The Hunt For Shapes: Settling On A Vintage Longines
Finding the right watch that doesn’t have a classic, round case is trickier than I anticipated. You see, recently, I have been pursuing an option for my collection that doesn’t adhere to the case shape most of us start with. Hurrah for vintage Longines coming to the rescue!
The round watch case is practically synonymous with watchmaking as we know it today. It shows a direct transition from pocket watches of the preceding centuries to a miniaturized pocket watch on the wrist. The reasons for pocket watches being round were many and varied. The biggest one, perhaps, was that having rounded sides meant that more primitive metal processing technology did not have to contend with polishing sharp edges. Then, as watches first migrated to the wrist, angular shapes most likely seemed uncomfortable to wear.
Echo/Neutra Rivanera
The tyranny of too many good choices
In his seminal work, Revolution in Time, David Landes noted that once clocks were made portable and small enough to be worn, it was practically inevitable that they would be made small enough for the wrist.
And indeed, here we are today with an abundance of wristwatch options! With the improvement in industrial technology, we also have a myriad of shapes to contend with, including rectangles, diamond-like octagons, squares, triangles, and everything in between. The challenge now is navigating the sheer abundance of options.
Cartier Tank Normale — Image: Wind Vintage
Et tu, Cartier?
My journey started with Cartier. The watch maison is a master of shapes. Many of its designs speak to me, especially the Tank Normale and the Tank Française. I seem to prefer the watches with slightly thicker bezels. If I were to pick an absolute favorite shape, it would likely be the Tank Normale’s. There is something extremely cool about how the designs of the early Cartier Tanks were inspired by the Renault FT-17 tank (pictured below).
Image: The Australian War Memorial
The Cartier Tank Normale is a dream watch for me. The backstory, the class of it… the way it looks! Unfortunately, the Tank Normale is simply outside my budget, so it was back to the drawing board for me. Yes, I could go for something simpler and more affordable within the Cartier stable. That would likely be a vintage Tank Must with a manual-wind caliber. But even those seem overpriced on the secondary market today.
Universal Genève ref. 842135 — Image: Analog/Shift
Universal Genève, oh, how you tempt me…
Another intriguing rabbit hole I found myself in while contemplating ownership of a vintage Cartier Tank Must was that of Universal Genève. The brand released many interestingly shaped watches in the 1960s and 1970s. Some were nicknamed “Ellipse” simply because they resembled the case shape and dynamism of the Patek Philippe Golden Ellipse.
These watches by Universal Genève can offer a remarkably similar form factor, but multiple designs and variations inhabit the brand’s back catalog. The challenge here, like so many watches these days (*sigh*), is the considerable price they can command. It is not unusual to see these sell for well over €1,500, which seemed a bit much to spend on a watch I wasn’t certain I’d enjoy wearing.
The intriguing world of vintage Longines
This is where Longines steps in. Ah, good ol’ Longines — one of the true greats. The brand now does a great job of recreating past hits with its Heritage line. There are some absolute gems elsewhere in the catalog too. My heart, however, is in vintage Longines because it represents eras when the brand was at the top of its game. There’s the legendary 13ZN line of chronographs, the era of stunning Art Deco dress watches, and the brand’s contribution to navigation and aviation history, which you can read about here.
I was working my way through the available listings on Chrono24 and found a significant number of suitable options from Longines. Seemingly, the brand thoroughly enjoyed experimenting with case shapes in the late 1960s and, particularly, the 1970s. This must have been because such experimentation was trendy back then.
Image: Chrono24
The vintage Longines ref. 4155
I then stumbled across one listing for a vintage Longines ref. 4155. It had the manually winding caliber L847.4, a simple movement lacking a seconds hand. The seller was in Southeast Asia, and the price was far less than similar options by Universal Genève and Cartier. That said, vintage 1970s Longines watches are still excellent quality, so I knew I wouldn’t need to scrimp on that. I decided to jump on it.
The watch has a softer rectangular shape, being more stretched out than the options I’d seen from Universal Genève. It also lacks the hard angles of many of the vintage Cartier watches I’d seen. One of the best elements of the design is the integrated Milanese bracelet, which ends with a Longines clasp. Even though the watch is five decades old, the clasp action is still precise and satisfying. The dial is simple enough, with just the Longines name and logo below 12 and “Swiss Made” at 6 o’clock. Elongated Roman numerals grace the perimeter of the silver linen dial. Overall, the design is minimalist and elegant.
Concluding thoughts
I now have my first “shaped” watch, which I will experiment with by wearing a fair bit to see if I can get used to such a form. However, immediately upon receiving it, I realized it hadn’t scratched my itch for something like the Cartier Tank Normale. Some things just have no substitute, I guess. And therein lies the problem. My issue with these shaped watches is that the models I am genuinely passionate about or desire are relatively unaffordable. In a sense, then, I am back to square one.
Having a cool Longines to wear along the journey is hardly a problem, though. I’m grateful I started this quest for a shaped watch that will stick in the collection (I suspect this Longines will not). Perhaps I should just bite the bullet, save up for a few years, and get the Cartier. What do you think, Fratelli? Do you have any recommendations for a shaped watch design that I should look into? Let me know in the comments.
