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Longines Spirit Zulu Time 42mm Mens Watch Black
Ref. L38125539
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 Spirit Zulu Time reaches back to a Longines dual-timezone wristwatch from 1925 — one that carried the Zulu flag on its dial as a shorthand for the reference meridian. A century on, the design logic is the same: a pilot's watch built to hold two times at once, now carrying a movement that earns its keep. The L844.4 is COSC-certified, runs a silicon balance spring, and functions as a true flyer GMT, meaning local time adjusts in clean one-hour jumps without stopping the watch — a distinction that matters in daily use and separates it from lesser implementations of the complication. The two-tone construction uses 200-micron yellow gold caps on the bezel and crown, which reads as considered against the sandblasted anthracite dial rather than decorative. At 49.40mm lug-to-lug the watch wears true to its 42mm case — straight lugs, no flattery — so it will suit a medium to large wrist and make no pretence otherwise. The 72-hour power reserve means a watch left on the nightstand Friday evening is still running Monday morning, which on a GMT is more useful than it sounds: you are not resetting two time zones after every weekend.
- Reference
- L38125539
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Spirit
- Case size
- 42mm
- Case thickness
- 14.1mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Two-tone
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Anthracite
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Bidirectional rotating
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L844.4
- Functions
- GMT, Date
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Fabric strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Buckle
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Goldsmiths
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 49.40mm
- Power reserve
- 72 hours
- Warranty
- 5 years
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 the Longines Spirit range (34), Back in Stock (4,361), Automatic Watches (1,554), Grey Dial Watches (227) and GMT Watches (220).
Manufacturer’s guarantee
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
- 49.4mm lug-to-lug keeps the 42mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 72-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Worth knowing
- 14.1mm thick, so it will not disappear under a cuff
Longines Spirit Zulu Time alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L38125539 | BM0A10617 | N3000.07S01.B01.S01 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £4,000 | £3,950 | £3,850 |
| Case size | 42mm | 42mm | 42mm |
| Water resistance | 100m | 100m | 100m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Fabric strap | Rubber strap | Stainless steel bracelet |
| Power reserve | 72 hours | 120 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?
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?
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 49.40mm, 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
Goldsmiths is the only UK retailer we track stocking this reference, so there is nothing to compare it against today.
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