The centenary piece anchors a group that has grown with extra metal references in 39 and 42mm, whereas the Spirit Pilot and Spirit Pilot Flyback broaden the aviation story.
(Picture photographed by Ching@GreenPlasticsSoldiers with Styling by CK Koo.)
In 2025, Longines celebrates a milestone that resonates far past the watchmaking world: the centenary of the primary twin timezone wristwatch, the Zulu Time of 1925. Marking this historic achievement, the manufacture has launched the Longines Spirit Zulu Time 1925, a commemorative timepiece that embodies a century of innovation throughout meridians. Greater than a watch, it’s a reminder of how humanity’s relationship with time has been formed by exploration, aviation, and world connectivity. The Spirit Zulu Time 1925 serves as each a tribute to the previous and a beacon for the present-day traveller, whereas the brand new Spirit Pilot three-hands and Spirit Pilot Flyback illuminate how the broader Spirit pillar continues to translate heritage into modern software watches.
THE INVENTION OF GLOBAL TIME
The idea of Zulu Time can’t be understood with out recalling the revolution in timekeeping that unfolded throughout the late nineteenth century. Earlier than the adoption of ordinary timezones, every city stored its personal native photo voltaic time. Railways, telegraphy, and later aviation uncovered the confusion this created when timetables wanted to align throughout borders. In 1884, the Worldwide Meridian Convention established Greenwich because the Prime Meridian and divided the globe into 24 timezones. In navy and aviation observe, the designation Z turned shorthand for zero meridian time, later known as Zulu Time within the NATO phonetic alphabet. For pilots and navigators, Zulu Time eradicated ambiguity, ensured coordinated motion throughout continents, and have become a basis for protected journey.
Longines was among the many first watchmakers to translate this new world language into mechanical kind. By 1908, it had provided the Ottoman Empire with twin timezone pocket watches that may be patented in 1911 and later recognised because the Turkish Watches. These devices displayed two units of hours and minutes on a single dial so {that a} traveller might learn each the native customary and the time on the capital. The precept was easy. The impact on explorers and directors was profound. In a world that was studying to coordinate by telegraph and radio, a machine that would maintain two occasions without delay was greater than a curiosity. It was a sensible software within the march of time.
In 1925, Longines superior the story by launching the Zulu Time wristwatch, the primary of its sort.
The dial carried the colorful maritime flag for the letter Z as a direct nod to the zero meridian at Greenwich. What had been a naval and aeronautical code turned a legible sign on the wrist. The Zulu Time was not a mere decoration; it was destined for pilots, naval officers, and travellers who moved between areas the place schedules have been now not parochial. This was not a mere aesthetic shift from pocket to wrist; it transferred navigational language into private timekeeping.
FROM TURKISH WATCHES TO COCKPIT INSTRUMENTS
The Zulu Time wristwatch of 1925 didn’t seem in isolation. It constructed upon years of experimentation in multi-timezone mechanics and on the economic strategies that made such watches dependable. The Turkish Watches of 1908 had already confirmed that Longines might design devices to serve empires spanning continents. They have been giant and strong pocket chronometers with twin units of palms, they usually demonstrated that twin time could possibly be made each readable and reliable.
By 1930, Longines was producing cockpit clocks with twin palms and 24-hour dials. Considered one of these devices accompanied the aviators Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon on their daring nonstop Pacific crossing in 1931. Cockpit clocks have been usually geared up with pushers that allowed exact synchronisation to radio time alerts. Accuracy was not a matter of luxurious on this surroundings. It was the distinction between a protected strategy and a harmful error when calculating place by lifeless reckoning (a technique of navigation counting on estimating one’s present observe, groundspeed and place primarily based on earlier recognized positions). These cockpit devices and Zulu Time wristwatches share a design philosophy: each handled time as a navigational software slightly than a chic show.
The interwar years noticed Longines refine a household of navigation watches for the wrist. The Weems Second Setting wristwatch, developed with US Navy officer Philip Van Horn Weems, allowed pilots to regulate a secondary scale to match radio time alerts. The Lindbergh Hour Angle Watch of 1931, designed with Charles Lindbergh after his solo Atlantic crossing, transformed celestial navigation right into a calculation that could possibly be carried out on the dial and bezel. Taken collectively, these creations reveal a coherent programme of horological options for aviation. Zulu Time sits inside this continuum because the wristwatch embodiment of world time standardisation.
