# Evidenza



## tribe125 (Mar 7, 2006)

*I'm a watch - buy me*

So many ways to persuade yourself that you need a watch...

On this occasion: tonneau case - haven't got one of those; Roman numerals - nope, all I have are plain old numerals; flinqué dial - like the sound of that; a design with echoes of the Café de Paris, _circa_ 1932 - nothing like that. That was it, then - better have one. 

And let's face it, _Longines_ has a nice sound to Anglo-Saxon ears. I'm tempted to lavish my most exaggerated French accent on it - but I won't. Also helping me along was the suspicion that the dealer had put the wrong price on it...

*Russia?*

Googling the model number (L2.642.4.51.0), the only other examples I could find were in Russia. The regular model (L2.642.4.51.4) is identical, except that it comes on an alligator strap with a deployant rather than a calf strap with a buckle.

If the price I paid for the lone British example was correct (and the price in Russia was not dissimilar), then the differential between alligator and calf was more than £450. Seems like a lot.

Maybe Longines once sold the cheaper model in Britain, and then sidelined it in a push for higher profit margins. Mine has some evidence of being ex-display (no case stickers, slight bend in the strap), so might be a leftover. I can't imagine that they routinely sold them together, demonstrating that one was overpriced...

Anyway...

*The* *watch*










Size

Evidenzas come in two sizes, depending on whether they're chronographs (34.9 x 40 x 12.8) or simple three-handers (33.1 x 38.75 x 11). The lug width of the smaller model is 18mm (not sure about the larger model).

The larger size doesn't (to my eyes) have such elegant proportions, being fatter as well as thicker. The smaller model is 'the gentlemen's size', according to one reviewer. b-)

According to Longines, the Evidenza is based on a 1925 original, but I haven't been able to identify the exact model with any certainty. Einstein's watch is presumably a later model, but appears to have a similar case -










Which reminds me...










You don't need to be alive to be a brand ambassador.

Dial

Flinqué, eh? - now there's a thing. I looked it up: 'Engraving done by hand using a graver or by machine using a rose-engine and comprising intersecting straight or wavy lines. The tool is always moved concentrically.'










It looks terrific, I have to say. It's extravagant but refined, rich but not ostentatious. It might be executed in a mundane industrial fashion (I have no idea), but it's a convincing token of why Longines sits three-quarters of the way up the Swatch ladder, and it's a nice link to hand-crafted tradition. Love it.

The silvered hands are delightful, and the numerals, date window and sub-dial have a balance and rightness about them. I wouldn't change a thing.

The tonneau effect

The minute hand is only close to its markers for about a third of its travel around the dial. In the case of the Evidenza, some minute divisions are marked by their absence. The result is an easygoing and nicely old-fashioned approach to timekeeping. If you want a tonneau wearer to be on time, make the appointment for the hour or the quarter. Which is pretty much how I operate, as it happens...

As the distance between the minute hand and markers increases, so does the size of the intervals between the markers. It's obvious, and it's just geometry, but set against the strict functionality of a round dial, it's an engaging detail.

I also like the way the numerals are italicised between the quarters. 'XI' is my favourite. Again, it's obvious to do it this way, but it's another example of 'a lot going on' in the arrangement of an apparently simple dial. Tonneaus are _interesting_.

Case

Tonneau cases can also be a little unforgiving. There are more angles, more curves, more opportunities to end up with something awkward. The Evidenza avoids the obvious pitfalls, and it looks right on my 7.25" wrist - not vintagey-small, and not a matchbox on a strap. This isn't a watch that should look _too_ contemporary. The caseback has a shallow curve and it's an easy thing to have on your wrist. It would slide under any shirt-cuff that wasn't tourniquet-tight.










The crown wears a natty blue collar, which is flame-blued silver, according to one review.

The crystal is a convex sapphire with anti-reflective coating on the underside.

Putting it all together, you've got classic lines and classic reserve.

*Strap*

As mentioned, it's reptile-patterned calf (18mm, non-tapering) with a buckle. Calf suits me fine, because for all of its up-market allure, I'm not sure that I prefer reptile to calf, and I definitely prefer buckles to deployants. It's a good quality strap.

*Movement*

L615. In other words, an ETA 2895 with a branded rotor. I don't get too excited about movements, I just want them to work well and to be practical ownership propositions. With that in mind, the 2890 series is just about ideal - more refined than the 2824, but still industry-standard so that it can be serviced without fuss or undue expense. Good upper-middle stuff, like Longines.










*Last* *words*

I seem to like the quieter brands in the Swatch portfolio - Mido, Longines, Glashütte Original, Breguet.

I was recently smitten by a Mido, now it's a Longines, and the span of those two brands reflects the kind of money I'm most likely to spend on a watch. Ultimately, there are brands with more glitter, gravitas or panache, but if a Longines were to be my 'top' watch, I'd be happy - and I'd be equally happy if it was an Evidenza.

The Evidenza is about classic design executed with a touch of class. It's unobtrusively impressive, and you could take it anywhere, whoever you are.

_"Fire up the Lagonda, James, we're motoring down to Antibes._"

Incidentally, I once knew a man who motored down to Antibes in a Lagonda. He also drove it in the Monte Carlo Rally. How did I know him? My father fixed his taps and my mother cleaned his house. ;-)

Here's a picture of his car, which he was still driving in his eighties -


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## little big feather (Mar 6, 2013)

A quality write-up.....And an equal quality watch.....Thank you.


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## Enoran (Apr 15, 2009)

An engaging review. Thanks.


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## KPR (Nov 2, 2011)

Excellent review! I really enjoyed reading that and admiring your watch/photos.


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## RedBarchettayyz (Dec 24, 2008)

Fantastic review! I can really tell that you're smitten with this watch, and you are right to be - its a beauty!


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## samanator (Mar 8, 2008)

Great review, The dial texture looks very similar to earlier Ball EHC dials.


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