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Longines Heritage 38.5mm Mens Watch
Ref. L28284532
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
The Heritage Classic line is Longines reaching back to its 1930s and 1940s archive — not for nostalgia's sake but to reconstruct the logic of how a dress watch was composed before the quartz era forced everything to change. This particular reference extended a silver sector-dial model released in 2019, translating the same concentric brushed track, stick hands and asymmetrically placed sub-dial into a matte black execution. That offset seconds register at six sits where it does to balance the dial architecture, a decision you notice immediately and then stop noticing, which is the correct outcome. At 38.5mm and 11mm deep, it occupies the territory between a field watch and a formal piece without fully committing to either, which gives it a range most single-purpose watches cannot manage. The L893 inside is built on a modified ETA base but carries a silicon balance spring — meaningfully better magnetic resistance than its forebears — and a 72-hour power reserve that removes the Monday-morning ritual of winding after the weekend. No lume on the hands or markers: this is a deliberate period fidelity rather than an oversight, and in the context of a watch this dark-dialled it concentrates the eye on the silver hands against the matte surface rather than apologising for their absence.
- Reference
- L28284532
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Heritage
- Case size
- 38.5mm
- Case thickness
- 11mm
- Lug width
- 19mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- ETA A31.501
- Functions
- Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 47mm
- 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 6 collections
This watch appears in the Longines Heritage range (6), Back in Stock (3,734), Stainless Steel Watches (2,581), Automatic Watches (1,570), Leather Strap Watches (860) and Dress Watches (475).
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What the specifications mean
A slim watch on leather, made for wearing with a shirt.
Strengths
- 38.5mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 72-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- Sits in the lower half of Longines's range as we list it
Worth knowing
- 30m means keeping it away from water
Longines Heritage alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L28284532 | 164 | 01 782 7811 4051-07 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,150 | £2,220 | £2,250 |
| Case size | 38.5mm | 37.5mm | 39.5mm |
| Water resistance | 30m | 30m | 30m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 72 hours | 43 hours | 41 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?
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 72 hours fully wound — enough to sit off the wrist over a weekend and still be running.
What size strap does it take?
19mm. 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 47mm, 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 38.5mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths list it at £2,150, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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