Longines has a wide and rich history in sports timing equipment and wristwatches, and the Conquest collection, was an important part of this idea. Launched in 1954, the line was marked by its automatic movement and water resistance, and was also the first amongst Longines watches to have its name registered by the Federal Intellectual Property Office in Berne, Switzerland. Now, in its 70th year, the brand is marking the occasion with the launch of three new Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve watches, which are inspired by a 1959 model, the Ref. 9028 - it featured a one-of-a-kind power reserve indicator, consisting of two rotating discs located in the centre of the dial.
Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve with a champagne dialThe three new 38mm steel models of the Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve come in a champagne, anthracite, or black three-part dial, at the centre of which are two rotating discs - the power reserve indicator is on the central non-coiling disc – it is in the shape of a baton, and indicates the remaining power reserve on the coiling concentric disc that surrounds it. The total power reserve is 64 hours, and is indicated on a graduating scale of ‘64’ to ‘0’. The winding can either be done by the crown of the movement of the hand, which causes the external coiling disc to rotate.
Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve with an anthracite dial
With the new watches the rotating disc design once again comes to the forefront at Longines – it was an integral part of the historic Hour-Angle watches, and of course the original Conquest model. The new timepieces however have an updated design language. The watch is bigger now, and has a redesigned case with alternating satin-finished and polished surfaces. The lugs have also been redesigned for optimum ergonomics.
Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power ReserveAside of the discs, the watches feature 12 yellow gold-coloured, rose gold-coloured or silver-coloured applied, facetted hour markers – a grooved ring threads through all 12. The date window is at 12, and is decorated with a trapezoid-shaped applique. The skyscraper-style hour and minute hands are coated with Super-LumiNova®, and at 6 o'clock 'Conquest' and 'automatic' appear in the original, vintage typography, The case is topped by a box sapphire crystal with multi-layer anti-reflective treatment on both sides.
Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve with a black dialThe Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve is powered by the new exclusive Longines L896.5 calibre, which can be seen through the transparent screw-down caseback. The movement has a silicon balance-spring and offers a magnetic resistance up to ten times greater than the ISO 764 benchmark standard.
Images: Courtesy Longines