Longines Cal.19.4 9ct 1960

Longines

Longines is one of the oldest Swiss watch manufacturers with an unparalleled history of invention, innovation, patents and awards. They are 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 on average by 15% per year. Certain models however, such as the now legendary Longines Calibre 13ZN chronograph have sky-rocketed.

Description

Here we have a wonderful example of typical Longines elegance and style in the form of a beautiful 9ct dress watch from 1960. This was a period when technically, Longines was approaching its peak and competing head to head with all of the top-tier Swiss watch manufacturers. Notable highlights on this watch are its beautiful original, unrestored and untouched silver-white dial with original hands and the subsidiary seconds dial at 6 o’clock. The case and high grade Calibre 19.4 hand wound movement are also in stunning condition.

At 31mm in diameter, excluding the correct unsigned crown, this would have been a smaller sized watch for this period. However today, given the popularity among ladies to wear gent’s watches, this could equally be considered a suitable watch for a lady.

The Dial

The dial is simply wonderful due to its age and excellent original condition. It is typically 1960s in its use of a subsidiary seconds dial and original ‘index’ style hands, matched with gilt ‘baton’ hour indices, all perfectly placed over a silver-white dial, complete with a subsidiary seconds dial at 6. Longines always seems to aim and achieve dials which are that bit closer to perfection and does this so often and so effortlessly.

Even the Longines signature looks more ‘in place’, which incidentally is the oldest registered, of any watch manufacturer. The company certainly made a fine art of this during the ’50s and ’60s. Perhaps the evolution of a certain style became part of the company’s DNA, but Longines dials seem in a class of their own. This sense of style has certainly won Longines many loyal customers, who only later came to appreciate the accuracy and reliability of its movements.

The dial is simply signed ‘Longines’ with ‘Swiss Made’ at the very bottom.

The dial is original and unrestored and has been left untouched by our restoration team due to its superb condition. 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

This outstanding watch carries the very high grade Calibre 19.4 , 17 jewel movement which is in sparkling condition along with the rest of the watch.

The movement in this watch is Longines’ calibre 19.4, a hand-wound unit that made its debut in 1951. This is an interesting mechanism, not least because it was the only new calibre launched by the company that year. The 1930s had been a time of exponential growth for Longines in terms of sales, but involved the house in the production of a huge selection of movements, many of which had been loosely in the range, albeit with some revisions, since the previous decade or even before. By the time the 19.4 arrived in the early 1950s, the number of calibre types in production had been reduced, which apparently caused much relief among the management. In short, while Longines upped production, it also streamlined its manufacturing process by offering a reduced selection of movement types.

In common with most mechanical movements from this era, the 19.4 was offered with a subsidiary seconds register, as here, or without a second hand. A third variant, identified as the 19.4S was the same movement, but with the addition of an indirectly driven sweep second hand pivoting from the centre of the dial. In terms of collectibility, there isn’t anything to choose between these types, but simply from an aesthetic perspective, the 19.4 with subsidiary seconds has rather more old world charm. In technical terms the 19.4 is the classic manually wound movement of its day, with 17 jewels and a running rate of 19800 half beats per hour. It had every contemporary refinement including Incabloc shock protection, which was still a relatively recent introduction in the early 1950s.

As can be seen, the movement is in tip-top condition having just completed an overhaul and service by our watchmaker. This means it has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected under high magnification then rebuilt using only original Longines parts where required. After testing and final calibration, this watch was running to within +8 seconds per day, which is outstanding for any vintage watch of this age. The movement also has a power reserve of 39hrs.

The movement is correctly signed ‘LONGINES’, ‘Swiss’, ‘17 Jewels’ with the Calibre number 19.4 and the movement serial no. 11162209.

These movements are robust, reliable and accurate making this watch perfectly suited 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 provide faithful service for many more decades to come! We are therefore more than pleased and confident to offer a 12-month warranty on this watch movement*

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

The Watch Case

The high quality, 9ct yellow two-piece gold case is of solid construction and measures 31mm in diameter, excluding the original unsigned crown. The case was manufactured by D. Shackman & Sons in the UK for Longines and is therefore a very high-quality case, as Shackman was perhaps the best of its time.

The case has been inspected, cleaned and lightly hand-polished to bring it back to the excellent condition seen here.  Inside the case-back, all is as expected and is correctly signed: signed DS&S by Shackman with Baume the British importers and London 9ct UK hallmarks, along with the case ref 12255. The hallmarks are dated 1960.

As ever, our standard advice applies: Vintage watches should be kept clean and dry at all times.

The Strap and Buckle

A high-quality black leather strap is fitted with a Longines gold-plated buckle. However, if a different colour or style of strap is preferred, please let us know and we will do our best to oblige, free of charge. We carry tan, conker, dark brown burgundy and black straps in stock, in plain, padded leather, alligator, crocodile or lizard skin.

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 1960.

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 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”.

The Longines presentation box shown in the photographs is included.

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

Here we have a most attractive and highly individual vintage watch from what is increasingly becoming one of the most collectable and highly regarded vintage watch brands. This watch will make an excellent financial investment as well as be something to treasure and enjoy! It is completely practical for use as an everyday watch and as long as it is well looked after and serviced every 2-3 years it will last another lifetime. It carries a great deal more style, individuality and panache than a new watch and to buy a watch of the same quality today, would cost at least three times the price of this.

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.