Longines Cal.12.68 Z 1953 Oversize 37mm

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

An amazing original ivory-cream dial,matched with the original gold leaf hands. Here we have a superb, original early example of a wonderful Longines from 1953. The stainless steel case is of sturdy construction, with a press-fit case-back. Housed inside, is the Longines Swiss Made Cal.12.68 Z 17 jewel hand wound movement, fully serviced and guaranteed. Overall this is a beautiful watch with much history behind it and entirely unique on the wrist today.

The Dial

An original, unrestored and untouched dial is a thing of beauty. Here in ivory-cream it matches perfectly with the stainless steel case and gilt furnishings. This dial has wonderful gold 1 – 12 standard Arabic numerals and these are swept by original, unrestored and untouched leaf hands. This dial also carries a perfectly proportioned sub-seconds dial above 6, still in fantastic crisp condition.

This dial is correctly and simply signed with ‘Longines’ at the top of the dial just below 12.

As this dial is in original, unrestored condition, this 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 untouched 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 watch carries its original Longines Cal.12.68Z, hand-wound movement which carries all the purity and charm typical of a top-class 1960s Swiss watch movement. This is one of the classic manually wound movements of its day, with 17 jewels, a running rate of 18,000 half beats per hour and a power reserve of 41 hours. It has every contemporary refinement, including a bi-metallic balance and an Incabloc shock protection.

The quality of the movement is exceptional and fair to say this is a better-finished movement than any equivalent watch offered by Rolex or Omega at the time. Unlike its two famous competitors, which simply fitted jewels into drilled holes in the bridges, Longines adopted the system of screwed chatons, by which every jewel is held in its own threaded brass sleeve, which is then in turn screwed into the plates. This is a lovely refinement that one hardly ever sees below the top tier and must have added significantly to the cost of production when new. The fact that vintage Longines watches are still so affordable today is hugely fortunate when we actually look at them closely and see how beautifully well made they are.

As can be seen, the movement is in absolutely tip-top condition following a thorough overhaul and service by our vintage Longines specialist watchmaker. This means the movement has been completely disassembled, cleaned, inspected and rebuilt using only original Longines parts where required, then carefully calibrated and tested. Upon return, this watch is now running to within +11 seconds per day which is absolutely outstanding for any vintage watch of this age. When fully wound, this movement also has a 41-hour power reserve.

These movements are very accurate and very reliable, making it completely practical and appropriate for regular everyday use. Our watchmaker has indicated this particular movement is in top condition and with regular servicing every 2 to 3 years, we would fully expect this watch to run very happily for many more decades to come! We are therefore very pleased to offer a 12-month warranty on this watch movement* and servicing in the future, as required.

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

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

The Case

This is a very tidy stainless-steel Longines case, measuring and oversized 37mm, excluding the correct unsigned crown. It features straight sweeping lugs, overall, maintains an original, untouched appearance and finish. This watch carries a two piece case and has a press-fit case-back which fits into place with a very satisfying ‘pop’.

The case-back interior is simply engraved ‘Longines’ and ‘Stainless-Steel’.

The Strap and Buckle

The watch is fitted with a brown croco calf strap, which we feel suits the watch perfectly, and a matching stainless steel 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 and black in stock in plain padded leather, crocodile skin or lizard skin. We can also obtain most types and colours from our partners at ‘Watch Obsession’ within 48hrs. Please take a look at their huge range of straps if you wish here.

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 1953.

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”.

A high quality hardwood presentation box, as shown in the photographs, is included in the sale of this watch.

Payment and Delivery

If you would like to pay by bank transfer, we will be pleased to assist you with this and pass on a 3% saving to you. Paying by bank transfer for a 3% saving will not affect your 12 months warranty. 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 really beautiful 1950s vintage steel watch from Longines and remains in wonderful original, unrestored and untouched condition. It is to the credit of the company that this watch is still perfectly useable and reliable, just as it was when it left the factory just under 70 years ago!

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 steel watches.

Thank you.