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Longines Conquest Heritage 40mm Mens Watch Black
Ref. L16504526
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
The Conquest name goes back to 1954, when Longines built it as a sports watch around movements precise enough to time international athletics. This Heritage edition retrieves the proportions and detailing of that original generation — the black lacquer dial, the applied rose gold-toned indexes — and updates the engineering beneath them. The calibre L888 carries a silicon balance-spring, which removes the need to worry about magnetic fields from phones or laptop bags, and winds itself to a 72-hour reserve, enough to survive a long weekend without being worn. At 40mm and just 10.8mm thick it sits closer to a dress watch than most sport-heritage pieces of this size, and the polished case helps it read that way under a jacket. The dial in direct light has a depth that black lacquer gives and printed dials do not; the rose gold hands and indexes sit clearly against it without the contrast feeling harsh. Flip it over and the exhibition caseback shows an 18-karat gold medallion engraved with a fish — a small, unhurried detail that has no audience except the owner.
- Reference
- L16504526
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Conquest
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 10.80mm
- Lug width
- 20mm
- Case material
- Gold
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L888
- Water resistance
- 50m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Silver
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- 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 4 collections
This watch appears in the Longines Conquest range (60), Back in Stock (4,908), Automatic Watches (1,645) and Solid Gold Watches (146).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
Best of 2 retailers
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 | L16504526 | 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.
Is 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 Goldsmiths and Mappin & Webb list it at £2,800, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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