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Longines Spirit Pilot 3 Hands 39mm Mens Watch Leather Black
Ref. L38094532
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
The Spirit Pilot is the result of Longines asking what the Spirit collection would look like if everything decorative were removed. The five-star emblem is gone, the date is gone, and the dial is left with applied Arabic numerals, gold-toned hands, and a clean minute track — the kind of instrument legibility that aviation watches were originally built around, before they became a genre. At 39mm with a 47.2mm lug-to-lug, it sits closer to a dress watch in how it contours the wrist than most pilot references manage, and the 11.5mm case thickness means it moves under a cuff without resistance. The L888.4 inside is COSC-certified and built around a silicon balance spring, so it handles magnetic fields that would trouble a conventional lever escapement — relevant in cockpits, and increasingly relevant on the ground. Seventy-two hours of reserve means a watch left off over a long weekend comes back to life without needing to be wound. The folding clasp on the calfskin strap includes a micro-adjustment system, which on a leather strap matters more than it sounds: the difference between comfortable and too tight tends to fall between standard holes, and this closes that gap.
- Reference
- L38094532
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Spirit
- Case size
- 39mm
- Case thickness
- 11.50mm
- Lug width
- 20mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L888.4
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 47.20mm
- 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 7 collections
This watch appears in the Longines Spirit range (34), Back in Stock (4,683), Stainless Steel Watches (3,109), Automatic Watches (1,756), Leather Strap Watches (1,033), Sports Watches (800) and Dress Watches (544).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
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What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
- 39mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 72-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Worth knowing
- Leather does not suit regular contact with water
Longines Spirit Pilot 3 Hands alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L38094532 | R12161733 | H38446730 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,250 | £2,250 | £2,265 |
| Case size | 39mm | 38mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 100m | 100m | 100m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 72 hours | 80 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 72 hours fully wound — enough to sit off the wrist over a weekend and still be running.
What size strap does it take?
20mm. 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 47.20mm, 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, though at 39mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Goldsmiths and Mappin & Webb list it at £2,250, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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