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Longines Master Collection 190th Anniversary Edition 40mm Mens Watch
Ref. L27934732
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
Longines was founded in 1832, and the 190th anniversary edition within the Master Collection is a considered way to mark that span — not a radical departure but a deliberate sharpening of what the line has always stood for. The sandblasted silver dial sets deeply engraved Arabic numerals against a matte ground, and the blued steel hands move across it with no applied lume to interrupt the surface. There is no low-light legibility to speak of, but the aesthetic coherence it gains in return is total: this is a dress watch that has committed to looking like one. At 9.35mm thick, 40mm wide, and 69.1 grams on the wrist, it disappears under a cuff the way a formal watch should. The L888.5 is an ETA base rebuilt to Longines specification, carrying a silicon hairspring that ignores magnetic fields and a 72-hour power reserve that means most wearers will never wind it on a Monday morning after a weekend off the wrist. The three-fold deployant on the anthracite grey alligator strap opens via side pushers and closes with enough security that the watch sits where it belongs regardless of how the day moves. The caseback carries a commemorative engraving, and it is worth turning the watch over to read it — a production decision that does more than the retailer copy suggests.
- Reference
- L27934732
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Master Collection
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 9.35mm
- Lug width
- 21mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Silver
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L888.5
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Grey
- Clasp
- Three-fold clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
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.
Manufacturer’s guarantee
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 72 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.
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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