Podcast — We Talk With Xavier Ligero From Longines About The Spirit

Podcast Episode 21

October 16, 2020

comments 8

Recently, we did a hands-on review of the new Longines Spirit watches. It is a pilot’s watch, new to the Longines Sport collection. We talk to Longines Head of Product Development Xavier Ligero about the Spirit and how it came to life.

Our Fratello on Air podcast is available via Buzzsprout, Soundcloud, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, Deezer, Stitcher, and Spotify.

Talking to Xavier Ligero

The Longines Spirit is a watch that looks so familiar, yet it is new to its collection. The pilot watch DNA is clearly visible, which also derives from the Ministry of Defence specifications for pilot watches. In this podcast, I talk to Xavier Ligero, head of product development at Longines since 2014. We discuss how the Longines Spirit (click here for our review) came to life, which challenges they encountered, and why there are 5 stars on the dial.

Wristcheck

As always, we start with a wrist check, Xavier is wearing his Longines Legend Diver with a date window for this podcast. It is the watch he bought to celebrate a big step in his career at Longines. In the podcast, he will explain to you why. During our discussion of the date of the Longines Legend Diver, and later on, for the Longines Spirit watch, he reveals that there might be a Spirit watch without a date in the future.

Favorite Longines Spirit

When asked about his favorite version of the Longines Spirit (they are available with different dials and in different sizes, and as a chronograph), he opts for the matte black version (see header image), but on the stainless steel bracelet (in the picture above).

I also ask Xavier Ligero about the partnership with ETA they have. The movements that Longines use, are often exclusively developed and designed for them by ETA. It gives an interesting insight into how close these companies work together on projects.

We hope you will enjoy this podcast with some amazing insights into the design and development of the Longines Spirit.

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Podcast — We Talk With Xavier Ligero From Longines About The Spirit

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Dj says:

Oct 17, 2020 at 07:47

Why did they make the lugs so long.? Killed the watch for skinny wrist ed people.
Longines does this for every watch they are making now…long long lugs on pieces which are supposed to be small. 48mm lugs on a 38mm body. 50mm lugs on a 40mm body.
I mean why.
All.rhey are doing is alienating buyers like me.

Reply
1. Tom Smith says:
  
  Oct 17, 2020 at 22:13
  
  I would think the reason is that watches used to be a lot smaller i.e 33-36mm for most men’s watches, so the lugs were long to fit a variety of wrists. Now even small watches by today’s standard (~38mm) which borrow from vintage styling decide to just enlarge the whole watch so that the diameter is modern- while maintaining the same proportion of long vintage-style lugs. Only problem is that these lugs are now too big for a lot of small wrists so I get where you are coming from and totally sympathise.
  
  Reply
Bryan says:

Oct 19, 2020 at 11:25

This would have been an interesting interview if we could have heard the guest. It sounded like he was in a tunnel. Why didn’t you get a better connection? This is definitely defeat snagged from the jaws of victory.

Reply
1. Robert-Jan says:
  
  Oct 19, 2020 at 12:54
  
  Hi Bryan,
  
  It had nothing to do with the connection, but all with recording equipment and environment on their end. There’s only so much we can do about it.
  
  RJ
  
  Reply
Alon Ben Joseph says:

Oct 23, 2020 at 13:58

Great session. Good questions RJ.

Reply
jh
James H says:

Nov 08, 2020 at 19:00

Fantastic interview and insight into a new watches development. Thank you Xavier/R-J! I bought a 40mm black dial Spirit on bracelet blind due to Covid restrictions. I own many more expensive watches but wanted a casual, versatile day to day watch. I was unsure of three things: no ‘3’; 5 stars and long lugs. So here’s some feedback:

In practise, the watch surpasses all expectations and I certainly don’t mind the stars in person, they are much more subtle and classy in the metal. I don’t mind the date for day to day, but would love a no date model. The lugs are long for a 40mm and the bracelet protrudes 1-2mm further, so it is big for a smaller wrist but fits me at 7.25″. The only other criticism I have is that the bracelet is a bit light – the links are quite thin. Ok, a cost issue for sure, but the watch would be amazing on a more robust bracelet (but would start to tread on Omega’s toes!)

So gripes out of the way: I love this watch – the hands, face, dial and numerals are absolutely sublime. Genuinely, the design is up there with Omega (more interesting than Rolex) and the precision is not far off for 1/3rd the price. The ease of legibility is on a par with a Seiko Tuna (most legible instrument in the watch world) – the swiftest glance reveals the time, day or night, even half light as the matte hands are super legible and the lume fantastic (a huge step up for Longines). The bracelet is very comfortable, the crown tactile and beautiful. I am so glad they avoided the flieger style and went with the classic French/US/British layout that harks back to the pioneering days of aviation.

So, my feedback on this new direction for Longines is very positive. I’ve never owned one before, but I will again (I already am considering the Heritage Chrono). Slight refinement to the lugs and maybe some smaller sizes for the smaller waisted (including women) – maybe 32/36? But, congratulations to Xavier and his team for a great watch and let’s hope this is the beginning of some great new things for Longines. So much more interesting than Tudor!

Reply
1. Robert-Jan says:
  
  Nov 08, 2020 at 19:27
  
  Thanks for your feedback James. Interesting to read! With these new Spirit watches, it seems that Longines is aiming at a new customer for their non-Heritage watches. I am very impressed by the Spirit collection. The 40mm is perfect, the 42mm Chrono is sadly not for everyone due to the lug-to-lug and substantial thickness of the case.
  
  Reply
Grizzlymambo says:

May 18, 2021 at 18:38

They need to extend this line like Tudor did with the Black Bay. There NEEDS to be a true GMT version, and a 38mm no-date version. If they made both, then I would have a very hard time deciding which of the 2 I would get, but would lean toward a 38mm no-date.

Reply