Longines Symphonette Small Watch Review
Monday - 21 September 2015
by Angus Davies, www.escapementmagazine.com
Longines has a rich tradition of creating fine timepieces for a discerning clientele. The famous watch company can trace its origins to 1832 and the Swiss municipality of Saint-Imier. The luxury brand continues to operate from this locale and is now part of the watchmaking colossus, the Swatch Group.
It is the fact that Longines is part of the Swatch Group which confers notable benefits to would-be buyers. Swatch Group enjoy huge economies of scale, delivering impressive products at remarkably keen prices. This is not to say that they make cheap products, this remains a company which is a byword for luxury, but it does have a strong industrial base within its home nation and delivers incredible value for money in each segment within which it competes.
The Longines Symphonette is a wonderful example of Swatch Group’s global expertise. It is part of a new collection for 2015 and fuses an elliptical shaped case, mesh bracelets and delightful dials. Longines offers an array of variants in different sizes, case materials and dial options, including some twinkling gem-set options.
I particularly like the stainless steel variant measuring 18.90mm x 29.40mm. This model features a silver-coloured ‘flinqué’ dial and luxurious blued steel hands. The hours are denoted with Roman numerals providing an interesting juxtaposition. On one hand the incorporation of the latter suffuses the watch with a traditional persona while, conversely, the case and mesh bracelet ooze modernity. However, despite the incorporation of these seemingly contradictory elements, everything coalesces together in spell-binding union.
