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Longines Conquest Heritage 38mm Mens Watch Silver
Ref. L16494722
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
The original Conquest launched in 1954 as Longines' answer to a growing demand for watches that could move between sport and dress without looking like a compromise. This Heritage version revisits that brief honestly: the 38mm case, gilt hands against an opaline dial, and applied baton indices all read as period-correct rather than retro-for-the-sake-of-it, and at 10.8mm the profile sits close enough to the wrist to disappear under a cuff. What earns attention inside is the L888, which runs a silicon balance spring — a material that ignores magnetic fields strong enough to disturb conventional alloys, and contributes to the 72-hour reserve that means the watch survives a weekend off the wrist without resetting. The screw-down caseback carries an 18-carat gold medallion, a detail the owner sees only when they choose to look, which is exactly the right place for it.
- Reference
- L16494722
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Conquest
- Case size
- 38mm
- Case thickness
- 10.80mm
- Case material
- Gold
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Silver
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L888
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 45.60mm
- Power reserve
- 72 hours
Learn more about Longines
Auguste Agassiz began trading watches in Saint-Imier in 1832, but the modern company dates from 1860, when his nephew Ernest Francillon built a factory in the meadows beside the Suze — the longines of the local dialect — and consolidated the scattered outworkers of the region under one roof.
Longines registered its winged hourglass in 1889. It is the oldest watch trademark still in continuous use.
The company's identity was built on precision and on timing things in public. It supplied chronographs for the first modern Olympic events it timed in 1896, timed the 1912 Federal Gymnastics Festival with a broken-wire mechanism accurate to a hundredth of a second, and developed the photo-finish camera and the quartz timing devices used across twentieth-century athletics.
Its aviation associations are equally deep. Longines instruments were carried by Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic in 1927, and the Hour Angle watch, designed to Lindbergh's own specification to simplify longitude calculation, remains in the catalogue. Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes both navigated by Longines.
The house was among the most decorated at nineteenth-century observatory trials, holding numerous precision records. Since joining the Swatch Group in 1983 it has occupied the accessible-heritage position: exclusive ETA-based movements, archive-driven designs through the Heritage line, and volume that makes it one of the group's most important brands.
- 1860
- Ernest Francillon builds the factory at Les Longines.
- 1889
- The winged hourglass is registered — the oldest watch trademark in use.
- 1912
- Broken-wire timing achieves hundredth-second accuracy.
- 1927
- Lindbergh crosses the Atlantic with Longines instruments.
- 1983
- Becomes part of the Swatch Group.
Also in 7 collections
This watch appears in the Longines Conquest range (60), Back in Stock (4,300), Automatic Watches (1,403), Leather Strap Watches (928), Silver Dial Watches (644), Dress Watches (460) and Solid Gold Watches (118).
What the specifications mean
A slim watch on leather, made for wearing with a shirt.
Strengths
- 38mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 72-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Worth knowing
- 50m suits rain and handwashing, not swimming
Longines Conquest Heritage alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L16494722 | R27197152 | 01 403 7776 4065-07 5 19 11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,650 | £2,850 | £2,440 |
| Case size | 38mm | 38mm | 38mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Ceramic bracelet | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 72 hours | 80 hours | 120 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched | Closely matched |
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Showering yes, swimming no. 50m covers splashes and brief immersion, but a swimming stroke generates well above the pressure that figure describes.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 72 hours fully wound — enough to sit off the wrist over a weekend and still be running.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 45.60mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16cm (6¼ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
How to size a watch to your wristIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's, though at 38mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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