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Longines Spirit Flyback 42mm Mens Watch Brown
Ref. L38215592
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 revisited Longines' aviation heritage — the instruments, the Arabic numerals, the tools-first legibility of mid-century cockpit design — and this flyback variant adds rose gold cap accents to that story. The screw-in crown, chronograph pushers and bidirectional ceramic bezel all carry 18-carat 5N rose gold finishing against the steel case, and the shaded matte brown dial with applied Arabic indices sits squarely in that same retro-instrument register. It is a considered combination rather than an arbitrary one. The movement is where the watch earns its keep. The L791.4 is COSC-certified, carries a silicon balance spring for magnetic resistance, and runs a column-wheel flyback mechanism — meaning a single pusher resets and restarts the chronograph in one stroke rather than three. ETA builds it exclusively for Longines, and the 68-hour power reserve means a watch left on the nightstand Friday evening is still running Monday morning. At 17mm thick the case will not disappear beneath a dress shirt cuff, but the 49.5mm lug-to-lug keeps it sitting well on average to large wrists rather than bridging. The calfskin strap's deployant clasp includes a micro-adjustment system, which makes a genuine difference at this case weight — 131 grams asks for a secure fit, and the clasp provides it without requiring a watchmaker to move a pin.
- Reference
- L38215592
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Spirit
- Case size
- 42mm
- Case thickness
- 17mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Brown
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Bidirectional rotating
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L791.4
- Functions
- Chronograph, Small seconds
- Water resistance
- 100m
- Bracelet / strap
- Leather strap
- Strap colour
- Brown
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 49.5mm
- Power reserve
- 68 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 (4,361), Stainless Steel Watches (2,892), Automatic Watches (1,554), Chronograph Watches (1,144), Leather Strap Watches (959) and Brown Dial Watches (90).
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 | L38215592 | 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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