Longines 13ZN dial?

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The "2" hour number looks more like the top of an 8. Certainly doesn't match the 2 in the 12. That would bug me.
 
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The "2" hour number looks more like the top of an 8. Certainly doesn't match the 2 in the 12. That would bug me.
I had not noticed that, but I think it is not so unusual. The Movado dial below seems to have a "2" that hooks inward more than the "2" of "12".

Source: https://omegaforums.net/threads/movado-m90-95-thread.109322/
928513-96bfe8fb3ea32698c0cf4918b5a5667a.jpg
 
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Fascinating. That Movado dial seems to have the identical font and 'number-cropping' as the Longines! And also a 60 minute totalizer.
 
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Fascinating. That Movado dial seems to have the identical font and 'number-cropping' as the Longines! And also a 60 minute totalizer.
Indeed. By all accounts, the Longines dial appears to be a Movado M90 (90M?) dial with the word "Longines" printed on it. Below is another Movado example that is even more similar, with "Swiss Made", a tachymeter scale, and an open seconds track in black.

Source: https://www.mywatchmart.com/listing/269908-fs-movado-anti-magnetic-m90-chronograph/#&gid=1&pid=2
269908_680_dsc_1002.jpg
 
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I don't follow chronographs closely, but another feature that may identify the Longines as originally a Movado is the single railroad track sub-dial. Or did Longines also employ a similar design?
 
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Wondering what you think of this "NOS" 30CH dial being sold by the same seller on eBay. No "SWISS MADE" at all.
Thanks for sharing that dial, I had not seen it.

Firstly, the design of the sub-dials is anomalous. I have never seen an original 30CH dial with similar sub-dials. The font of the numbers is not right. It looks more reminiscent of UG dials. The 'entirely open' design of the individual hash marks is also not right. By 'entirely open', I mean not connected to a printed circle. Early dials (no winged-hourglass emblem) with large sub-dials like these should have a closed track. Finally, the elongated markings at 3, 6, and 9 in the minute totalizer are not found on this type of 30CH dial.

Secondly, the design of the hour markers is anomalous. While there was arguably more variation in hour marker design than there was in sub-dial design (for a given size), these markers stand out as unusual. One would expect outlines of numbers to be paired with radium. Given that this dial is purportedly "NOS", it seems unlikely that any original radium would have been removed. Additionally, I do not recall ever seeing a 30CH dial with similar, printed triangular hour markings.

Thirdly, the seconds scale and tachymeter scale look very good. Maybe these were done using original equipment.

In short, this dial is anomalous in some significant ways. I am willing to entertain the idea that it was produced by Stern Freres as a spare dial, given the design and execution of the seconds and tahcymeter scales. However, I would struggle to view this dial as 'correct' in a 30CH as it is unlike any original 30CH dial that I have seen in a watch.
Edited by a mod:
 
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I don't follow chronographs closely, but another feature that may identify the Longines as originally a Movado is the single railroad track sub-dial. Or did Longines also employ a similar design?
Good point.

I do not have a recollection of a 13ZN dial that has only one sub-dial with a railroad track.
 
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Firstly, the design of the sub-dials is anomalous. I have never seen an original 30CH dial with similar sub-dials. The font of the numbers is not right. It looks more reminiscent of UG dials. The 'entirely open' design of the individual hash marks is also not right. By 'entirely open', I mean not connected to a printed circle. Early dials (no winged-hourglass emblem) with large sub-dials like these should have a closed track. Finally, the elongated markings at 3, 6, and 9 in the minute totalizer are not found on this type of 30CH dial.

Secondly, the design of the hour markers is anomalous. While there was arguably more variation in hour marker design than there was in sub-dial design (for a given size), these markers stand out as unusual. One would expect outlines of numbers to be paired with radium. Given that this dial is purportedly "NOS", it seems unlikely that any original radium would have been removed. Additionally, I do not recall ever seeing a 30CH dial with similar, printed triangular hour markings.

Thirdly, the seconds scale and tachymeter scale look very good. Maybe these were done using original equipment.

In short, this dial is anomalous in some significant ways. I am willing to entertain the idea that it was produced by Stern Freres as a spare dial, given the design and execution of the seconds and tahcymeter scales. However, I would struggle to view this dial as 'correct' in a 30CH as it is unlike any original 30CH dial that I have seen in a watch.

Thanks for sharing your detailed observations. I also felt that the quality of the printing was very high, but the missing SWISS and open numerals and markers jumped out as me as odd.
 
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Forgive a silly question, but is a 60 minute totalizer rare or forbidden or?

I quickly checked my watch box and all my chronographs have 30 minute totalizers (as expected, I guess) except one: my Vandaag Schallmauer. Granted it's quartz, but it has 60 seconds totalizer:

Screenshot 2023-05-29 170857.jpg
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Forgive a silly question, but is a 60 minute totalizer rare or forbidden or?
I would be interested to hear from others, but my impression is that most vintage chronographs have either 30 or 45 minute counters. Exceptions include center-minute chronographs such as the Mido Multi-Centerchrono and Longines' 13ZN-12.

Looking at that Vandaag, its two identical 20, 40, 60 sub-dials strike me as a bit odd. At a glance, with the chronograph running, reading the elapsed minutes might be confusing since both sub-dials look the same. This could probably be addressed with a differentiating mark, though. Maybe a more realistic limitation is cramming 60 individual minute markings into a sub-dial. Many people seem to struggle to read 30 minute counters as it is, which have their markings more spaced apart.
 
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Well ... this beauty has a 60 minute sub-dial.
Ahh, of course! Such an underrated maison.
 
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Indeed. By all accounts, the Longines dial appears to be a Movado M90 (90M?) dial with the word "Longines" printed on it. Below is another Movado example that is even more similar, with "Swiss Made", a tachymeter scale, and an open seconds track in black.
Very interesting. I have a database with almost 500 Movado chrono dials. I'll have a look later
 
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13zn: il contatore di sinistra ha un doppio binario, quello di destra ha un solo binario
30ch: le tacche telefoniche sono sintomo di una ristampa
 
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13zn: il contatore di sinistra ha un doppio binario, quello di destra ha un solo binario
30ch: le tacche telefoniche sono sintomo di una ristampa
Agreed, thank you for your input.

The only 30CH dial that I know of with elongated minute-counter markings at 3, 6, 9 is reference 7981. Of course, this is not a typical 30CH dial in many ways. See an example below.

Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/134003508359
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