The Longines Spirit Zulu Time watch hands-on

The Spirit Zulu Time’s pedigree

The term “Avigation”, which means “Aerial Navigation”, summarizes Longines‘ legacy as a long-established manufacturer of wrist or dash instruments developed explicitly for flight, be they experimental tools like the Lindbergh Hour Angle or the glorious Weems, whose innovative features were a breakthrough back in time, or watches displaying a second timezone.

Longines‘ heritage dates back to a century ago as long as multiple time zones are concerned. Contrary to popular belief, timepieces providing a second timezone complication are rooted in the past; e.g., the first Longines wristwatch housing two timezones appeared in 1925 and came with a rectangular case. Its name was Longines Zulu Time.

The name mentioned above explains why the new collection comes as Spirit Zulu Time. GMT watches rose in popularity during the early 1950s with the consistent development of commercial flights across different timezones. Then, the American company Pan Am decided to provide its long-range pilots with a mechanical wristwatch that simultaneously measured the time in two different timezones. The business grew during the seventies to such an extent to be, in 2022, a significant business segment.

From GMT to Zulu Time

What does Zulu Time mean? Indeed, the Zulu Time moniker is not as common as GMT or UTC. GMT stood for Greenwich Mean Time and was established in 1884 during the International Meridian Conference held in Washington. Back then, 24 representatives out of 25 nations, including Italy, voted to identify the reference meridian, to synchronize all the watches around the globe. UTC after that replaced the GMT.

The 1925 Zulu Time watch came after the convention introducing the Greenwich Mean Time standard; the term Zulu proves how Longines‘ mission was to craft instrument watches. The name “Spirit Zulu Time” equally has a historical meaning since it bridges old and new and is a clever communication strategy setting the new collection apart from any other GMT watch in the industry.

The product collection has proven DNA with roots in watchmaking history; nonetheless, the brand was too late in joining the party, in my opinion, considering that most competitors cannot guarantee a pedigree so impressive.

However, a true watch enthusiast values product specs as much as a brand’s history, which is the foundation of that brand and boosts awareness. The historical association between Longines and the world of aviation, and among watches with a second timezone, especially, has unmatched roots in watchmaking and is powerful. The good news is that the brand has now closed this gap by launching its first-ever Longines GMT watch or, case in point, Zulu Time.

The Product Design

Can we consider it a new collection? We certainly can, either in engineering or style and functions, but there’s no doubt that the Longines Spirit Zulu Time belongs to the Spirit collection, which is contemporary and is thus not reissuing any model from the past as it usually happens with any model from the Heritage collection. It summarizes several sources of inspiration picked from various historical models, carefully mixed up to such an extent that it’s hard to identify every source of inspiration unless you’re a proven Longines expert.

For example, the Arabic numerals’ font takes inspiration from a 1937 cockpit clock, while the luminous baton-shaped hour and minute hands first appeared on Weems wristwatches. The in-line five stars, marking the timepiece’s above-the-average accuracy, pay homage to the Longines Admiral. Finally, and most importantly, the dial houses the hallmark diamond-shaped indexes found on historical Pilot’s watches.

In my opinion, Longines aimed, with Spirit, at summarizing the brand’s respected history, technically and aesthetically. The polished applied golden ring stands out and enhances the dial’s lure while contrasting the “micro-billé” matte anthracite dial, even more so within this Green option whose touch and feel is premium, proving how Longines is slightly moving upmarket. This “Green and Gold” option is the collection’s hero and is distinctive in the GMT scenario.

You’ll notice that Longines designers didn’t opt for a two-tone, day and night, 24 hours ring. They were perhaps searching for superior sophistication, a choice I fully approve of; it also ends up being less “deja vu” than most competitors.

Another relevant design cue is that the bezel is relatively thin and houses a green ceramic inlay. Such choice visually lightens the watch and preserves the dial’s readability other than further integrating this model into the base Spirit collection. From a technical and usability point of view, there are two things I’d underline: the bezel is sturdy, and there is no gap against the case, something I have noticed on competing models costing more than a Spirit Zulu Time instead.

While rotating the bezel in one-hour increments forward and backwards, a smooth final click suggests you’re in the assigned position, while the deep grooves help the wearer easily grasp and rotate the bezel itself.

