In honour of the accomplishments of aviation’s pioneers, Longines has drawn inspiration from its rich history to present a very special piece: The Longines Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935. At the start of the 20th century, the watch brand associated its name with pilots who made history through their extraordinary achievements. Chief among them was Charles Lindbergh, the first pilot to cross the Atlantic solo, an achievement celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2017.
Longines Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935
Precision and sturdiness were the key words for the design of the “Type A-7” watches, which needed to meet a very precise criteria in order to merit this distinction, the American army gave to these chronographs ordered from Longines in 1935.
Like the original model, the new Avigation Type A-7 1935 has its dial angled at 40º to the right, that allowed pilots to easily and quickly check the time or chronograph. The watch has a 41-mm stainless steel case with a large, vintage-style fluted crown, whose original purpose was to make it easy for a pilot to operate the watch even while wearing gloves.
The vintage elements on the white-lacquered dial include large, legible, honey-colored Arabic numerals; “pear skeleton” hour and minute hands in blued steel, filled in with honey varnish; and a train-track chapter ring around the perimeter.
Longines Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935
Inside, new timepiece features L788.2 column wheel chronograph movement, produced by ETA exclusively for Longines and features a 54hr power reserve while running at 28,800 vph. The central chronograph counter hand ticks off the seconds, while the subdial at 12 o’clock tallies elapsed times up to 30 minutes. The watch comes on a brown alligator strap with a steel buckle and costs $3,500.
Longines Avigation Watch Type A-7 1935
