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Longines Master Collection 40mm Mens Watch
Ref. L26734920
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Stepping up in Longines's range
Launched in 2005, the Master Collection was conceived as a direct conversation with Longines' own archive — dress watches carrying serious complications without the bulk that complications usually demand. This moonphase chronograph sits at the heart of that idea. The L687 movement inside it is built on the ETA 7751 architecture but meaningfully reworked by Longines: a column-wheel mechanism replaces the cam-actuated system of the base calibre, giving the chronograph pushers a distinct, staged resistance that cheaper versions of this movement do not have. The 66-hour power reserve is a further departure from the donor, and practically useful. The dial earns attention for what it manages to conceal. A chronograph, triple calendar, moonphase, and second time zone occupy a 40mm face without the overcrowded, text-heavy appearance that usually follows. The sunray blue finish gives the dial depth as the light shifts across it, and the nested subdials — 30-minute counter with day and month windows at 12, 12-hour register with moonphase at 6 — are arranged so that the eye reads them in sequence rather than all at once. There is no applied lume at all, so this is purely a daylight watch; the polished stick markers carry everything. At 46.70mm lug to lug, it accommodates a smaller wrist more readily than most 40mm chronographs, and 14.3mm of thickness is about what a fully integrated column-wheel movement of this type requires. The smooth bezel edge and curved case sides do the remaining work under a cuff.
- Reference
- L26734920
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Master Collection
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 14.30mm
- Lug width
- 21mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- ETA 7751
- Functions
- Chronograph, GMT, Day-date, Small seconds, Moonphase
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Blue
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 46.70mm
- 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 7 collections
This watch appears in the Longines Master Collection range (47), Back in Stock (5,018), Stainless Steel Watches (3,307), Automatic Watches (1,811), Chronograph Watches (1,281), Leather Strap Watches (1,092) and Blue Dial Watches (914).
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
Longines Master Collection alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L26734920 | 35123TA01.BMT12 | BM0A10467 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,350 | £3,290 | £3,200 |
| Case size | 40mm | 40mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 30m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 66 hours | 56 hours | 120 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.
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 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 46.70mm, 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 40mm 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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