Longines Flagship

The Flagship is one of Longines's oldest collections, having been around since 1957. Some versions feature an engraving of a caravel, a historic type of ship, on the case back. Other models have a smooth or see-through case back.

The Flagship series currently contains elegant three-hand watches with a date display at three o'clock. The larger variants have a unisex case diameter of 38.5 mm, though tend to have a more masculine design. The 35.6-mm versions, on the other hand, are more appropriately unisex. There are also women's watches with a delicate case diameter of only 26 mm.Most Flagship watches are made of stainless steel, although there are some bicolor and solid gold models available with a leather strap.

The current trend for men's watches calls for a diameter of 40 mm or larger. Thus, larger watches are the rule, rather than the exception, in the Flagship collection. However, if you're looking for a dress watch in an unobtrusive size, then the Flagship is still a good option. The top model is an 18-karat rose gold 35.6-mm version with a white dial, sword hands, and a black crocodile leather strap. The 3,000-euro timepiece can be found under the reference number L4.774.8.22.2.

Another 35.6-mm version of the Flagship (L4.799.4.96.6) has a stainless steel case and bracelet with a dark blue dial. It costs around 1,100 euros. The 38.5-mm version (L4.874.4.12.6) with a similar design and white dial costs a hundred euros less.

The bicolor 38.5-mm version (L4.874.3.37.7) is made of yellow gold and stainless steel. The bicolor bracelet has alternating gold and stainless steel links while the case and dial feature a PVD gold coating. The timepiece also features 13 diamonds as hour indices, two of which are at the 12 o'clock position. A new version of this watch costs around 1,200 euros.

Twelve diamonds adorn the white dial of the 26-mm stainless steel women's version (L4.274.4.27.6), which costs around 1,000 euros. A similar version with a dark blue dial and no diamonds (L4.274.4.96.6) costs around 900 euros.

Many Flagship watches from the past six decades are also available in addition to current models. Pre-owned rose gold models (L4.746.8.72.0) in very good condition featuring a caravel on the case back cost around 3,000 euros. Longines also occasionally offers sporty chronographs in the Flagship series, such as a stainless steel model (L4.803.4.12.2), which costs 1,700 euros new.

According to the manufacturer, the Flagship is waterproof to 30 m (3 bar). This means the timepieces are protected against splashes of water, but shouldn't be worn while swimming, surfing, diving, or participating in any other water sports.

Longines often uses quartz movements in other series, but the Longines Flagship timepieces are exclusively powered by mechanical movements. The automatic caliber L619/L888 powers the 38.5-mm model. The movement is based on the well-known and loved 2892-A2 from ETA SA Manufacture Horlogère Suisse (ETA), the world's largest ébauche manufacturer. The 35.6-mm models are powered by the automatic movement L636, based on the ETA 2836-2. The L595, a Longines version of the automatic ETA 2000/1 movement, powers the women's watches. All calibers have a 40-hour power reserve. Both ETA and Longines are members of the Swatch Group, which explains their close collaboration.

Longines was founded in 1832, making it one of the oldest traditional Swiss manufacturers. The company has belonged to the Swatch Group since the 1980s.