The Web has been abuzz in regards to the new Longines Pilot Majetek, the most recent within the model’s lengthy line of aviation-inspired watches, and we now have to affix this occasion too, having simply seen the watch within the steel. The quick story right here is that the little arrow you see there beneath the sapphire crystal turns together with the bezel, but the watch stays faithfully water resistant to 100m. This doesn’t sound like a lot, written so prosaically like this, however it’s fairly a pleasure to see the arrow flip in individual. The opposite quick factor to notice in regards to the Majetek is the which means of the title, which requires a fast detour into historical past.
The unique Majetek was made in 1935 and its full title was Majetek Vojenske Spravy, though that was not a mannequin title or something like that. It merely means property of the navy administration, which it was as a result of Longines made it for the Czechoslovakian Air Power; the Majetek bit means property, though the nickname in all probability caught as a result of it sounds cool. Sadly, we solely have a lot house to get into this so we should return to this topic one other time. On to the present Majetek watch!
Cushion-shaped with a spherical fluted bezel and dial, the Majetek is typical of watches from the Nineteen Thirties, though it’s possible you’ll elevate an eyebrow (or two) on the 43mm measurement. It’s value remembering right here that this watch was in all probability worn over a jacket, because the aviators of outdated used to do; it is rather chilly within the environment and early planes didn’t even have pressurised cabins. Longines didn’t specify the precise case measurement of the unique watch, however the truth that it was knowledgeable device (1,700 had been made for the pilots who flew alongside the RAF in WWII) signifies that it may need been fairly an enormous watch.
In any case, we had been happy to see a watchmaking innovation that has to do with the case somewhat than the motion. Feeling and manipulating the bezel is an actual deal with, akin to these watches that use the bezel to regulate a motion perform, or the everyday unidirectional bezel of the dive watch. This one operates easily so don’t count on any clicks right here. Longines initially developed this cellular indicator beneath the glass in 1930 in wristwatch kind, and it was a easy affair — a cellular luminescent hour marker paired with a cellular bezel. The aim right here was to permit pilots to trace departure occasions, or another variable that may enable them to navigate on the fly.
The unique was not water resistant in any respect, and Longines needed to pioneer a brand new system to permit for this within the new Pilot Majetek; a plate on the case aspect at 9 o’clock conceals a patented gear mechanism that Longines says permits the bezel to be related with the marker beneath the sapphire crystal with out compromising water-resistance. The watch is powered by the automated calibre L893.6, which was developed solely for Longines, that includes a silicon hairspring with a working time of 72 hours. The watch is COSC-certified so it’s a chronometer.
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