Seen by way of calibres, the early dual-time wristwatches drew on the ten.68 household to adapt clear second-zone indications to compact circumstances and to habits formed by radio-signal synchronisation. That design logic flows on to as we speak’s traveller-GMT structure in calibre L844.4, which jumps the native hour cleanly whereas the motion runs, pairs with a silicon steadiness spring for fee stability, and carries chronometer certification as an excellent mark of reliability.
RATIONALISATION AND PRECISION INSIDE THE SAINT-IMIER MANUFACTURE
A century of correct journey timepieces didn’t come up from inspiration alone. The historic information present that between 1900 and 1935 Longines produced a remarkably various catalogue that ranged from jewelled items to rugged chronographs. The burden of unsold inventory grew within the early a long time of the century and demanded new strategies. Underneath technical director Pfister, the manufacturing unit embraced rationalisation. Interchangeability of components between households of calibres diminished stock and made servicing extra environment friendly, whereas fashionable industrial accounting clarified prices. The purpose was to maintain high quality excessive whereas controlling overheads.
Through the financial shocks of the Nineteen Thirties, when opponents supplied cheaper steel watches, Longines doubled down on precision and reliability. It developed calibres for easy mass-produced fashions that also met the agency’s requirements, and it used observatory competitions at Neuchâtel, Kew Teddington, Washington, and Geneva to reveal efficiency in public. Arguably, enhancements in accounting requirements and rigorous industrial requirements performed a component in protecting time working easily in a time of disaster.
This inside self-discipline helps the outward story of exploration and sport. It explains how the agency might provide cockpit clocks to transoceanic flights; the way it might pivot to traveller watches with twin indications; and the way it might maintain tolerances tight sufficient for navigation. The romance of aviation lives in pictures of airfields and courageous crews. The engineering lives at on the manufacturing traces and within the ledgers.
SPIRIT ZULU TIME IN THE CONTEMPORARY COLLECTION
The modern Spirit Zulu Time was first launched in 2022 with 42mm fashions that established the look of the present household, as we have now coated extensively in our Festive situation cowl story that 12 months. These watches bore ceramic bezels, daring numerals, and chronometer-rated GMT calibres.
In 2023, Longines launched a 39mm possibility that delivered the identical performance in a extra compact case, and sure variations added treasured steel accents. The 12 months after, a titanium mannequin underscored the gathering’s intent to marry heritage with modern supplies – one thing we love and applaud right here. If for no different motive, it’s because this intent is interesting to travellers who worth lightness and sturdiness, as many do (anecdotally).
In 2025, the gathering is enriched by 4 new executions, apart from the commemorative reference
L3.803.5.53.6 (with the 18k rose gold cap). There are two fashions bearing black dials with rose-gold accents, and two fashions with blue ceramic bezels paired with anthracite dials. Particularly, for the avoidance of doubt, two stainless-steel references with black dials and day–evening black ceramic bezels are supplied: L3.802.4.50.6 (39mm) and L3.812.4.50.6 (42mm). Each characteristic rose-gold-coloured utilized Arabic numerals and palms, a two-tone 24-hour scale cut up into matt and polished black on the bezel, and the identical L844.4 traveller GMT motion. Complementing these are the blue-bezel, anthracite-dial executions L3.802.4.60.6 (39mm) and L3.812.4.60.6 (42mm), characterised by yellow gold- colored palms and numerals handled with Previous Radium Mild SuperLuminova.
All are water resistant to 100m; have domed sapphire crystals with multi-layer anti-reflective remedy on each side; and sport stainless-steel bracelets with fast interchangeability. It ought to go with out saying that each one Spirit Zulu Time references share the identical dedication to accuracy and sensible legibility throughout timezones.
The centenary 12 months additionally brings a clearer articulation of the emotional aspect of journey. In marketing campaign imagery fronted by Henry Cavill, a single query serves as a chorus for individuals working and dwelling aside: what time is it there? The watch turns into a quiet language that mediates calls, arrivals, and departures, and in that function the dial’s readability and the calm rhythm of a traveller GMT tackle a that means past mechanics.
Though the road speaks most on to civilian travellers as we speak, its design maintains a reference to the model’s function in worldwide navigation. The twin-time perform sits on the centre of the design. The bezel’s 24-hour scale allows a 3rd timezone (ought to one really feel the necessity to go the additional mile), and the leaping native hour adjusts to timezone adjustments with out disturbing the minutes or seconds. That is precisely what a traveller wants at an airport gate or on a late arrival, when coordination is dependent upon a fast and assured adjustment.
A BROADER CONTEXT: SPIRIT PILOT AND SPIRIT PILOT FLYBACK
(Picture photographed by Ching@GreenPlasticsSoldiers with Styling by CK Koo.)
