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What vintage Longines is on your wrist today?
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LesXL
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delta_dart
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Today wearing Ref. 5096, my watch. Invoiced in 1946 to Hausammann in Norway. Below, other examples of this dial, which I am obsessed with. Take particular note of the most incredible vintage Longines grail I have ever seen, the final image. In this case, it has the same art deco style dial, this time in salmon tone, except it is a Zerograph with 12.68z chrono movement, with a steel case reminiscent of FPJ.
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Andsan
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DirtyDozen12
··Thanks, mystery donor!Today wearing Ref. 5096, my watch. Invoiced in 1946 to Hausammann in Norway. Below, other examples of this dial, which I am obsessed with. Take particular note of the most incredible vintage Longines grail I have ever seen, the final image. In this case, it has the same art deco style dial, this time in salmon tone, except it is a Zerograph with 12.68z chrono movement, with a steel case reminiscent of FPJ.
With regard to the last example you posted (stop-seconds from Private Eyes), I am somewhat skeptical of its originality. The dial design is unusual for a stop-seconds 12.68Z, and I noticed that the central second hand is incorrect in its style.
Here is an example that was for sale on eBay years ago, which tempted me. It was bought by Eric Wind. The photo is from Crown and Buckle.
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delta_dart
·Great watch. I like this dial design and your example is in fantastic condition. Even the strap looks period correct. It is neat that it was invoiced to Norway, given that it has a dial with "Suiza" printing. Maybe it was originally intended for the South American market and then redirected to Norway.
With regard to the last example you posted (stop-seconds from Private Eyes), I am somewhat skeptical of its originality. The dial design is unusual for a stop-seconds 12.68Z, and I noticed that the central second hand is incorrect in its style.
Here is an example that was for sale on eBay years ago, which tempted me. It was bought by Eric Wind. The photo is from Crown and Buckle.
Excellent, I haven't seen this one before. Eric Wind told me at the recent Wind-Up fair that he had owned this dial before; perhaps it was this very watch you posted. As for the Private Eyes watch, I can see what you mean regarding the authenticity of the chrono hand, but to me, just the fact that it was born as a zerograph with this dial is pretty fantastic. Unless you mean to say that the dial may not have born on the watch... Also, the central chrono seconds hand and the sub seconds hand have the same counterweight shape: teardrop, I am not 100% certain that it might be incorrect.
And yes, my own watch is on the original strap and buckle, which were stitched onto the fixed strap bars. The watch and strap together felt and looked nearly new. Interestingly, I found this example just yesterday on IG. The dial is slightly different, and has a concentric groove at the seconds track, as well as a raised inner circle.
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DirtyDozen12
··Thanks, mystery donor!Excellent, I haven't seen this one before. Eric Wind told me at the recent Wind-Up fair that he had owned this dial before; perhaps it was this very watch you posted. As for the Private Eyes watch, I can see what you mean regarding the authenticity of the chrono hand, but to me, just the fact that it was born as a zerograph with this dial is pretty fantastic. Unless you mean to say that the dial may not have born on the watch... Also, the central chrono seconds hand and the sub seconds hand have the same counterweight shape: teardrop, I am not 100% certain that it might be incorrect.
And yes, my own watch is on the original strap and buckle, which were stitched onto the fixed strap bars. The watch and strap together felt and looked nearly new. Interestingly, I found this example just yesterday on IG. The dial is slightly different, and has a concentric groove at the seconds track, as well as a raised inner circle.
As for the stop-second example, I did mean to say that I have doubts about whether the dial originally came in the watch. Regarding the central second hand, the tip appears to be triangluar, which is not correct.
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peatnick
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delta_dart
·Thanks for posting that example with the groove. I recognize it from @olliebrewer's Instagram page. As a side note, I have doubts about the originality of the hour and minute hands, which are not typical.
As for the stop-second example, I did mean to say that I have doubts about whether the dial originally came in the watch. Regarding the central second hand, the tip appears to be triangluar, which is not correct.
Sorry in advance for spamming this thread, not sure about the etiquette. And yes, I agree regarding the alpha hands on @olliebrewers watch. As for the 12.68z chrono, how do you know that the triangle tipped hand is incorrect for certain? I find it rather pleasing that the base of the triangle lines up with the seconds track perfectly, but that could be incidental. The final question I would like to pose, which I have been trying very hard to ascertain without luck (Longines wouldn't respond), is who the dialmaker was for this dial type.
If it might be helpful, here is my little and incomplete database
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DirtyDozen12
··Thanks, mystery donor!Adding a few more photos for posterity. Serial number is 6'165'xxx.
https://www.watchnet.co.jp/en/item/view/3185
https://www.watchnet.co.jp/en/item/view/3185
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DirtyDozen12
··Thanks, mystery donor!Sorry in advance for spamming this thread, not sure about the etiquette. And yes, I agree regarding the alpha hands on @olliebrewers watch. As for the 12.68z chrono, how do you know that the triangle tipped hand is incorrect for certain? I find it rather pleasing that the base of the triangle lines up with the seconds track perfectly, but that could be incidental. The final question I would like to pose, which I have been trying very hard to ascertain without luck (Longines wouldn't respond), is who the dialmaker was for this dial type.
Of course, I cannot say with 100% certainty that the hand is incorrect. But after studying Longines from this era for thousands of hours, and looking at countless chronograph and stop-second examples, I can tell you that this hand is anomalous. Sometimes, anomalies turn out to be correct, but usually they are not.
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delta_dart
·The dialmaker is Stern Freres. This is evident by the font of the signature.
Of course, I cannot say with 100% certainty that the hand is incorrect. But after studying Longines from this era for thousands of hours, and looking at countless chronograph and stop-second examples, I can tell you that this hand is anomalous. Sometimes, anomalies turn out to be correct, but usually they are not.
I suspected Stern was the culprit simply because of the quality. They have made some of my favorites, like the 4-rivet sandwich dials you find on Vacherons, Zeniths, and of course Longines 13ZNs. I would like to find, one day, conclusive proof of this, like a struck star marking on the back of one of these art deco dial. As for the originality of the dial, as bad as this may sound to a purist, I almost don't care! As long as the dial, case and movement are period correct, it is still one of the most aesthetically compelling watches I have ever seen.
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DirtyDozen12
··Thanks, mystery donor!I suspected Stern was the culprit simply because of the quality. They have made some of my favorites, like the 4-rivet sandwich dials you find on Vacherons, Zeniths, and of course Longines 13ZNs. I would like to find, one day, conclusive proof of this, like a struck star marking on the back of one of these art deco dial. As for the originality of the dial, as bad as this may sound to a purist, I almost don't care! As long as the dial, case and movement are period correct, it is still one of the most aesthetically compelling watches I have ever seen.
As for conclusive proof, the font of the signature is quintessentially Stern Freres.
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JohnSteed
·Today’s wrist candy
c’mon you all. hit me up if you have them endlinks
😀
c’mon you all. hit me up if you have them endlinks
😀
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LesXL
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Spruce
··Sunburst dial fan
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