Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle 90th Anniversary

In a time before GPS, sailors and aviators had to rely on mathematics, knowledge of celestial bodies, and — perhaps most crucially — a good chronometer to find their way home.

When Charles Lindbergh returned from his pioneering solo flight across the Atlantic, he sought a way to simplify the complicated equations and the array of tools needed to calculate longitude. Approaching Longines, he proposed an unusual timepiece that would allow a navigator to make these calculations quite literally on fly. The result was the Longines ‘Hour Angle’ watch. 

Using the bezel (which featured an ‘equation of time’ scale for calculating the difference between a fluctuating ‘Earth’ day and a standardized 24-hour day); an inner, rotating dial disk for synchronizing the seconds hand; and dial markings that allowed the wearer to calculate his position within the Earth’s 360-degree rotation, a pilot could effectively tell his position at any point mid-flight. Until the advent of LORAN, radio navigation and — much later — GPS, this system was the most effective navigational aid in use. 

Longines has since issued numerous iterations of the Hour Angle, including this particular piece produced to celebrate 90 years since Lindbergh’s famed transatlantic flight. That took 33 hours, 30 minutes, and 29.8 seconds in case you were wondering! This model was released in 2017 and features a 47.5mm stainless steel case with a black PVD bidirectional friction bezel and a large ‘onion’ crown. 

The bezel function allows the wearer to adjust for the daily variations in the equation of time, while the galvanic black disk in the center of the dial rotates to synchronize the seconds with a radio time signal. The watch can thus be used to indicate the hour angle in degrees and in minutes of arc. Amazingly, it can also be used to tell the time!

 Powered by an automatic-winding Calibre L699 movement, it comes fitted with a signed brown leather strap with contrast stitching, as well as a signed buckle. It also comes complete with its inner and outer box set, books, hangtags, strap extension, and is numbered 9 out of 90 pieces produced,

Interesting, vintage-inspired, and cool as hell, the Longines Hour Angle is the perfect watch for those intrigued by horological history or aeronautical adventuring!

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.

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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.

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

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