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Longines Flagship Classic 40mm Mens Watch Blue
Ref. L49844986
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Stepping up in the same colour and case shape
The Flagship has been Longines' case for understated formality since 1957 — a dress line built on the premise that a watch worn with a suit should disappear into the occasion rather than announce itself. The 40mm diameter sits at the wider end of that tradition, but the Flagship carries it without feeling like a sports watch in disguise. The sunray blue dial is the thing that prevents this from reading as strictly conservative. Caught straight on, it is composed and office-ready; at an angle, it pulls light across the surface in a way that gives it some life without demanding attention. The silicon balance-spring in the movement — a material that resists magnetism and temperature variation better than steel — means the 72-hour power reserve is more reliable under real conditions than the headline figure alone suggests.
- Reference
- L49844986
- Brand
- Longines
- Case size
- 40mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Blue
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Movement
- Automatic
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 30m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Silver
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- 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 4 collections
This watch appears in Back in Stock (3,460), Stainless Steel Watches (2,531), Automatic Watches (1,573) and Blue Dial Watches (701).
Best of 2 retailers
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch for everyday wear.
Strengths
- 40mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 72-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Sits in the lower half of Longines's range as we list it
Worth knowing
- 30m means keeping it away from water
Longines Flagship Classic alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L49844986 | BMM0A10853 | 01 754 7785 4065-07 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £1,650 | £1,690 | £1,600 |
| Case size | 40mm | 40mm | 40mm |
| Water resistance | 30m | 50m | 50m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 72 hours | 38 hours | — |
| This watch |
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Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
No. At 30m it will survive rain and handwashing, but not submersion of any kind.
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.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's, though at 40mm it sits in the range that suits anyone.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths list it at £1,650, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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