Last year we talked about the Christopher Ward Bel Canto, a watch release which had the potential to change the industry forever. Right now, there isn’t another watch I can think of with a chiming-hour mechanism that retails for under 3,000 dollars. It just doesn’t exist.
The Bel Canto made it very clear for watch nerds that highly complicated mechanical watches could be done for “reasonable” prices. And today, I’m glad to say that this hypothesis is catching on now with even the biggest players within the industry.
Once again, it’s Longines who come to our rescue. A brand embedded with rich history, a strong independent manufacture and gorgeous designs is now a definite leader within the Swiss watch industry. And their recent release called the Spirit Flyback is a testament of just how bloody good at their job they really are.
But to truly understand how impressive this release is, first we have to understand what a watch complication is.
I have previously covered a quick guide for you to understand watch complications right here. But if you can’t be bothered to read my ramblings all over again, I’ll make a quick summary.
A watch complication is any added functionality to a watch besides telling time. If a watch has an alarm mechanism, that’s a complication. If it has a date window, that’s another complication. If it allows you to spin a dumbass roulette like in a casino which you can later use as a scapegoat for the missus to justify why 5,000 dollars are missing from the family account, that’s a complication.
So naturally, in terms of complications, there are some which are more desirable than others. For instance, a minute repeater which is a watch designed to chime the time currently displayed in the dial on demand, will be far more desirable to own than a measly watch with a date window. This is solely because of complexity. Another way of saying this is: the more complicated a watch gets, the harder it is to design.
One of the most “premium” of complications available is the flyback chronograph. To distinguish itself from a “vulgar” regular chrono, a flyback has a function which allows the user to instantly reset the chronograph mechanism with just a single push of a button but WITHOUT stopping it altogether. The chronograph hand “flies back” to its original position without interruption. Get it?
Suffice to say, a regular chronograph cannot do this. If you want to time immediate events (for instance, lap times in a race) you are forced to press the STOP pusher first, then the RESET pusher to bring the chronograph hand back to zero and finally push the START button all over again.
Since this was far from ideal, some crazy asshole at Longines in 1936 decided to invent the first flyback chronograph in history to solve this “issue”. Believe it or not, this laughably simple complication at first glance is actually as simple to produce as getting Logan Paul to stop scamming his followers with shitcoins on the internet; and because of that reason, the watch brands big enough to attempt it typically charge STUPIDLY high prices for it.
Take this Patek Philippe Nautilus 5980/1R for example. While this watch is made entirely in rose gold which definitely bumps the price up, in terms of complications it only has a flyback chronograph alongside a date window in it. How much does Patek Philippe want for it? 101,040 USD. Yup. A hundred grand. You read that right.
So we would expect the Longines Spirit Flyback, a watch designed by the very same manufacturer of the original flyback chronograph to charge for this stainless steel chronograph somewhat close to half the price, maybe?
Wrong.
The Longines Spirit Flyback is available in three configurations and can be purchased for 4,950 euros on a leather strap and 5,050 euros with a stainless steel bracelet.
Yes. I know what you’re thinking. Me saying a watch with a price of a little under 5,500 USD is affordable is kinda like saying Stalin should be forgiven for his war crimes because he had a funny mustache. 5 and a half thousand dollars is not cheap. By any stretch of the imagination. But for a watch with a complication this insane it is quite the achievement.
What else are you getting for your big bucks here?
First of all, you can see the Longines Spirit Flyback borrows a rather similar aesthetic from their awesome GMT release from last year, the Zulu Time which you can read about here. Available in 4 different variations with two dial colors (black and blue), this 42 mm stainless steel watch is quite a looker, is it not?
While you don’t get a date complication with this one, Longines really stepped it up in terms of the movement. Inside beats an automatic L791 caliber designed exclusively for Longines. Beating at 4 Hz this incredible caliber has 68 hours of power reserve when fully wound and is completely protected against magnetic fields.
So far this watch seems like an amazing bargain right? So there must be a catch aside from that not-so-affordable price tag, right?
To be honest, I can’t think of much. Servicing might be a bit pricey down the line but considering how reliable Longines as a manufacturer is, you probably will have to do that in a very long time. We could also mention that 42 mm is definitely quite big and might size people with thinner wrists out; and finally, if you’re extremely picky, it could be argued 17 mm in thickness makes it rather cumbersome on the wrist.
That’s about it, really. Not only are you accessing a premium movement with a historic and extremely complex mechanical complication inside it, you can see that gorgeous movement when you turn it around, knowing full well what you paid for.
In terms of immediate competition, I can only think of two watches around this price point. The Frederique Constant Classics Flyback Chronograph (with in my opinion a “worse” movement” overall) costs around 7,395 USD and the TAG Heuer Autavia Flyback Chrono which costs 7,400 USD. If you can find any other brand new watch cheaper than this Longines, let me know because as far as I know, the rest start climbing up in prices to ridiculous levels.
In short, this is one of the cheapest new flyback chronographs on the market today. Fabricated by one of the most respected and long-standing brands in the business, the Longines Spirit Flyback might be the definitive way to try out a “premium” complication for just a fraction of the price. It’s still quite expensive for most of us, sure. But it doesn’t stop it from being really cool.
What do you think about this release? Please, leave a comment!
If you want to learn more about watches, click here to discover more articles!