# School me on why I should buy a Longines



## dparm1984 (May 23, 2008)

It's time for me to get a big-boy watch and stop flipping Citizens and Seikos every other year. I need to get a watch to wear to the office, so nothing too ostentatious or big (I have my Marathon JSAR for that). Something that says, "this man has good taste in watches" without screaming, "hey everyone, checkout my watch" (again the JSAR and Black Monster fill those duties).

I passed by a Tourneau shop in the mall recently and really liked the look of some Longines they had on display, but ultimately had to do some reading at home on the brand to learn more, as I only knew it from their advertising & sponsorship in various equestrian races. Reading company history and looking at wrist photos only goes so far, however. The bigger question is, why should I buy a Longines over something like an Omega, Breitling, or IWC?

A friend with a penchant for nice watches advised me that it's a brand with strong history and is good value, but it won't hold said value like one of the aforementioned brands. He is generally on-the-fence about Swatch Group stuff as well.

So...school me on why Longines is the brand I should buy.


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## dr3ws (Jun 9, 2015)

dparm1984 said:


> . The bigger question is, why should I buy a Longines over something like an Omega, Breitling, or IWC?


Longines is a good brand with rich history and for the quality you can it's good value for money however comparing it to Omega, Breitling and IWC is unfair because those brands are in different price range, if you have a budget of 1-3k then Longines could be one of the best choices, they have great design with ETA movement. Now the question is how much are you willing to spend?


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## anzac1957 (Oct 2, 2008)

Get a well looked after vintage Longines.. nice ones to be had and their in house movements among some of the best..


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## dparm1984 (May 23, 2008)

dr3ws said:


> Longines is a good brand with rich history and for the quality you can it's good value for money however comparing it to Omega, Breitling and IWC is unfair because those brands are in different price range, if you have a budget of 1-3k then Longines could be one of the best choices, they have great design with ETA movement. Now the question is how much are you willing to spend?


A gently used Omega Speedmaster can be had for about $3,000, for example. It's not a fair comparison for "new to new", but a new Longines is about the same as the used Speedy.


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## dr3ws (Jun 9, 2015)

dparm1984 said:


> A gently used Omega Speedmaster can be had for about $3,000, for example. It's not a fair comparison for "new to new", but a new Longines is about the same as the used Speedy.


That depends on what model you are looking at from Longines. Which ones from Longines are you interested in?


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## jasonzhang921 (Jan 13, 2016)

I would get an omega for a sub 114060 with that budget

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


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## mpalmer (Dec 30, 2011)

The column wheel chronograph offerings are a strong value...


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## balzebub (May 30, 2010)

Why not longines? It's a reputable brand that makes good quality pieces at decent prices. You get pretty good value with some of their models. Anyway, what's OP's budget?


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## dparm1984 (May 23, 2008)

dr3ws said:


> That depends on what model you are looking at from Longines. Which ones from Longines are you interested in?


Conquest GMT, Legend Diver, or Heritage 1951. I like some of the Master Collection models, but they're getting kinda pricey at that point.



balzebub said:


> Why not longines? It's a reputable brand that makes good quality pieces at decent prices. You get pretty good value with some of their models. Anyway, what's OP's budget?


Definitely under $3,000 out-the-door, short of it being one of my Holy Grail watches.


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## dr3ws (Jun 9, 2015)

They make many attrractive watches in heritage and master collection, if you are getting from an AD, you should be able to get 20% off MSRP.


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## cuthbert (Dec 6, 2009)

dparm1984 said:


> A gently used Omega Speedmaster can be had for about $3,000, for example. It's not a fair comparison for "new to new", but a new Longines is about the same as the used Speedy.


If you compare used against used for $3000 if you are lucky you can find a Longines 30CH that is considered one of the best movement ever.

Still, you have to make up your mind on what you want to buy and make fair comparision: new vs used is not fair, in terms of new Longines makes very good watches that can be favourably compared to TAG Heuer, just to say that, the column wheel chrono while not strictly in house is made just for Longines, the 1973 and the 1967 Heritage are very, very nice looking watches that I consider better looking than the current Carrera 1887.

