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Longines Ultra-Chron 43mm Mens Watch
Ref. L28394522
Sits in Longines’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Longines watches we list, which start at £900.
Price range £900 to £22,850 across 249 Longines watches in stock.The original Ultra-Chron Diver of 1968 was itself a milestone: the first dive watch to run a high-frequency movement, arriving nearly a decade after Longines had already put a high-beat calibre into a wristwatch for observatory trials. This version carries that lineage into a case made entirely from forged carbon — the first time Longines has used the material — and the cushion shape is a deliberate echo of the late-1960s skin-diver proportions that started the line. At 43mm across but only 67 grams on the wrist, the carbon construction changes the experience entirely. A steel watch rated to 300m typically makes itself felt; this one does not. The L836 beats at 36,000 vibrations per hour, which is why the seconds hand moves with unusual smoothness, and it holds a TIMELAB chronometer certificate — the independent Geneva body, not a manufacturer's own standard. The silicon balance spring means magnetic fields that would affect a conventional lever escapement leave this one alone. The cushion case and anthracite dial read as a coherent whole in the dark monochrome, and the titanium crown and caseback keep the weight down without compromising the rating. At 13.6mm thick the profile sits lower than a 300m depth rating typically allows, and the NATO-style strap, fastened with a titanium pin buckle, means fitment adjusts in small increments rather than the coarser steps of a folding clasp.
- Reference
- L28394522
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Ultra-Chron
- Case size
- 43mm
- Case thickness
- 13.6mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Carbon
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Anthracite
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L836
- Water resistance
- 300m
- Bracelet / strap
- Fabric strap
- Strap colour
- Black
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 48.9mm
- Power reserve
- 52 hours
- Origin
- Swiss made
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 5 collections
This watch appears in Back in Stock (4,361), Automatic Watches (1,554), Sports Watches (708), Dive Watches (495) and Grey Dial Watches (227).
Best of 2 retailers
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch built to be worn hard and got wet.
Strengths
- 300m water resistance, rated for actual diving
- 48.9mm lug-to-lug keeps the 43mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Longines's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 43mm sits at the larger end
Longines Ultra-Chron alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L28394522 | R32148162 | 822.70.351.21 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,550 | £4,150 | £3,890 |
| Case size | 43mm | 43mm | 42.5mm |
| Water resistance | 300m | 300m | 300m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Fabric strap | Ceramic bracelet | Rubber strap |
| Power reserve | 52 hours | 80 hours | 38 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched |
|
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Yes. At 300m it is rated for swimming, snorkelling and recreational diving.
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 52 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
What size strap does it take?
22mm. 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 48.9mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16.5cm (6½ 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.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths list it at £4,550, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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