On impulse I took a stab at this FlagshipPurchases made through these links may earn this site a commission from the eBay Partner Network on eBay, having previously owned a Cal. 280 Longines and having a soft spot for the brand (as an aside, if anyone ever has a black and gold dial Conquest in steel on offer, and wants a black Omega Constellation, I'm all ears).

The photos aren't going to win a National Geographic award, but I figured it's worth a stab and if it arrives and the condition isn't 'in good shape' as described I can always open a claim.

Assuming it's in reasonable condition (it does appear to run), did I overpay or get a good deal?

 

Cheers Gator! I read as much as I could find on the Cal. 285 Flagship models before pulling the trigger. Seems that some of the Longines experts here valued them considerably higher than the price of this one, although the posts I could find were all a few years old and I'm not sure what the market value has done since (increased, I hope!).

And now, we wait for the mailman.

 

Unintentionally bumping my own thread, sorry. I'm just debating what route to go regarding a band for this one. Leather or Milanese mesh? I think both would look fine period correct.

 

@jankoxxx made me a nice one in darker blue Italian shell cordovan. Looks nice on this watch and the thinness complements the thin watch. As @gatorcpa said, this is a front loader. $100 a great price. Would have it serviced before any serious use.

 

Many of the Longines from this period came with Speidel bands. An American market thing. I have two other models with the original stretch bands and have left them that way.

 

If it's a well-regarded brand like Speidel or Fixo-Flex, I'l possibly just keep it on. I'm very pleased the consensus is the price was right. Time will tell the degree of luck I had. I'm looking forward to owning a Longines again, it's been a while!

 

If it has a Speidel on it you just have to know this was someone from my dads generations daily wearer. Take it straight in for a service.

 

That's a good bit of sleuthing there and makes perfect sense. Rest assured, I was always going to take it to be serviced first thing.

 

If it's anything like my Dad's Fixo-flex it will need an ultra-sound bath. Black leather band will work too. At $100 a service is still affordable, I want to see some photos when it arrives please. 285 is a great movement.

 

There's an ultrasonic cleaner around here somewhere, I'll make sure I do that. I'm thinking a black leather band will be perfect, a nice contrast to my Connie which presently is on Milanese mesh. Is it worthwhile getting a signed buckle to finish it off?

I'm also a fan of the 28x movements, they're second only to the 30L in my books. If my understanding is correct, these were the last Flagships to have in-house movements.

 

My new old Flagship arrived today, and it's lovely! The case is in pristine condition with acute edges on all sides, the crown is original, and the caseback even has its original concentric polishing. It's on the wrist for a quick power reserve and timing check, and then it'll be off to my watchmaker for an assessment. It's nice to have a Longines in the collection again. The expanding bracelet was quickly removed and replaced with black leather. It says 'USA' on each link but there's not Speidel or Fixo-Flex signatures. Anyone know who else made these? Wittnauer? Star Watch Case Company?

 

I only just remembered to come back to this thread with a photo of the watch, post service. I'm not sure why the image turned out the way it did, I wasn't using a filter.

After some research, I concluded that the stretch band was a Kestenmade.

I actually sold the watch earlier this week, in its place I have a Cyma 586K incoming.