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Longines Spirit Flyback 42mm Mens Watch Green
Ref. L38215532
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 collection began as Longines returning to the instrument watch — the kind of legible, purposeful aviation chronograph the brand was making in the mid-twentieth century before quartz reduced such things to costume. The Flyback variant pushes that logic further: where a standard chronograph asks for a stop, reset, then restart, the flyback does all three in a single pusher press, which matters when the thing being timed has not slowed down to accommodate the watch. What makes this particular version unusual is the material split. The case is steel, but the crown, pushers, and bezel ring are solid 18-karat yellow gold, and the bezel insert is dark green ceramic matched to the matte dial — a combination that sits closer to dress than to field watch without becoming either. At 17mm the case is tall, but the 49.5mm lug-to-lug keeps it from sprawling across smaller wrists in the way that depth usually demands. The movement underneath the sapphire caseback is worth understanding. The L791.4 was developed by ETA specifically for Longines, carries COSC chronometer certification, runs a silicon balance-spring that resists magnetic interference, and delivers 68 hours of reserve. The quick-release strap system means swapping the green calf leather requires no tools, and the folding clasp's micro-adjustment handles the small daily variations a calf strap goes through as it beds in.
- Reference
- L38215532
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Spirit
- Case size
- 42mm
- Case thickness
- 17mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Gold
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Green
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Bidirectional rotating
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L791.4
- Functions
- Chronograph, Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Green
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 49.5mm
- Power reserve
- 68 hours
- Gem set
- Yes
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 (4,361), Automatic Watches (1,554), Chronograph Watches (1,144), Leather Strap Watches (959), Green Dial Watches (394) and Solid Gold Watches (132).
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 100m water resistance covers swimming and watersports
- 49.5mm lug-to-lug keeps the 42mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 68-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Worth knowing
- 17mm thick, so it will not disappear under a cuff
- Leather does not suit regular contact with water
Longines Spirit Flyback alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L38215532 | 128257 | N3200.40T03.P01.R01 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £5,900 | £6,000 | £6,050 |
| Case size | 42mm | 42mm | 42mm |
| Water resistance | 100m | 100m | 100m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Leather strap | Leather strap | Rubber strap |
| Power reserve | 68 hours | 42 hours | 62 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 68 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 49.5mm, 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
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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