Longines Spirit Zulu Time: the time of the pioneers
Launched on March 23, 2022, on the Zero Meridian between London's National Maritime Museum and the world-famous Royal Observatory Greenwich, the new Longines Spirit Zulu Time collection adds a multiple time-zone reference to the Longines Spirit line and bears a name marking its originality, inherited from the first GMT wristwatch launched in 1925 by Longines.
On this late sunny morning at the end of March, the brand new Longines Spirit Zulu Time collection was presented at the London’s National Maritime Museum overlooking the Royal Observatory Greenwich.
These steel models, intrinsically linked to the brand’s pioneering spirit, are the materialization of the watchmaker Maison’s century-old expertise in this type of timepiece.
To understand the importance of this connection between present and past, the ones in charge of the manufacture’s heritage based in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, in the historical workshops, presented in the salons of the august London building, the first dual time zone wristwatch made by Longines in 1925. This historical rectangular piece – the trendy shape at the time– was displayedon the dial of the Zulu flag. Inheriting these values of surpassing yourself, the pieces of this collection with a 42mm-diameter steel case take the name of Zulu, which refers to the letter Z that stands for universal time in aviation and the armed forces.
A link between history and innovation, the instruments of this Longines Spirit Zulu Time collection pay tribute to a rich heritage to offer an exceptional timepiece to all explorers and intercontinental travellers. As Matthias Breschan, Longines CEO, said, these emblematic pieces of a certain art of living life with elegance, echo the aeronautical adventure that Longines supported by inventing throughout its history a few of the most exceptional timepieces dedicated to pilots such as Amy Johnson (a British pilot and pioneer of the powered flight) or Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon (pilots who made the First Nonstop Trans-Pacific Flight in 1931).
Aesthetically, the Spirit Zulu time references are distinguished by the careful manufacturing of their finishes. The thin (13.9 mm) and water-resistant to 100 m case middle, which make us forget the rather large 42 mm-diameter, have alternately matt, polished, and satin-finished coatings to besteffect. They feature a bidirectional rotating steel bezel enhanced by a coloured ceramic insert and have versions on matt black, micro blasted anthracite or blue dials. Finished carefully, they feature a date aperture discreetly put at 6 o’clock, applied chapter hour markers with luminescent material for an optimal reading in the dark. And the famous 5 stars ensuring the extreme quality of their calibre.
To bring this collection to life, Longines has used an exclusive self-To bring this collection into being, Longines has used an exclusive self-winding mechanical movement (L844.4 (A31.L411) developed for the brand by the Swatch Group with a silicon balance spring and the addition of an integrated function board intended to provide a specific GMT display with an intuitive adjustment by the screw-down crown. Efficient with its 72-hour power reserve and COSC-certified chronometer, it offers each of these timepieces, offered on a leather strap with a micrometrically adjustable folding clasp or on an easily removable steel link, to be thewatchmaking symbols of the most refined of the self-expression anywhere in the world.
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