On Horbiter® we have started to cover women's watches as often as we do, since 2013, with men's watches. The Longines Record collection is one of those rare cases where we discover a watchmaker that has conceived a collection that is both for him and for her. When our editor-in-chief recently wrote about the Longines Record 2017, he never stopped emphasizing how much a Record's classic style makes it a watch easy to use and wear, a result that can be easily achieved when a timepiece's design is sleek, with no frills and aimed at a wide audience. From this point of view, the Longines Record is a perfect watch.
Such a timepiece, especially the women's version, is worth much more than a photo studio or a dark meeting room at Baselworld, that's why we organized a dedicated photo-shooting session during Cortili Aperti Milano, an event held the 27 May where plenty of historic villas, located between Corso Venezia and the so-called "Quadrilatero del silenzio", opened for one day their doors to Italian and foreign visitors alike. Of all the villas, Villa Necchi Campiglio clearly stood out for its attractive design and its beautiful gardens.
When it comes to making watches for her, Longines is second to none and is one of the most active Swiss brands in this sector, each of its classic collections has often a counterpart in the women's collection. Some collections, such as for example the Longines Equestrian Collection that celebrate the long-standing bond between the Swiss brand and the equestrian world, have been designed exclusively for women.
The Longines Record is first and foremost an automatic timepiece, this means mechanics is centre stage here. If a watchmaker is obliged to adopt a quartz caliber when a timepiece's case is very thin, he is not instead when the case is rounded and its thickness is such that you can easily place an automatic movement inside. The Longines Record's 30mm wide stainless steel case is equipped with a caliber designed by ETA exclusively for Longines, whose balance wheel oscillates at 4Hz and whose barrel can guarantee up to 40 hours of power reserve.
Pretty good performances given the size of the caliber and proof positive of the increasing attention brands give to mechanical details when it comes to design watches for her. Moreover this timepiece offers a very special feature: a mother–of–pearl dial adorned with 13 Top Wesselton diamonds totaling 0,037 carats.
That's not all as diamonds are applied on the bezel too, where Longines' designers have inserted 60 Top Wesselton IF–VVS diamonds totaling 0.054 carats. If we exclude diamonds and dial, the Longines Record L23210876 is a miniature version of a men's Longines Record, including the steel bracelet with a mesh that alternates polished and satin-finish links, so as to ideally match the mirror-polished lugs. The bracelet comes with a triple folding clasp that, once the timepiece is wrapped around your wrist, is hidden inside the bracelet itself. A Longines Record L23210876 is the top of the range version of a collection that includes many other options and is currently priced at 4370 Euro.
It is not a low price, but not a bad one considering how the dial is made and how many diamonds have been applied here and there. All in all, It is easy to wear on any thin wrist like mine, but a perfect proportions ratio between round case and bracelet make it appealing to women with bigger wrists too. What did I like the most? I definitely liked how easy it was to wear a precious watch, but not too precious as a Record in full gold could have been. What would I expect more from Longines? I'd like to find, at this price, a replacement strap in satin or black leather included, so as to easily replace the steel bracelet and use this Longines Record anytime and anywhere, including a gala dinner event.
(Photo credit: Horbiter®'s proprietary photo-shooting by Simona Bertogliatti)
Kika G @Horbiter®
