Longines Comet 'Mystery Dial'

In the mid-20th century, watch designers were thinking outside the box. 

Way outside the box. These days, it’s all vintage reissues peppered with the occasional, original exception — Bulgari’s Octo Finissimo comes to mind — but back then, every other timepiece was seemingly some wacky, ass-kicking design. 

Longines, based in Saint Imier, Switzerland, was responsible for many such designs. Take this Comet from circa 1969, for example: With its cushion case and ‘mystery’ dial, it perfectly anticipated the groovy vibe of the 1970s that would see some of the most original watches the world has ever known.

Coming in at 35mm in diameter, this Reference 8475 features a stainless steel cushion case, a signed acrylic crystal, a signed crown, and a grey dial with an outer minutes track and an inner hours track in white, and two rotating, teal discs with a painted tritium arrow hour hand and a ‘comet’ minute hand. As these discs rotate, the arrow and ‘comet’ hands point to the correct time, replacing traditional watch hands. 

Powered by Longines' Cal. 702 hand-cranking movement, this exceptionally neat watch comes with a signed, black leather strap featuring a signed, stainless steel pin buckle.

Already innovative back in the late ‘60s, it remains an envelope-pushing design over 50 years later.

Founded in 1832 in Saint-Imier, Switzerland, Longines was at the sharp end of the watchmaking spear during the beginnings of modern horology. Constantly innovating, the company devised some of the most important wristwatches of the 20th century. Indeed, by 1919, Longines was the official supplier of timepieces for the International Aeronautical Federation, working to develop highly accurate navigation chronometers for many of the era's great aviation pioneers.
Most famous among Longines' forays into navigation pieces is the Lindbergh Hour Angle watch, a wristwatch designed by famed aviator Charles Lindberg in conjunction with the brand to allow aviators to calculate, with the help of a sextant and a known latitude, their exact geographic location.
From the 1930s to the 1950s, Longines also released a series of stunning time-only watches. Often referred to as “Calatravas” after the iconic model by Patek Philippe, most of these watches had thin stainless steel cases at 32-35mm, standard sizes for the time. Like the Patek Philippe Calatrava, these timepieces were known for their perfect proportions and the elegant simplicity of their designs.

But it wasn’t just time-only watches that drew the attention of clients the world over — particularly in the Americas: The company’s caliber 13ZN, first released in 1936, is widely regarded as one of the finest chronograph movements ever devised by any brand. This development would form the basis of work in sports timing, in which Longines developed timepieces with flyback functionality as well as 1/100th-second counters.

Today, Longines produces a remarkable number of watches annually — over 1.5 million of them — and rakes in over $1B in annual revenue through the sale of everything from simple quartz watches to sophisticated moon phases and chronographs. Incredibly, they produced their 51 millionth timepiece in 2019 and in some ways, it feels like the brand is just getting started.

Our Pledge

Analog:Shift stands behind the authenticity of our products in perpetuity.

Condition

Since our pieces are vintage or pre-owned, please expect wear & patina from usage and age. Please read each item description and examine all product images.

Warranty

We back each Analog:Shift vintage timepiece with a one-year mechanical warranty from the date of purchase.

International Buyers

Please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.

All of our watches include complementary insured shipping within the 50 states.

Most of our products are on hand and will ship directly from our headquarters in New York City. In some cases, watches will be shipped directly from one of our authorized partners.

We generally ship our products via FedEx, fully insured, within 5 business days of purchase. An adult signature is required for receipt of all packages for insurance purposes. Expedited shipping is available at an additional cost. We are also happy to hand deliver your purchase in Manhattan or you may pick it up at our showroom.

Returns must be sent overnight or by priority international delivery, fully insured and paid for by the customer. A restocking fee may apply. Watches must be returned in the same condition as initially shipped.

We welcome international buyers, please contact us prior to purchase for additional details on shipping and payment options.