Spirit Zulu: Longines’ Newest Adventurer

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Spirit Zulu: Longines’ Newest Adventurer  - Longines
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‘Spirit’ is Longines’ flagship collection, bringing together the watchmaker’s most high-profile watches. Today, they are joined by a triple time zone

In a collection dedicated to exploration, what’s the next watch after the three-hander and the chronograph? You guessed it: a second time zone. Or even a third!

The ambitions of the new Longines Spirit Zulu Time are clearly stated, right there in the name. Zulu has nothing to do with African tribes; it’s the aviator’s signal for Z Time (Z=Zulu), otherwise known as Universal Time, UTC or GMT. Even today, it’s the global reference when it comes to aviation. Local flying clubs operate on local time but more serious airfields – and the bigger ones, in particular – use only UTC, which used to be called Zulu Time. In all international weather reports intended for pilots, the location is immediately followed by a reference such as “201400Z”, which means the report was recorded on the 20th of the current month at 1400 hours, Zulu Time.

Spirit Zulu: Longines’ Newest Adventurer

A long tradition of exploration

The entire ethos of the Spirit collection draws from the heyday of aviation and exploration. Longines has no need for imagination – it’s all there in its history. In 1908, the company’s watchmakers unveiled the first pocket watch to display two time zones. In 1931, it developed a special dash-mounted clock for Clyde Pangborn, the first pilot to fly non-stop from Japan to the United States. And in 1933, Longines modified a hefty 47mm Weems watch to incorporate a second set of hour and minute hands. And it’s probably superfluous to point out that the company archives, kept at a place called Les Longines, are probably the most voluminous and the most complete in the entire watchmaking world.

One watch, three time zones

The new Longines Spirit Zulu Time is part of that heritage, but it takes an unapologetically modern approach. There are six models: blue dial, black dial with white lume, or black dial with beige lume, each with a choice of either a steel bracelet or a topstitched leather strap. The collection is in keeping with the Spirit… spirit: Arabic numerals, broad hands, and a generous date aperture at 6 o’clock. All versions share the same 42mm steel case.

Spirit Zulu: Longines’ Newest Adventurer

An exclusive new Longines calibre, with a silicon balance spring and COSC certification, animates the time zone displays, of which there are three. Local time is shown on the central HMS trio (hours, minutes, seconds). The second 12-hour time zone indication is supplied by a fourth central hand with a fluorescent red tip, which can be set to home time. Finally, the same red hand can indicate a third time zone, on the rotating bezel with ceramic insert, with its 24 markers.

Our opinion

It’s difficult to find fault with this new Longines Spirit Zulu Time. The execution of the alternating polished and satin-brushed finishes is perfect. The topstitched leather strap is impeccably tasteful. The raised hourglass and five chronometric stars are a pleasing touch, giving the dial a sense of volume that otherwise might be lacking. Some might regret that only the blue dial gets a sunburst finish, but we’re not going to quibble over the colours.

Spirit Zulu: Longines’ Newest Adventurer

Steel case, ceramic bezel, large-format date, silicon balance spring: this is a watch designed for daily wear. Silicon balance springs are still not well understood by the public but, once you’ve tried one, it’s hard to go back. You very quickly get used to being able to put your watch down next to your computer, portable speaker or tablet without worrying about magnetism.

The strap can be removed quickly, but no alternative is provided out of the box. If you want a spare, you’ll have to buy it separately – a decision justified by Longines’ goal to keep the purchase price as low as possible. But once you have one, no tools are needed to swap them out.

COSC certification is a flourish largely intended to please collectors. According to the data, initial owners are rarely interested in certification. Finally, the 42mm diameter means this watch is targeted more towards a male clientele, but we’d love to see a 40mm version. A number of watches in the Spirit collection already come in 40mm versions, and some even go down to 37mm.

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