Collectively, a decent amount of people were shocked when Longines decided to revive the Spirit appellation earlier this year … and shocked in a good way. You see, as far as novelty unveilings go, the Saint-Imier watchmaker had already outdone themselves in 2020 (think Heritage Classic Chronograph 1946 or HydroConquest 41mm in Khaki Green), they could’ve just put their feet up, cracked themselves a crisp Swiss lager and called it a day. But they didn’t. Instead, Longines set its sights on the sky, creating a collection of timepieces that aimed to honour the mavericks of early 20th century aviation. After all, although most won’t know it, airborne rebels like Amelia Earhart, Elinor Smith, Howard Hughes and Paul-Émile Victor all relied on Longines timekeeping devices when embarking upon their respective pioneering endeavours. Now, that may well have been what the watchmaker set out to accomplish with the Spirit. Oddly, though, most of the new collection doesn’t feel particularly like a pilot’s watch. Sure, it possesses some stylistic traits characteristic of an aviation-themed timepiece, but to label it as such is almost too limiting. In essence, what Longines has actually done with its revived moniker is create one of the most compelling…
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