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Longines Master Collection 40mm Mens Watch
Ref. L29094783
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
The Master Collection launched in 2005 as Longines's case that dress watchmaking need not sacrifice complication for legibility. This reference distils that argument to its essentials: a moonphase and pointer date arranged at six o'clock beneath a barleycorn-textured silver dial, with nothing else competing for attention. At 40mm across and 11.10mm deep, the proportions sit closer to a dress watch than to most automatic complications of this kind — slim enough to disappear beneath a shirt cuff without catching fabric. The blued steel leaf hands read cleanly against the guilloche ground in most light, though the dial carries no luminous paint, so this is a watch that retires when the room does. The L899 is built on a silicon balance spring, which makes it indifferent to the magnetic fields that trouble conventional lever escapements, and it runs 72 hours between winds — a weekend's worth of reserve if you take it off Friday evening. The deployant clasp uses twin push-button releases and adjusts without tools, which matters more than it sounds on an alligator strap that will change with temperature and wear.
- Reference
- L29094783
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Master Collection
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case thickness
- 11.10mm
- Lug width
- 21mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Silver
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- ETA A31.L91
- Functions
- Chronograph, Date, Moonphase
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Vintage
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Power reserve
- 72 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.
This watch appears in Stainless Steel (2,298), Automatic Watches (1,127), Chronographs (985), Leather Straps (716) and Pre-Owned & Vintage (46).
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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