I've owned a few Longines that fall into that category, and, as I've only seen one other example of this particular model, I'd say that it qualifies…

 

Stop torturing me with that. I should have sucked it up and flipped a few watches to get the money together.

 

oops! Sorry. If I hadn't seen the other one in the flesh and been so impressed, I might not have been quite so quick to strike.

 

Saw it on the bay and was wondering whether it was a redial! Guess not! congrats and pics pls when it arrives!

 

May I ask for an ebay link, since the war is already over? Interested in researching it.

 

Thanks! You'll have to be patient, as I wont be picking it up (in the U.S.) until November. Too damned expensive to have it shipped to Europe (i.e. duties).

The dial is definitely original, and is outstanding, in my opinion. The case has seen some polishing, but I can live with that, and it doesn't seem to have been abused.

 

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I didn't even know they made that caliber in chronometer grade.

Amazing.

 

Extremely small production run. I've been watching the market for around 20 years, and this is only the second I've come across.

This is the case for pretty much all of the pre-'60s Longines chronometers. The manual-wind Flagships were produced in somewhat greater numbers, but aren't easy to find either.

 

I've bought a couple of watches from that fellow. However none like that. [emoji2] Super nice guy. Very helpful and eager to share his knowledge.

 

The dial has some aging and doesn't appear to be a redial, but there are some minor differences to that of Bill Sohne's watch: some stubbies are not exactly aligned with the hour markers and the stubby at 12 seems a bit too long, unlike on Bill's. Also, there are signs of glue under the 1 & 2 hour markers.

Most of the watches from this seller are redialed along with being heavily polished, but this is a truly rare watch so I would've probably falled for it myself.

 

Signs of glue? That's a stretch, imo. What are the chances that those applied markers were both loose on a high-quality dial that is really quite clean otherwise? Slim to none, I would say.

I would also suggest that judging the alignment of the minute markers using off-angle images is risky at best. I'll reserve judgement until I see it in person, but am not expecting to revise my opinion that it is an original dial.

@gatorcpa

Thank you, and I also associate this dial with exactly that PP model.

Regards,

Tony C.

 

Chances are slim, but it happens to much more expensive stuff than this. Look at the 2 hour marker in this picture, it's clearly not centered between the 9 & 11 minute marks along with some stuff clearly around and below it.

I can't conclusively say it's a redial or not, so believe what you will.

 

Sorry for picking at your treasure, but using multi-angle images is actually the best way to judge a vintage watch on the internet before paying real, good money for it. As another example, based on multiple pictures, I'm sure the lug at 11 on this watch is bent, most likely due to a drop of the watch onto something hard. This may be big against a normal watch, but again this is a truly rare one so it's probably just a minor thing.

 

I don't mind your critical input at all – in fact I appreciate these kind of threads as learning tools.

Having said that, your claims of misalignment of the minute markers are dubious at best based precisely on the various angles shown. In other words, the alignments change depending on the angles, due, of course, to crystal distortion. So while I agree that various angles are a benefit, it is unclear to me how you think that you can accurately judge the alignment of those markers without seeing the watch in person.

The marker issue is almost undoubtedly a lacquer issue, and not "glue". Such issues are not uncommon, as you surely know.

The lugs were, and remain my only concern. Not only the issue that you point out, but the degree of polishing.

Finally, the owner of the shop has been very accommodating, and would be willing to accept a return should I be dissatisfied.

Cheers.

 

Different angles usually show different appearances, but when they show the same thing, like the 2 hour marker appears closer to the 11 minute mark than the 9 one in all the pictures, it just confirms the anomaly. This anomaly would rather tell me it is glue around this and the other marker, than just a lacquer issue.

 

It's back up for sale...

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Here's my update.

I chose not to take delivery for logistical reasons. I am currently living in Europe, but as the customs duties are so high from outside the E.U., was planning to have the watch delivered to my home in NY. I was expecting to be in NY this month, and would have been able to inspect the watch in person in order to make a final decision, but it now appears that I won't able to travel to the U.S. until late November at the earliest.

That amount of time wouldn't have been fair to the seller, given the possibility that I might have chosen to return the watch, so I decided to cancel the transaction.

My view on the condition based on available evidence is that the dial is very likely to be original. I say that mainly because the script would be extremely difficult to reproduce accurately, but I would need to see it in person in order to arrive at a fully confident judgment. If one of the minute markers is misaligned, it could be explained in three ways that I can think of:

1) mistake on redial

2) marker re-attached and misaligned (as TNT suggests)

3) anomaly

The reason that I doubt #2 is that for the marker to have been "glued" on incorrectly, the feet must have somehow been broken off. Given the overall condition of the dial and the gold markers, that strikes me as being very unlikely.

Through the years I have become more critical of case condition, and that was my primary concern with this watch. Not to say that I would definitely have rejected it, as it may be years before another example of this rare bird appears on the market, but I couldn't comfortably decide without seeing it in person.

As a final note, the owner of the business handled himself well throughout the process, and did not hesitate to refund the money.

Cheers,

Tony C.