LONGINES Lindbergh Hour Angle Chronograph ref.674.52.32 cal.L674.4

The movement is struck "Designed by Col. Charles A. Lindbergh."

Longines has a history that fairly deserves to be called venerable.

This is a special collector's item designed by Charles A. Lindbergh, inspired by classical aviation watches.

Examples with no ink wear on the bezel have become very hard to find.

This one is in outstanding condition and comes with its guarantee — a rare thing.

The Hour Angle is the aviation watch handed down together with the hero of the skies, Charles Lindbergh, who made the first solo non-stop transatlantic flight in 1927.

Lindbergh devised a watch useful for aerial navigation on the basis of that experience, and it was Longines that developed the special mechanism to realise his idea.

Released in 1931, this wristwatch carried a groundbreaking system allowing the hour angle to be read from the position of the hands and the bezel scale, so that an aircraft's position — its longitude — could be determined in flight.

Just as sailors once relied on the highly accurate marine chronometer to fix a ship's position, the Hour Angle became indispensable to pilots at a time when aviation instruments were still undeveloped.

The result raised Longines' reputation for precision and reliability further still.

So the Hour Angle — known simply as the Lindbergh — still has models carrying its original function and design in production today, and remains a thoroughly practical aviation watch whose popularity shows no sign of fading.

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