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Longines Conquest Heritage 40mm Mens Watch Green
Ref. L16504026
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Stepping up in Longines's range
The original Conquest was registered as a protected name with the Swiss Federal Intellectual Property Office in 1954 — an unusual step that reflects how seriously Longines regarded it at the time. This model goes back to that moment directly, carrying the proportions and vocabulary of the early references: applied wedge hour markers, dauphine hands, and a dial colour that reads as decisively contemporary while the overall silhouette stays rooted in the 1950s. Open the caseback and there is an 18-karat gold medallion with a fish motif, a detail the heritage line has carried throughout and one that repays the curiosity of anyone who thinks to look. The movement inside is worth understanding. The L888 is not a stock ETA; Longines has the calibre run at 25,200 vibrations per hour, slower than the standard, specifically to extend the power reserve to 72 hours, and a monocrystalline silicon balance-spring gives it strong resistance to magnetic fields and better long-term rate stability than a conventional hairspring. At 10.8mm the case is genuinely slim for an automatic at this diameter, and the integrated bracelet — with micro-adjustment built into the folding clasp rather than requiring a tool and extra links — means the fit can be dialled in as the seasons change.
- Reference
- L16504026
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Conquest
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 10.8mm
- Lug width
- 20mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Green
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L888
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Silver
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 48.10mm
- 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 5 collections
This watch appears in the Longines Conquest range (60), Back in Stock (3,734), Stainless Steel Watches (2,581), Automatic Watches (1,570) and Green Dial Watches (343).
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What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 40mm 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 | L16504026 | 01 403 7799 4068-07 8 | 34238AA39.BVA136 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,800 | £2,680 | £2,750 |
| Case size | 40mm | 40mm | 39mm |
| Water resistance | 50m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 72 hours | — | 38 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.
What size strap does it take?
20mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 48.10mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16.5cm (6½ 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 40mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths list it at £2,800, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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