Hi there, just wondering if anyone knows where I could get correct hands for my Longines 5581. It has a 27m movement. As you can see the hour hand is a baton hand rather than a leaf hand.

Longines have recomended I send it back to Switzerland for a full refurbishing, but I really just want the hands, and can go to a local jeweler to fit.

 

You're most likely going to have to hunt for those hands. I'm not aware of many Longines part members/sellers but I would imagine finding that set would be incredibly difficult.

What hands are on it now?

 

Currently the minute and seconds hand look correct, but the hour hand is a baton hand and too short, probably from a regular sized 27m watch.

Perhaps another way to phrase it would be does anyone know the exact dimensions of the hole for the hour hand for a 27m? Is it standard for watches of the period?

 

From ranfft.de

 

Proper hands can be sourced, but your best chance is to find someone
who has a complete hands assortment from Best Fit, Ronda or simular.

Wish I could help, but I don`t have the correct lenght for your watch.

 

This topic interests me quite considerably, I contacted a Longines technician when trying to source exactly the same hand-set and he told me there would be no chance of finding the "correct" hands. He said finding the correct blue leaf 12.68 handset for hour hand 1.32, minute 0.75 and second 0.22 would be really difficult unless finding a donor watch. Radiumpassion, do you know people who have these hand-sets for this calibre kicking around?

 

If you know the length that you need, I think you can find something approximately correct from a parts supplier like Ofrei or Cousins. It might not be original, and the bore might have to be slightly adjusted, but it will look a lot better than what you have.

 

Thank you Radiumpassion! Thats a great idea. Great info there. I can definitely keep an eye out for that, and also thanks DanS will check out Ofrei and cousins.

Budgewink, I've seen a few 27m movements on ebay that could be used as a donor, but nothing with oversized hands.

Other watches I've seen in this variant seem to have had hands replaced with thicker leaf hands, no doubt during refurbishment and service. Keen to keep it as original as possible though, so now I know those dimensions will keep an eye out for something NOS.

The appeal of these 40's Longines watches is the patina. The refurbs I've seen on chrono look ok, but lose all of their character.

 

I just wanted to correct what I mentioned, the hands I was trying to source seemed to be from the same watch but it seems they were from a model with the Cal.12.68z. The dimensions are almost identical however the 1.35 x 0.75mm is the measurement for the 27m where the 12.68z is 1.32 x 0.75mm....not sure how much of a difference that would make but probably something.

 

A knowledgeable watchmaker can make small changes in the hole sizes. There is certainly no need to obsess about a hole that is 0.05mm too small if otherwise the hand meets your needs.