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Longines Spirit Chronograph 42mm Stainless Steel
Ref. L3.820.4.93.0
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
The Spirit line was Longines's answer to a question the brand had been circling for years: how to make a proper pilot's chronograph that sat within the Swiss mechanical tradition rather than borrowing from it. Launched in 2020, the collection drew on the company's long association with aviation timing, and the chronograph variant gave that brief its most complete expression. The movement at the centre of it, the L688.4, is a column-wheel automatic built on an ETA A08 base but reworked specifically for Longines — COSC-certified and fitted with a silicon balance spring, which means it runs without concern near magnetic fields that would unsettle a conventional lever escapement. At 16.5mm thick it is a substantial watch, and it makes no attempt to disguise the fact. The sunray blue dial reads differently through the day — crisper in flat light, more dimensional when the sun catches it at an angle — and the applied Arabic numerals keep it legible where a busier dial would start to crowd. The pump pushers and the large tapered crown give it an authentically period-inflected case profile, and the screw-down date corrector at ten o'clock is an unusual touch: fussy to use, perhaps, but a sign that the case was designed rather than assembled. The blue calfskin strap with its white contrast stitching is the obvious match for the dial, and the 22mm lug width means alternatives are easy to find when it wears out.
- Reference
- L3.820.4.93.0
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Spirit
- Case size
- 42mm
- Case thickness
- 16.50mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- ETA A08.L01
- Functions
- Chronograph, Date, Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Blue
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 51.40mm
- 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 6 collections
This watch appears in the Longines Spirit range (33), Stainless Steel Watches (3,546), Automatic Watches (1,867), Chronograph Watches (1,376), Leather Strap Watches (1,171) and Blue Dial Watches (974).
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 66-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
- 16.5mm thick, so it will not disappear under a cuff
- Leather does not suit regular contact with water
Longines Spirit alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L3.820.4.93.0 | 2785-TIC-60001 | H36616640 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,050 | £2,095 | £2,135 |
| Case size | 42mm | 42mm | 42mm |
| Water resistance | 100m | 100m | 100m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 66 hours | 38 hours | 60 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?
Yes. At 100m it is rated for swimming and snorkelling, though not for 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 66 hours fully wound — enough to sit off the wrist over a weekend and still be running.
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 51.40mm, which suits wrists from roughly 17.5cm (7 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
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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