EDITOR’S PICK: Menswear painter and illustrator Sunflowerman interprets the Longines Pulsometer Chronograph (with review, pics, video and pricing)

Editor’s Note: It’s been almost a year since we worked with that man of vision and watercolour paints, Matt Miller, more commonly known as ‘Sunflowerman’. At Basel 2015 he spent a lot of time at the Longines booth, much more time in our HQ apartment around the corner, and then at the end of the fair he handed us a sheaf of paintings under the banner of the ‘Longines Watercolour Watch Project’  To this day, we believe these works of art, which have since travelled the world to be displayed by Longines in all kinds of exotic places, to be among the most elegant interpretations of modern mechanical watches that we have ever laid eyes on. We present one of them to you today, the Longines Pulsometer Chronograph, with an exciting added element; a time lapse video that shows a little of the process. Scroll down for that. Now, once you’re amazed, once you’re converted, do yourself a favour and follow @sunflowerman @sunflowermatt and @dailyfashionproject All of them. This guy is pushing things forward. We remain fans to this very day.     

The story in a second:

It’s fitting that the Pulsometer was designed to measure the beats of the human heart. Because if any one thing has been proven time and time again at Baselworld 2015, it’s that mechanical watches own the domain of the heart. At least that’s what the marketing says.

The Pulsometer is a very specific type of chronograph scale. Most chronographs have mechanical, tool-like applications – measuring the distance of artillery, or the speed of race car. The Pulsometer, designed specifically for doctors, is a watch that measures the pulse of the human heart – it doesn’t get much more emotive than that.

For the Pulsometer Chonograph Longines have taken inspiration from watches of the 1920s.

The hero is clearly the white lacquered dial, with black Arabic numerals, elapsed minute and running seconds subdials encircled by a minute chapter ring form the functional base of the dial, and the blued Breguet style hands tell the time. Oh, and it has a date, which would have been much nicer if the numerals matched those on the dial.

Besides all this it’s the red pulsometric scale detail that makes the watch. But how does it work? Well, if you speak French you will be able to tell that this watch is graduated for 30 pulses – so you start the chronograph, read the pulse for 30 beats and then stop the chronograph – and reading where the chronograph seconds hand is against the scale gives you an accurate pulse reading.

But the good vintage looks don’t begin and end with the dial – the 40mm round, convex case is reminiscent of a pocket watch, and the long lugs and monopusher chronograph add to the aesthetic. The choice of brown ‘gator with contrasting stitching is just right, too. It’s comfortable and well sized on the wrist. 40mm is a perfect balancing act. The high round case would have looked a little small at 38mm and too large at 42mm.

In all, this is another seductive heritage piece from Longines. The higher price and dressier looks will likely make this a less mainstream piece then the Heritage Diver 1967, but it’s a strong design – heightened by the use of colours – and unarguably one of the best value, and cleanest, pulsographs on the market at the moment.

Longines Pulsometer Chronograph Australian pricing.

The Pulsometer Chronograph retails for $5275 AUD