The self-winding calibre’s size creates a somewhat visual displacement on the 42 mm large case. As seen via the date window, the disc elapsing the days of the month looks misplaced Vs the ideal line passing amidst the Arabic numerals. Just compare this case and the recently released 37 mil three-hands case, and you’ll agree that the date window holds the reference position here. Overall, however, thumbs up to the high build quality.

Also, I appreciate the bracelet’s quick-release mechanism. It is super easy to use and ensures a gap-free and solid fastening between case and bracelet. Let’s move to the base specs: the case – crown excluded – measures 42 mm across and is 13,9 mm thick.

In the benchmark, as an example, a Tudor Black Bay GMT, retailing at a premium over the Longines Spirit Zulu Time, is 15 mm thick, while a Seiko Presage GMT is less refined instead and equals the Longines, at 13,7 mm across. The brand has highlighted that the timepiece offers a thoroughly-thought lug-to-lug distance to make the watch adaptable to most wrist sizes, a feat you might enhance by swapping the bracelet with the strap and vice versa.

The leather strap is a masterpiece in its category; it is soft and reduces, as much as possible, the annoying effect of the case protruding from the wrist when adopting a new strap paired with a folding buckle. It features a micro-adjustment mechanism mimicking the micro-adjustment found on metal bracelets.

It looks bizarre, but the bracelet doesn’t come standard with any micro-adjustment instead. The pin buckle houses a tiny rectangular button to adjust the pin’s position finely. I keep believing a tang buckle is the way to go if you want to taper the watch around the wrist effortlessly; also, it helps reduce the product cost; yet, it seems that consumers prefer folding clasps; and I guess it has mainly to do with style.

The Longines Spirit Zulu Time 39 mm

In 2023, Longines extended the Spirit Zulu Time lineup by adding a 39 mm variant. Here is what most enthusiasts have been waiting for since the collection hit the market in 2022.

By offering a smaller Spirit Zulu Time, Longines now attracts a broader audience, given that the new diameter comes with a 13,50 mm case thickness instead of 13,90mm.

All in all, it looks and, especially, feels like a new model, refining the collection following a continuous improvement process which involves every new recently-introduced Longines where technical prowess has to meet enhanced comfort, a combination any brand won’t dismiss in such a competitive market scenario.

With the new size’s reveal, Longines has launched a hero model, and the most precious so far; it is the Spirit Zulu Time 39 in steel with yellow gold accents (on the rotating bezel’s knurled profile and crown), paired with a first-ever brown chocolate ceramic inlay on the bezel.

Alongside this new reference, the brand offers the same dial-to-bezel options on the 42 mm model and similar bracelet options. Once again, the steel and gold reference stands out since it debuts brown chocolate leather and NATO replacement straps.

Final thoughts

What do I like, and what I’d love to be different instead? There’s no doubt that the build quality is top-notch, as we have experienced already – across the modern contemporary offering – since the Spirit collection first appeared. Despite the price point cleverly placed under the 3k threshold (at launch, please consider the 2023 price list starts at 3,300 Euro), overall build quality is remarkable and aligned to the standard Spirit watches.

The finishes are exquisite and case to bracelet coupling, too. The quick-release mechanism is robust, and the pairing between parts is gap-free. You can opt for the bracelet or the strap, the latter featuring a micro-adjustment device which is a first in this category. Among the areas of improvement, I listed a less than 42 mil case size as an option, at launch. However, the brand answered the call by introducing a 39 mm Spirit Zulu Time in June 2023.

I’ll soon release a titanium variant; it aligns with the Spirit collection’s pedigree. Titanium makes the watch easier to wear and use when paired with a bracelet. The full-steel 42 mm Longines Spirit Zulu Time weighs 161 grams on a bracelet and 116g on a strap. A full titanium option is, therefore, something I won’t miss. As long as the bracelet is concerned, whether it comes in Titanium or steel, the watch’s bracelet deserves micro-adjustment.

Regarding the available bracelet and strap options, we were confirmed we can adopt a generic rubber strap from the brand’s catalogue. It is not the perfect match from a product’s philosophy perspective; I’d love to opt for a custom-designed Longines rubber strap, thus stopping all the aftermarket strap suppliers who’ll, no doubt, craft a specifically designed rubber strap.

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(Photo credit: Longines, Marco Antinori for Horbiter®)