VIDEO: Smarter than your average GMT – the Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting 

Felix Scholz

If we’re completely honest, it’s hard to make quartz technology sexy. Which makes the achievement of Longines’ V.H.P. technology even more remarkable. Not only do these quartz Conquests look the part, with clean, slightly sporty style and some very nice dials, the movement ticking away inside has a host of features dedicated to improving accuracy — which, at +5/-5 seconds a year, is pretty hard to beat, outside of an atomic clock.

The latest member of the family has just been unveiled in Rome — the Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting. As you might expect, it adds a second time zone to the equation, but has a few tricks up its sleeve. First of all, you can use the crown to quickly switch which time zone is displayed on the ‘primary’ hours and minutes hands, meaning that if I was taking off from Melbourne, I’d show local Melbourne time on the main hands, and Rome time on the GMT hand. When I land, a quick press of the crown means that the main hands switch to Roman time, while Melbourne time is there on the GMT.

But the handy tricks don’t stop there. The real star of the show is the Flash Setting technology. There’s a tiny aperture hidden at the 12 o’clock position, allowing you to transmit information (specifically setting the time) to your watch via your smartphone’s camera flash. It’s quite novel, and allows for some smartwatch-like functionality without the downsides (such as needing to charge the battery — this watch battery, like other V.H.P.s, is good for five years).

Stay tuned for our in-depth review soon.

Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting Australian pricing

Longines Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting starts from $1750