For divers, to be honest I consider the Legend Diver a more interesting watch to look at than the Omega Seamaster, it's very peculiar and highly popular.


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## TimeWizard (Oct 13, 2013)

Take your friend to Torneau and show him a Breguet, then ask if he's still on the fence about Swatch. 

Get yourself a vintage Longines, it will only go up in value and it will be built to a higher quality than any modern Omega or Breitling.


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## dparm1984 (May 23, 2008)

TimeWizard said:


> Take your friend to Torneau and show him a Breguet, then ask if he's still on the fence about Swatch.
> 
> Get yourself a vintage Longines, it will only go up in value and it will be built to a higher quality than any modern Omega or Breitling.


LOL fair enough, I think his point is that Swatch Group stuff has its pros/cons. He does own a Planet Ocean so he's not completely against giving them money.


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## scosmoss (Sep 15, 2015)

History and heritage is one of the reasons. It has the oldest trademarked logo among watchmakers. They were the first to manufacturer a wrist watch chronograph. Though they were definitely more prestigious back then than they are now.

Longines is not an in your face brand. Their styling leans more classic and conservative.
I bet most people have not even heard of them. In fact, I've only had a handful of comments from others on my Conquest Classic.

No, the new ones won't hold value as well because they are mostly using modified ETA movements. But Breitling isn't exactly known for having excellent resale value either.
And your friend should know that Breguet and Blancpain also fall under the Swatch umbrella.


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## Richmond Oiler (Nov 2, 2014)

Because they are damn nice watches for the money. Plus you can buy an 18k Longines for the price of a stainless Rolex or Omega.


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## dantan (Dec 16, 2014)

Longines is a very well-known brand that has got a very good history. Their Watches are very well-made and very well-priced. I have owned 3 Longines watches and will not hesitate to recommend the brand. I used to own one of these:


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## tsbphd (Jun 11, 2012)

Do your research and find a watch that you like, respect, can afford and can see yourself wearing regularly. Also, do not limit yourself to a shop like Tourneau. I own four watches and they all get regular usage; a Seiko SARB065 (Cocktail Time), Omega Aqua Terra (series 2500), Elgin (vintage 14K) and Longines Heritage Conquest (the limited edition). They are below-

The Seiko oozes 1950s cool and the dial changes color slightly from silver to white to pale blue, depending upon the ambient lighting conditions or materials reflected. This is not a model if you want lume. It is also quite affordable right now with the high dollar-to-yen ratio. What you must keep in mind, though, is that it is 40mm across with a high profile given the domed Hardlex crystal. In other words, the watch has a relatively high profile and might not be for everyone.









The Omega will run the fully mentioned $3,000 to obtain and outfit with alligator strap. It will also have to be purchased pre-owned at that price level since this model was retired several years ago. It is 39mm across and much thinner than the Seiko with a flat sapphire crystal. Similar to the Seiko, this is also not a model if you want lume. The dial color is striking and really captures the light.









Unlike the previous two watches shown, the Longines does not have an exhibition caseback and this particular model is also retired. However, the non-limited edition version of this watch, which has a date window at 12:00, is still in production and looks smashing. The indices are applied and fairly high profile, there is only a little lume on the dial and hands and the lack of a date window makes it more streamlined. This is a smaller, more vintage feeling watch at 35mm across and 10mm in height. If you can find the limited edition it might run about half what a used Omega (shown above) will run, while a new watch with date window might be as little as one-third the price of the used Omega AT.









Lastly, the vintage Elgin is 14K and nearly fifty-years old, with solid gold case and sub-seconds dial. It is sized along the lines of the Longines in this post and would cost not that much more than the Seiko in this post. The value of this watch is highly dependent upon the gold content of the case. Like the Longines, this watch does not have an exhibition caseback. It is also a mechanical, front-loader.









