One of the reasons vintage Longines is an incredible place for collectors to land is the variety. Like many brands, Longines produced watches in multiple markets, and not all the models were identical. Particularly in the 1950’s and 1960’s, Longines had some of the most interesting watches from a design perspective on the market. They were also producing movements that rivaled even the holy trinity when it came to construction and finishing.

One particular market that is interesting to explore as a collector is the market of watches in the USA. Produced under the “Longines-Wittnauer Watch Co Inc” name, Longines operated out of New York. Wittnauer was a successful brand in the USA, and was acquired by Longines in 1950, just after World War II where they became a distribution partner for Longines. In 1969, Longines-Wittnauer was sold to Westinghouse Electric Corporation and in 1994, Longines ended their distribution relationship with Wittnauer. But, during their partnership, many different models hit the market that are of interest to collectors today.

One watch, the reference 700, seems to be fairly elusive to most collectors. A quick search online doesn’t bring up a ton of models up so hopefully this will help document this fairly interesting reference from the 1950’s. The reference, which seems to be nicknamed the ‘Barlow’, at its core is a tank-style watch, with a rectangular case that fits nicely into a dressier atmosphere. If you look at the advertisement below, you will see the reference in the top right-hand corner.

What makes this model unique in design is obviously the corners of the case. The 10k gold plated case has raised accented corners that provide an additional dimension to the tank-style case. Something that is not frequently seen on watches from today, but was a common design trait from this era. Many brands played around with what collectors call ‘fancy’ lugs, which is the part of the watch that connects the case to the strap.

The case is 26mm in diameter, so certainly a watch that will fit on the wrist in a nonchalant way. This version, manufactured in 1954, has its original, impressive, domed crystal that slopes elegantly from top to bottom of the case. Hard to believe the crystal is still around being over 70 years old, but the few scratches on the crystal are probably a testimony to that. The dial is also quite interesting. The watch has what can be described as a crossed-pattern from the corners of the dial, with the right and left side being a darker shade of grey, and the top and bottom being a silver colour. The hour markers are in gold, and appear to be inserted into the dial. Typically, one seems these markers applied to the dial. The watch has the hours, minutes, and sub-seconds complications.

An important piece of the reference 700’s story is it’s movement. In the 1940’s, Longines produced the caliber 9L movement, a time-only movement that was used in many watches made by Longines, both in the European and USA markets. The movement was first released in 1932 and was produced in-house - Longines did not source a base movement from a company like Jaeger LeCoultre or buy components to make the movement either. In the 1950’s, Longines introduced the 9LT movement, an updated version of the movement they produced in the previous decade. There were some minor tweaks made to how the seconds complication was driven, and the movement got slightly thinner (some posture the idea that the “T” could stand for “thin” or “thinner”, but this is not confirmed).

When one looks at the movement, the finishing is exquisite. The watch incredible chamfered on all its plates with gold chatons surrounding the ruby jewels. The quality of which might not typically come in a watch at this price today. On the bridge that suspends the balance wheel, one can see an engraving that reads LXW. This inscription was the import code used by the Longines Wittnauer group when they imported movements from Switzerland to the USA. So, it is likely this movement was put together in Switzerland, shipped and imported to the USA, and then met its watchcase and was then sold in 1954.

On a nice leather strap like the olive green one this reference 700 has, this watch is unrivaled by many pieces. At the end of the day, the looks of a watch are often the thing that captures an interested collector. The unique accents on the corner of the case are stunning, the originality of the watch are desirable, and the history of Longines, the relationship with the US market, and the movement it’s running on are all added bonuses.

Enjoy!