case with an elegant line, combined with a silvery dial with a grains d'orge finish, on which leaf-shaped hands in blue steel and large black printed indexes stand out, which enrich even the barest part of the watch, on which the Longines signature is found, with its characteristic ‘winged hourglass’ - the first recorded logo in the history of watchmaking, in 1889.

 By Dody Giussani