1920s 18ct gold rectangular vintage Longines watch
Date: 1926
Case: 18ct gold, 25 x 40mm (including lugs)
Movement: Calibre 9.40
Dial: Champagne with gilt Arabic numerals
Lugs: 22mm
A stunning classic 1920s Longines wristwatch, in fabulous condition!
A 1926, 18ct gold rectangular vintage Longines wristwatch. The case measures 25 x 40 mm (including lugs) with 22mm lug size. The case is signed Longines, marked 18K and numbered to the back, dating the watch to 1926. The fine quality, calibre 9.40, manual wind movement is signed Longines, Swiss Made with 18 jewels and numbered. The champagne dial has raised gilt Arabic numerals, a subsidiary seconds dial, with fine gilt ‘modernes’ hands. The dial is signed Longines above the centre.
The Longines 9.40 Calibre movement
The movement inside this watch is an horological work of art. This is Longines calibre 9.40, a hand wound mechanism launched in 1926. Although a completely new creation, the 9.40 still followed the classic Longines production model that had been used since 1902, with a very distinctive long curved central bridge. The Swiss watch industry had broken production records in 1925, but it was noticeable that many firms were compromising quality in order to meet demand that in reality they did not have the infra-structure to satisfy. Much to its credit, Longines never took this route and maintained the excellence on which its reputation had been founded. The calibre 9.40 was an advanced unit intended for a high spending market. New collectors are surprised to hear that it shares every one of its components with another Longines movement, the calibre 10.40, also released in 1926. The only difference between the two is an extra ligne in the diameter (the ligne is the unit of movement width measurement traditionally used in the Swiss watch industry) of the latter and otherwise, these units are identical. The running speed of the calibre 9.40 was 18000 half beats per hour, which at the time, long before the fast beat era of the 1960s, was considered a rapid pace.
