Greetings gents,
Am seeing many US Longines where the font on "Longines" has no serifs.
Should they be deemed redials? If so, their number is just astounding.

Also, someone posted a recent thread with a very close up picture, and the font looked very fine and regular.... pondering on the number of lemons that might be out there.
Curious for your thoughts,
Best regards,
S

(Reposting here picture posted by Skrotis in earlier thread entitled "Is this an American Longines case")
https://omegaforums.net/threads/is-this-a-american-longines-case.31272/#post-352347
- apologies if unwarranted, admins pls remove if need be.

 

This is a topic that has intrigued me for some time as well.

I am inclined to say that there are indeed original non-serif dials, which were specifically intended for the United States. As you have stated, there are a startling number of them, their printing is precise and highly consistent, and they all possess the LXW import mark.

As I am particularly fond of Longines' serif font, I tend to shy away from such examples. However, I would gladly make an exception for any of these:

 

Hi S,

Longines did , in fact, use logos without serif fonts, but only for a relatively brief period. Having said that, I have questions about the ones that you have posted.

I have posted this guide previously, but you will find it useful.

Regards,

Tony C.

 

@Tony C. Though this guide may be useful as a rough overview, it is of little to no use to anyone who is interested in the minutiae of Longines fonts and dials. It fails to provide any examples of the various serif fonts that Longines used extensively between ~1925 and ~1950. Furthermore, some of the examples shown do not accurately resemble the fonts found on actual Longines dials (e.g. note the "G" in Longines on the 1940 example compared to the dials shown above). I am curious where this image came from?

Here is a small selection of signatures to begin the discussion.

1929

1936

1941

1942

1944

1944

1946

1948

 

Thanks Tony C. I expected there would be questions about this one sold a couple of months ago, but it still cleared £5000. The bezel looks good, though...




http://www.the-saleroom.com/en-us/a...0008/lot-c6012dc1-2294-4dd0-96ac-a53d00b5fa3b

 

Wow - that one does raise questions, especially that "s". I could believe there are some deep pocketed buyers who are just getting into "vintage" and who could have bid without realizing the minutiae involved in that font analysis business.

MMMD, what's the font on your new Nautilus ?

Thanks Tony C, and Simon-- a lot of material to work from. interesting to see material suggesting the wings made their appearance in 1942. That's quite early. I might brush up my Italian to go in search of more if I can.

 

Well it's not just the lettering, but also the uniqueness of that one that bothers me. Here's mine, thanks for asking :

 

Here are some links about dials: http://www.orologeria.com/italiano/rivista/rivista020b.html
http://orologeria.com/italiano/rivista/rivista021.html

 

It reflects official changes in the Longines logo, not dial designs. It was simply meant to confirm that there were plain fonts (Sans-Serif) used.

I probably sourced it from the Italian forum, on which Longines is sliced and diced like no other.

 

Funny, I found those too...
Back to the Italian masters again

Nothing about US fonts though...

 

@Tony C. I appreciate the correction. However, if the official logos are essentially unrelated to the designs/fonts used on dials, it is difficult to draw any conclusions about serifs or fonts, from them.

I wonder why the official logos of the 1940's were so different from the elegant serif fonts of their dials. The art deco fonts in their period adverts are a personal favorite.

 

Actually, upon closer examination, the "Longines" name above the wings in that 1942 logo looks the same as the "Longines" name on the US dials.

 

@Syrte Agreed. Though I would caution comparing dials to official logos as the fonts should not necessarily correspond (e.g. 1940 logo and examples shown above).

 

nice info

 

I wouldn't say that they are unrelated. The reason I posted them is because there is a connection between the use of non-Serifs on dials and the official logo shown. By which I mean that I don't believe that they ever would have used an official logo without Serif if such fonts weren't also used on the dials of some models.

 

I would agree that the official logos are not totally unrelated to period dials but the absence of an official logo with serifs (between 1925 and 1954) suggests that the relationship is not very useful when delving into subtleties though this may not have been the OP's intent.

 

Another example that looks quite original yet sans serifs.

 

There is no question that Sans-Serif fonts were used in the mid-20th Century.

 

Without a doubt.

I saw this one on the 'Bay and think that it is an older redial. The signature looks incorrect for this style of case. Below are some examples with original dials and very similar case designs (flat bezel and thick lugs). This case style is sometimes referred to as a "coin edge case": http://www.longinespassion.it/Longines_Passion/coin_edge_case.html

 

They're so beautiful.