Longines has a long history of Swiss watchmaking and has sought to take advantage of that over the last decade to produce and expand its Heritage collection. It is no surprise that a company with a winged hourglass for its logo should be heavily associated with aviation watches both in the past and present. Along that theme, Longines have added a new watch to the collection, the Avigation BigEye, and the styling and price are sure to make it a big hit. Longines are citing a 1930s watch as a basis for reissue here, though the distinctive style will be familiar to many as an update of the aviation chronographs of the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s.
“Big-Eye” chronographs, such as those once made by Universal Genève, Breguet and Longines themselves, are designed with easy reading of the chronograph minute counter in mind, with the oversized register giving the style its name. The other immediately obvious nod to the intended original usage of this watch comes in the form of the oversized chronograph pushers; previously a feature to aid easy operation of the chronograph while wearing gloves in the cockpit, this now adds to the vintage appeal of the watch.
There are, of course, several updates and changes made from the watches that inspired this release in order to bring the BigEye into the modern day, and for the most part they are sympathetically done. The result is a good looking chronograph that oozes with retro appeal.
The diameter is 41mm, making it...