Just picked up this lovely manual wind piece. Was wondering if its possible to overwind this watch? Kinda scared that I might break it.
Hey there. You can't overwind it. You will feel the crown get progressively tougher and tougher to turn and that will be a good indicator of when to stop. Just use common sense when winding it. I'm not familiar with Longines at all, but the same principle applies to all handwound watches. Some watches even have a protection against overwinding. I'm not sure if this is your case. Maybe someone who knows Longines will be able to clarify this. Edit: You can't overwind it unless you make it your sole purpose. If the mainspring breaks or it does not provide proper power reserve then it's time for a service and that has nothing to do with overwinding.
As you wind it you'll find that it will come to a stop as you wind. That means the mainspring is wound as tightly around the arbor as it can be. Just get used to the feel of normal winding each morning and you'll quickly identify the fully wound point.
I certainly do like the 30L movement, like the style of lugs on that particular case, and find the aged dial on yours to be appealing. As others have said, just wind it until it stops. You won't hurt it.
Gorgeous Flagship! When these were being produced by Longines, they were their top end manual-wound watches (as the name "Flagship" suggests). You're particularly lucky because the imprint of the ship is often worn down pretty badly, but yours is pretty crisp.
It may have been one of their last manual-wind movements produced in house (probably the finest they ever made), but Longines did continue to produced their own movements in house until the late 1970s. This ended with Longines being absorbed into the "SMH" in 1983, which eventually became the Swatch Group.
It’s the case reference number. There are four references for these (as far as I know only four..): 101 - snap back, sub-second 102 - screw back, sub-second 103 - snap back, center second 104 - screw back, center second
Beautiful peice ! I have a 1958 Longines Flagship Chronometre. The 30L calibers were the definitely the golden age of Longines watch making.
Great catch, the case is stunning! As others have said, wind till you feel resistance in the crown. With the 30L it's pretty much a hard stop. That should give you over 40 hours of juice.
Gorgeous watch. Most manual wind watches will stop when fully wound as stated above. Auto wind watches have a ratchet or clutch that slips when fully wound, so that you can keep winding but nothing nefarious happens. If you use your fingers, no harm can be done. A good set of pliers on the other hand, is a whole different story....