I wear all four regularly, but on "date night" with my wife or to more formal events will only wear the Elgin and Longines. Any of these watches could last you a lifetime, in my opinion, and all might be worn daily and to virtually any commonplace event that would not require water resistant or water-proof materials. Additionally, as a group they might run $5K, if you could find them, but the beauty of it is that you don't need to find this group of watches and you don't have to find or like what anyone else recommends. Find what speaks to you and what works for you and live with the watch. My opinion is that the vintage Longines market screams "undervalued" at the moment and the new, Heritage line of vintage, classically styled Longines offers outstanding value (similar to quality Seiko watches) that will not fade out of fashion, since it is stylish and not fashionable.


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## kit7 (Mar 25, 2015)

anzac1957 said:


> Get a well looked after vintage Longines.. nice ones to be had and their in house movements among some of the best..


+1 Do a bit more research on the movements, get them serviced too, if you buy that is. I have 3 from the bay, none over $200.


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## maxixix (Dec 31, 2015)

Seamaster Diver 300 no question about it for about or under 3 k


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## friedricetheman (Mar 30, 2015)

The only Longines I would ever consider is a Legend Diver. It's build quality is almost on par with Omega except for the wonky crown. But exterior wise, it's up there with Omega.

Problem with Longines is that a lot of their watches will not age that well, save for the Legend diver and the heritage series. 10 years down the road, a lot of them will look dated. 

If you want a big boys watch, go with a Legend Diver. It is super serious enough to warrant a permanent place in a collection among Rolexes, Pateks and APs..


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## JoeyBossi (Dec 23, 2014)

The reason you should buy longines is because it is a strong and well known brand but they also have nice design, good overall quality and finish and nicely decorated movemets. Other than that they are pretty much a generic brand in the middle of the segment. Similar to brands like glycine, oris, fortis, tutima, sinn etc. Longines how ever have a huge variety of models, both sporty ones, divers, formals and chronograph. A big variety of models that the others lack. Some models give very good value for the money buying from online stores (e.g. premiumwatches) such as the popular conquest and hydroconquest with excellent WR (300m) and versitale design. Contenders are of course glycine combat sub, oris aquis date, oris tt1 day date, rado d-star 38mm, fortis flieger automatic, tutima di300, sinn 556, sinn 104, as all these are around 900-1200 euro range and have at least 100m WR and above (i.e. sport watches that can be worn formal as well).


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## WeylandYutani (Nov 13, 2008)

friedricetheman said:


> The only Longines I would ever consider is a Legend Diver. It's build quality is almost on par with Omega except for the wonky crown. But exterior wise, it's up there with Omega.
> 
> Problem with Longines is that a lot of their watches will not age that well, save for the Legend diver and the heritage series. 10 years down the road, a lot of them will look dated.
> 
> If you want a big boys watch, go with a Legend Diver. It is super serious enough to warrant a permanent place in a collection among Rolexes, Pateks and APs..


The LLD doesn't have a wonky crown.


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## Mugszy27 (Nov 11, 2008)

Because the S in Longines is silent. It's pronounced "Long gine". 

Excellent timepieces at reasonable prices! High quality - I don't think there is a better brand out there for the value.


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## dobbermn (May 18, 2015)

Because it sounds European so people who don't know what it is will be impressed when you pronounce it.


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## rfortson (Feb 18, 2012)

mpalmer said:


> The column wheel chronograph offerings are a strong value...


Agreed. I'm wearing this one today and it's a great value compared to other chronographs in the price range. And the classic style will look good for years to come.


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## dobbermn (May 18, 2015)

I assume that the column wheel is a little more expensive to service since it seems to be quite different from other movements?


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## cuthbert (Dec 6, 2009)

dobbermn said:


> I assume that the column wheel is a little more expensive to service since it seems to be quite different from other movements?


Not really, at least my watchmaker doesn't make any difference.

For cams and levers, in a 7750 movement they need to be set up in order to ensure a smooth action, so perhaps the column wheel is even easier to service.


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## Manuyota (Feb 5, 2015)

You should because they are highly underrated, a lot.


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## maxixix (Dec 31, 2015)

This one kills me everytime I see it, stunning but it does not come cheap.


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