Longines Flagship Automatic Date Ref.2407 9ct 1961

Longines

Longines is one of the oldest Swiss watch manufacturers with an unparalleled history of invention, innovation, patents and awards. The company is also responsible for some of the most beautiful watches ever made. For a long time, something of a Cinderella among the watch collecting fraternity, Longines is now rightfully returning to the elevated status they once held in the pre and post-war years. It is only relatively recently that Longines vintage watches have returned to the admiration and popularity they deserve, with values rising between 15 and 20% per year. Certain models, however, such as the now legendary Longines Calibre 13ZN chronograph have sky-rocketed.

Description

Here we have a superb, fully original example of the Longines Flagship from 1961 when from a technical standpoint, Longines was competing head to head with and beating almost all of the other Swiss watch manufacturers. The truly stunning Flagship we see here has a large size 9ct yellow gold case, size 35mm in diameter, excluding the correct Longines signed crown. The watch is fitted with a high-grade Longines Calibre 341 movement which is very highly regarded for its accuracy and reliability. It is highly unusual to find a 1960s Longines Flagship dress watch with the original integral bracelet. This watch has a date function and carries the Flagship motif on the case-back which is clear and distinct, indicating this watch has seen little use and has not been over-polished.

The Dial

During the 1950s and ’60s, Longines excelled in every aspect of watch design and manufacture. The company was rightfully held in very high regard for the quality of its movements and close examination of any of its watch cases reveals equally high attention to design detail, quality, and purpose. We are strong believers Longines ‘Classic’ vintage watch dial designs are a step ahead in terms of style, elegance and sophistication.

The ivory cream dial design here is very clean, simple and elegant. Everything is in perfect proportion and the dial just works, so well. The original gilt ‘dauphine’ hands pair with applied ‘baton’ hour indices and the Longines signature sits perfectly over the applied Longines winged hourglass logo, which incidentally, is actually the oldest registered trademark of any watch manufacturer. This beautiful watch carries the date window in the unique position of 12.

The watch is simply signed ‘Longines’ at the very top of the dial below 12 along with ‘Flagship’ and ‘Automatic’ at the bottom half of the dial above 6.

The dial is original and unrestored and has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its unique condition. As we have tried to demonstrate in the images, this dial has some wonderful signs of ageing around the outer edge of the, none the less, this dial is absolutely wonderful.

Usually, we restore the dials of the watches we sell, however we decided in this case to leave it alone, due to its unusually good condition and to retain its originality and charm for those who prefer this. It also helps to contrast with almost all of the other watch dials you see on our website, which have been restored. The hands, likewise, have also been left in their original condition.

Please note, studio lights, professional-grade digital cameras, and macro lenses can be very unkind to an unrestored vintage watch dial. Also the dial here measures less than 1.25 inches across, so the image you’re seeing may be between 5 – 25 times larger than the watch itself. Therefore please keep in mind you are seeing many tiny flaws which cannot be seen, or will be very hard to see with the naked eye, even under close examination. Suffice to say, on the wrist, in natural light, this dial looks much better and carries a great deal more charm than the photographs portray.

The Movement

The high grade Cal.341 automatic 17 Jewels movement here is one of Longines most successful, remaining in production, in-house, for over 12 years. The movement is fitted with an “incabloc” design which protects it against shocks and magnetic fields. The movement is also one of the most sophisticated automatic movements available at the time and indeed one of the best ever made. Thanks to its large balance, the movement can be regulated with great precision.

The movement has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt using only original Longines parts where required and when tested and calibrated, this watch was running to within +9 seconds per day, which is excellent for a vintage watch of this age! When fully wound, this movement also has a 42 hour power reserve.

The movement is signed ‘Longines Automatic’ and ’17 Jewels’ with the Calibre No.341 and the Serial No. 11738418. This movement serial number dates this watch to 1961.

These movements are strong, accurate and very reliable making this watch appropriate for regular everyday use. This particular movement is in top condition and with regular servicing, every 3 – 4 years, we would fully expect this watch to give very faithful service for many more decades to come! We are pleased to offer a 12-month warranty on this watch movement* and regular servicing in the future, as required.

*Please note – our 12 months’ warranty is only applicable if the full list price is paid.

The Watch Case

The 9ct yellow gold case has straight swept back lugs which raise the case slightly on the wrist and emphasises its presence. At 35mm in diameter, excluding the Longines crown, this watch is large for the period. The case is of a three-piece design with a press fit case-back which carries the Flagship motif on the case-back. This is clear and crisp indicating this watch has received very little use and has not been over-polished.

The case has been professionally cleaned and lightly polished and is in superb condition and the crown is, of course, an original signed Longines crown. The case is in immaculate condition with no scratches, dings or other marks visible to the naked eye and shows no signs of anything other than very light and careful use.

Inside the Longines Swiss made case is signed ‘LONGINES’, ‘FAB SUISSE’, and ‘SWISS MADE’, with Swiss Geneva 9ct hallmarks and ‘Flagship’ plus the Longines model ref. no 2407.

Please note – as ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Bracelet

The original full-sized 9ct yellow gold bracelet completes the watch beautifully. It is a work of art in itself and feels wonderful both on and off the wrist.Some things are so well designed and so well made, they appear to have a form closer to nature, evolution and art, than to manufacture and this bracelet and case is no exception.

The bracelet is of its full size and has a four-step adjustable catch. It is designed for an average gent’s size wrist and measures 19.7cm on its smallest and 21cm at its largest adjustment, however this is an integral bracelet that can be tailored to size if necessary.

Box and Papers

Although there are no original papers with this watch, the reference numbers, markings, signatures and hallmarks are all correct, dating this watch to 1961.

Detailed particulars will be included with our purchase receipt for your interest and security. A separate insurance valuation for the replacement value of this watch will also be provided at the time of sale along with our unique ‘Lifetime Authenticity Guarantee’ which states: “If this watch proves to be anything less than 100% genuine, authentic and original, a full refund will be given at any time”.

This watch comes complete with a Longines presentation box.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this. Similarly, if you wish to pay by International SWIFT or Bank Wire Transfer we will provide you with our BIC / Swift number and our IBAN number.

Please check the import duties and any taxes your government may apply, these are different for each country and, unfortunately, out of our control.

We understand there may be some ‘loopholes’ that may help you avoid these charges; however, attempting to use these could impact our ongoing ability to serve our growing international customer base.

For those who happen to visit London on occasion, we are, of course, more than happy to store your watch until we can meet you in our offices in Kensington, London, and hand your watch directly to you there.

As with all our watches, this watch will be sold under our 14 days no-quibble sale or return policy.

In Conclusion

This is a wonderful example of one of the most beautiful and sought after vintage Longines available. A classic usable and highly collectable vintage gold gentleman’s dress watch from one horology’s most highly respected names which is something of beauty, to use, wear, treasure and enjoy!

A word on our prices – We always try our hardest to acquire the very highest quality watches we can find, before restoring them to the highest possible standards. We then offer these at the fairest prices we can, taking into account our pre and post-sales care and service. This approach means we will never be the cheapest, but nor will we be the most expensive. Indeed there are some well-known stores in West London which are highly successful charging between two to three times the price you see here. We, therefore, consider our prices to be fair, given the quality of watches we have to offer.

Please note, we also welcome part exchanges. If you have a watch or a small collection for sale, please contact us as we will be happy to discuss this.

We will also be happy to Service your watch, Repair your watch or Restore your watch, all at ‘sensible’ prices. Please see here.

If you have any questions please call us on 020 7727 7095 or if calling from overseas on +44 207 727 7095.

Please take a look at our other fine vintage gold watches.

Thank you