The centenary of the Zulu Time lands alongside two different Spirit releases that broaden the pillar. The Spirit Pilot three-hander is a streamlined expression of the pilot’s watch concept. The stainless-steel case measures 39mm and the profile is svelte sufficient (11.5mm) to take a seat simply below a cuff. The dial removes distractions and emphasises legibility with gilt palms and numerals towards a matt black floor. Inside is the calibre L888.4, a self-winding motion with a silicon steadiness spring and an influence reserve of about 72 hours. The mannequin is chronometer-certified, and the development now employs a screw down caseback for improved safety. Strap choices embrace a chrome steel bracelet (we all know, not a “strap” however forgive us this trespass), brown leather-based with micro adjustment, and a inexperienced rubber possibility that evokes fashionable flight gear. The mannequin is obtainable within the following references: L3.809.4.53.6 (stainless-steel bracelet), L3.809.4.53.2 (brown leather-based), and L3.809.4.53.9 (inexperienced rubber).
Altering tacks, the Spirit Pilot Flyback harkens again to a chapter of Longines historical past that deserves consideration in any dialogue of aviation timing. Within the early Nineteen Thirties, Longines developed the flyback chronograph for the wrist and filed a patent in 1935. The flyback characteristic permits a working chronograph to be reset and restarted with a single press of the pusher. For a pilot timing legs or strategy fixes, the flexibility to reset and restart immediately is greater than a comfort. It’s operationally important.
The modern Spirit Pilot Flyback homes a manual-winding column wheel chronograph calibre (designated L792.4). The case is 13.5mm in metal with a box-shaped sapphire crystal and a rotating bezel that now incorporates a countdown scale. The dial is matt black with gilt palms and numerals handled with luminous materials. The watch is chronometer-certified and water resistant to 100m. It’s accessible on a bracelet or a leather-based strap with micro-adjustment. Once more, for completeness, these are supplied as references L3.721.4.53.6 (stainless-steel bracelet) and L3.721.4.53.2 (brown leather-based strap).
These two references prolong the story and elevate the breadth of the Spirit pillar. They serve to indicate that the Spirit assortment is a dwelling platform for various elements of the Longines aviation story. Zulu Time addresses the necessity to learn multiple timezone without delay; the Spirit Pilot retains pure pilot ergonomics entrance and centre; and the Spirit Pilot Flyback reminds us that Longines formed the way in which pilots time successive intervals.
THE LONG THREAD: FROM 13.33Z TO 13ZN TO 30CH
When discussing journey and flight at Longines, it’s pure to incorporate the chronograph lineage that made the model a reference level for timing. Sure, longtime readers might recall we promised to handle this level after our chronograph particular two years in the past, and right here it’s! In 1913, Longines launched the 13.33Z, one of many first chronograph actions designed for the wrist. It introduced the stopwatch out of the pocket, into the cockpit and onto the officer’s sleeve (early fashions have been all designed to be worn over jacket sleeves, which pilots needed to carry on to guard them from the weather). The motion beat at 18,000 vibrations per hour, supplied a 30-minute elapsed time counter, and used a monopusher management by way of the crown or an built-in button. It proved {that a} compact wrist chronograph might ship the precision required by professionals.
In 1936, the 13ZN appeared and left an imprint on your entire historical past of mechanical chronographs. The 13ZN is commonly mentioned for its flyback perform and for its elegant structure. The column wheel is crisply executed. The levers are formed for each perform and visible concord. The motion may be present in configurations that embrace central minute recording and completely different dial preparations. What issues right here is just not solely the variability however the hyperlink to aviation. A flyback wrist chronograph within the Nineteen Thirties was a pure companion to Zulu Time devices and to the cockpit clocks that Longines provided. It allowed timing to be restarted with out the pause of a stop-and-reset cycle, and it did so with a tactile snap that continues to be satisfying to at the present time.
After WWII, the 30CH calibre refined the idea in a barely bigger format. It maintained the flyback functionality and continued the language of sturdy components and clear management. Collectors nonetheless hunt down these actions as a result of they characterize a interval when helpful issues have been made to a degree that would face up to tough use. In a present Spirit chronograph, one sees a present-day motion with silicon parts and larger resistance to magnetism, but the aim is unchanged. It’s nonetheless about timing nicely and timing reliably.
