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Longines Master Collection 40mm Mens Watch
Ref. L26734786
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Stepping up in the same dial colour
Launched in 2005, the Master Collection was Longines returning deliberately to its own archive — dress watches with proper mechanical complications, built for people who find a three-hand automatic too simple but find a tourbillon too theatrical. This chronograph moonphase represents the collection at its most ambitious, the L687 calibre cramming chronograph, day, date and lunar phase into a single movement derived from the celebrated Valjoux 7751 architecture, then stretching the power reserve to 66 hours in the process. The dial rewards attention in a way that a plain silver surface does not. Barleycorn guilloché catches raking light differently from straight on, the blued steel leaf hands sit above it with just enough contrast to read cleanly, and the moonphase wheel at six sits as a finishing detail rather than an afterthought. For a watch carrying this much information — pointer date around the perimeter, 24-hour display built into the running seconds — the layout holds together without crowding. The 46.7mm lug-to-lug span is short enough that 14.3mm of stacked complication gear sits lower on the wrist than the case height alone would suggest. Worth noting: the leaf hands carry no luminescent material, which is consistent with the dress-watch intent but worth knowing before the lights go down.
- Reference
- L26734786
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Master Collection
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 14.3mm
- Lug width
- 21mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Silver
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L687
- Functions
- Chronograph, Day-date, Small seconds, Moonphase
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Silver
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Vintage
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 46.7mm
- Power reserve
- 66 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 Stainless Steel Watches (2,351), Automatic Watches (1,148), Chronograph Watches (990) and Pre-Owned & Vintage Watches (68).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 40mm suits most wrists
- 46.7mm lug-to-lug keeps the 40mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 66-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Worth knowing
- 30m means keeping it away from water
- 14.3mm thick, so it will not disappear under a cuff
Compare alternatives
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| Specification | L26734786 |  01 403 7799 4068-07 8 |  35123TA11.BMT12 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,350 | £3,350 | £3,290 |
| Case size | 40mm | 40mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 30m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet |
| Power reserve | 66 hours | — | 56 hours |
| This watch |
|
|
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
No. At 30m it will survive rain and handwashing, but not submersion of any kind.
Will the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Does it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
How long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 66 hours fully wound — enough to sit off the wrist over a weekend and still be running.
What size strap does it take?
21mm. 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 46.7mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16cm (6¼ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
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
Goldsmiths is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
Who are Goldsmiths?
Goldsmiths has been selling watches in Britain since 1778 and is part of the Watches of Switzerland Group, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange. They are an authorised dealer, so a watch comes with the manufacturer’s own warranty.
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