Early Longines Automatic

Hi everyone!

This is my first time posting, but I have been reading the different threads on the forum for a few months now; specifically on vintage Omega and Longines. A few days ago, I purchased this early Longines "Automatic" watch from eBay. It's a ref. 6489-1, which I haven't been able to yield much information on. The case is stainless steel, and I think the crown may be a replacement as it's not signed, but I don't know when Longines started signing their crowns. It has Longines first automatic movement the 22AS, and the serial number on the movement seems to date it to the mid 1940s. According to one site I visited the serial number (6,619,579) dates it to 1943, but according to the Ranfft movement database, the 22AS didn't come out until 1945. Perhaps someone can shed some light on that. The dial to me eye seems original, but I'm far from an expert on 1940s Longines watches.

Anyway, here are some pictures from the auction:

I guess I need to adjust the prescription on my glasses lol. I always mix up the 19A with the 22A because 19 comes before 22. You are correct that the 19A was Longines first automatic movement, I will amend my first post. It appears the serial number is actually "8,619,578" as you pointed out, so the watch dates to 1951. Thanks for the help!

Great Sport Chief! That's what I named myself after haha. My first Longines watch was a Sport Chief from 1962, which looks very similar to yours.

Perhaps it's dysgraphia haha. For some reason I keep mixing them up. I was hoping the watch was from the 40s, which would have made it one of Longines first automatics, but I'm still very happy with the watch so far (I still haven't seen it in person). Plus, it will be the earliest auto in my collection.

Thank you! I liked that too. The case seems unpolished to my eye, the dial is original with a nice, even creamy patina to it, and the movement seems unmolested. I agree that a good Longines goes unappreciated. I paid $150 for the watch, which I thought was underpriced for the quality. If this were an Omega or a Tudor it would have been 2-3x as much.

Well, I did some further research on my watch and I'm thinking that the crown could be original. I went to the OmegaEnthusiastLTD website and found that they had several early (1950-52) Longines automatic watches for sale. None of these watches had signed crowns, but were all described as having their original crown. The crowns in question look just like the one on my watch with the smooth convex bump on the end. I wonder when Longines started signing their crowns? Certainly, all their watches seemed to have signed crowns by the 1960s.