VIDEO: The hi-beat goes on with the return of the Longines Ultra-Chron
Time+TideThe Longines Heritage collection is the gift that keeps giving. There was the sector-dialled goodness of the Longines Heritage Classic, the classic field watch vibe of the Longines Heritage Military Marine Nationale, and the art-deco charm of the Tuxedo, the list just goes on and on. The latest Heritage release that looks set to turn heads is the hi-beat Longines Ultra-Chron.
Longines has long invested in hi-beat technology that looks to deliver greater accuracy. They outfitted hi-beat calibres into their pocket watches as early as 1914 and were the first to include a hi-beat movement for a wristwatch in 1959. But in 1968 they also released the Ultra-Chron, the first dive watch to use a hi-beat movement.
The new Longines Ultra-Chron finds itself in a cushion-shaped, stainless-steel case 43mm in diameter that’s 13.6mm thick. While 43mm may seem large, its saucer-like cushion shape is far more wrist-friendly then its diameter suggests. Its case, on its top and sides, features a rich satin brush, with the shoulders of the lugs featuring a mirror-polished bevel. Surrounding the dial, you have a highly scratch-resistant bezel with a sapphire insert. The black bezel incorporates a full timing scale, with red hashes throughout and white numerals and triangle lume plot.
The dial matches the colour scheme of the bezel, with a black dial that utilises a rhodium-plated central hours hand and a red central minutes hand. The grained texture of the dial creates the time-capsule vibe that buyers love about heritage designs, creating vintage sensibilities for the modern watch. Also further driving home the heritage nature of the novelty is its applied “Ultra-Chron” logo at 6’, perfectly mimicking the style of the logo found on the original diver. Rhodium-plated applied indices convey each of the hours, and each, like the central hours and minutes hand, are filled with SuperLuminova® for visibility in darkness. Now the dial purists watching this will likely have already noticed, but missing from the dial, in line with the original, is a date complication – keeping a clean, symmetrical layout and aesthetic.
Inside the watch, underneath the engraved solid caseback, is the automatic Longines calibre L836.6 – a 36,000 vph, or 5Hz, hi-beat calibre with an anti-magnetic silicon hairspring and a power reserve of 52 hours. The calibre is also highly accurate, certified by TIMELAB as a “ultra chronometer”. This means the movement is tested to run within +6/-4 seconds cased, over a 15 day period under three different temperatures: 8, 23, and 38 degrees celsius – ultimately meeting the ISO 3159 standard.
Check out our video to find out more.
Longines Ultra-Chron pricing and availability:
The Longines Ultra-Chron is available now for purchase via authorized dealers, Longines boutiques, and longines.com.
Brown leather strap $4,800 AUD
Brown leather strap in a special wooden box with a NATO strap $5,275 AUD
Stainless steel bracelet $5,200 AUD
Stainless steel bracelet in a special wooden box with a NATO strap $5,600 AUD