SpotlightGo Full Circle With The New Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve
To mark the 70th anniversary of their legendary Conquest collection, Longines have reimagined an icon from the 1950s. Meet the new Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve—a unique timepiece, where the power reserve is displayed on rotating discs, at the centre of the dial
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One of the most revered collections from Longines, the Conquest line, which has been around since 1954 has always been popular among horology enthusiasts for their watches that have a timeless appeal. While the collection has evolved in the last 70 years and is now mostly associated with sports watches—known for their reliable performance and precision as well as supreme technical features—this wasn’t always the case. In fact when they launched the range, it was steeped in classical watchmaking tradition with a prominent dress watch aura. And the brand have revisited their classical roots to present a new timepiece—the Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve that is inspired by an iconic watch from that era, to celebrate 70 glorious years of the Conquest collection.
The new watch borrows heavily from the 1959 model—a 35mm automatic timepiece that displayed the power reserve indicator for the first time, right at the centre of the dial, thanks to two rotating discs. However, the new version is slightly bigger and is sized at 38mm, fairly comfortable proportions to showcase the ingenious mechanism. Available in dial hues of champagne, anthracite or black, the Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve is a testimony to Longines’ pioneering horological spirit.
This incredible tribute comes in a 38mm, round, stainless-steel case, water-resistant to 50m. It has been completely redesigned with alternating satin-finished and polished surfaces, and is topped by a box sapphire crystal with multi-layer, anti-reflective treatment on both sides. The lugs have also been redesigned for optimum ergonomics and comfort, and the crown on the right side features the winged hourglass logo.
The dial, of course, is the most arresting feature here showcasing faceted indexes, a date window positioned at 12 o’clock, and the power reserve mechanism. This is displayed with the help of two rotating discs, right at the centre of the watch face and is used exclusively by Longines. A power-reserve indicator on the dial is a highly valuable feature since it shows when the watch needs rewinding—either by turning the crown on a manual-winding watch, or by wearing the watch for a while with self-winding watches.
Usually when the power reserve is featured on a dial, it’s displayed through an aperture or a sub-dial but the brand has created something extraordinary here by placing the power reserve indicator on the central uncoiling disc. There is also an external coiling disc, graduated from ‘64’ to ‘0’, which indicated the movement’s depletion level. It reveals the balance of power-reserve hours available, or in other words, the watch’s remaining running time. Rewinding can be done either by turning the crown or moving the wrist, causing the coiling disc to rotate. This innovative mechanism echoes the long history of Longines watches with rotating discs, such as the hour-angle models developed for the aeronautical industry in the late 1920s.
There’s also a fine circular thread, which separates the minute track and the power-reserve disc under luminous hour markers and skyscraper-styled hour and minute hands. The Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve is driven by the new exclusive Longines L896.5 calibre with 21 jewels, beating at a frequency of 25,200vph to supply a power reserve of at least 72 hours. Equipped with a silicon balance spring and technically innovative components, this automatic powerhouse offers a magnetic resistance up to 10 times greater than the ISO 764 benchmark standard, and one can admire the mechanism in all its glory through the transparent caseback. This exceptional timepiece is available with a black or grey leather strap, replete with a stainless-steel pin buckle.