SPORTS TIMING AND THE PUBLIC FACE OF PRECISION
Longines constructed a lot of its public fame by way of official timekeeping duties at sporting occasions. The home utilized electromechanical techniques to equestrian competitions within the Twenties, supported grand prix motor races within the Nineteen Thirties, and later contributed on the Winter Olympics at Chamonix. These actions weren’t all the time worthwhile in a slim sense, but they created belief amongst organisers and athletes by demonstrating functionality in public. A stopwatch that begins each time and a photograph end that stands as much as scrutiny are as persuasive as any commercial – as all watchmakers engaged within the severe enterprise of timing accuracy can attest. Timekeeping duties additionally feed instantly again to the engineering groups who should ship repeatable accuracy below climate and stress.
The identical outlook informs the journey devices. A traveller wants a watch that may maintain its fee by way of temperature adjustments, minor shocks, and magnetic fields. The silicon steadiness spring and anti-magnetic alloys within the fashionable Spirit Zulu Time are the present expression of this requirement. Chronometer certification is the exterior audit {that a} traveller can perceive at a look. The design language of the Spirit line is subsequently not a reprise of styling cues. It’s a set of useful choices that occur to look, nicely, timeless (that is certainly one of few cases that this terrible phrase can be tolerated in severe horological discussions).
DESIGN AS A LANGUAGE OF FUNCTION
The design of the Spirit Zulu Time 1925 is restrained and, in line with what we simply wrote, useful. The numerals are giant sufficient to learn rapidly. The hand shapes are distinct in order that hours and minutes are by no means confused. The 24-hour hand makes use of a transparent arrow tip in order that the second timezone is unambiguous. The bezel is bidirectional for ease of setting a 3rd time reference and the engraving is deep sufficient to withstand put on. The crown screws all the way down to protect water-resistance with out feeling stiff. The crystal is domed and handled to cut back reflections. None of those options is dramatic in isolation, but collectively they create a watch that may be learn and utilized in various gentle and in various environments with out grievance.
There’s a symbolic layer too. The 5 stars on the dial are an previous Longines motif used to point a degree of motion high quality. On the centenary Zulu Time, they sit above the date window at six o’clock. The rotor engraving reveals a planisphere bisected by the Prime Meridian. The rose gold cap on the bezel is a fabric reminiscence of Greenwich. These selections maintain the anniversary grounded in actual locations and objects. They keep away from sentimentality by putting symbols the place additionally they function useful particulars.
WHY THE ZULU TIME STORY MATTERS NOW
As we speak, travellers juggle conferences throughout continents and houses separated by oceans. The telephone can inform the time wherever, but a mechanical GMT stays fascinating as a result of it turns a every day act into a snug ritual. Pull the crown. Bounce the native hour ahead or again with out stopping the seconds. Look on the 24-hour hand to verify the time for a colleague in one other metropolis. Rotate the bezel to trace a 3rd zone on a protracted connection. The watch gives a peaceful sequence of actions, freed from alerts and, crucially, sign loss.
Longines is nicely positioned to make such objects as a result of it made them earlier than smartphones existed and earlier than jet plane made crossing timezones commonplace. The Zulu Time story is true to the model’s previous and helpful to its future. It’s not a throwback. It’s the continuity of perform. The centenary version merely makes the continuity specific and ties it to a transparent historic reference level.
SETTING THE TIME FOR THE NEXT CENTURY
The Spirit Zulu Time 1925 marks 100 years since Longines positioned a world time code on a wristwatch dial. It does so with a design that respects sensible use and with a motion that meets fashionable requirements for accuracy and resistance to magnetism. Round it, the Spirit Zulu Time household continues to evolve in measurement and materials, and the Spirit Pilot three-hander and Spirit Pilot Flyback carry ahead the parallel strands of pilot ergonomics and chronograph timing. The bigger narrative extends again by way of the Turkish Watches, cockpit clocks, Weems and Lindbergh navigation watches, and the 13.33Z, 13ZN, and 30CH chronographs. It additionally extends ahead to travellers who need an instrument that is sensible of their lives throughout meridians.
There are manufacturers whose legacy rests on remoted icons. Longines gives one thing completely different. It gives a sample of helpful innovations joined by a gentle manufacturing philosophy. The Zulu Time 1925 is the clearest expression of that sample as we speak. It reminds us {that a} wristwatch can stay a exact instrument and a companion, a solution to measure distance as a lot as length, and a hyperlink between individuals who ask one another a easy query from far-off. What time is it there?
A portion of the photographs on this article have been photographed by Ching@GreenPlasticsSoldiers with Styling by CK Koo.
This story was first seen as a part of the WOW Legacy 2025 Concern
For extra on the newest in luxurious watch reads, click on right here.
