Longines’ been making some big moves lately. They’ve changed their CEO 3 times in the last 5 years, quite unusual considering Walter von Kanel had been the head of the brand for 32 years, from 1988 to 2020. Clearly Longines is seeking to make some big internal adjustments, and we could just be starting to witness a new era of a more youthful ideology from them with their new release Spirit Pilot Flyback 39.5 – which we have on hand with us today for review.
Finally, this new release appears to be proof that Longines is starting to put their ear a little closer to enthusiast circles. Watch collectors and those in the industry have been longing for a smaller more compact Chronograph from the brand, and that’s exactly what we have here with the new Spirit Pilot Flyback. This watch is a vast improvement over their much larger 42mm Conquest Chronograph we reviewed back in 2023.
New Flyback Movement
While the most obvious and needed adjustment to this watch comes in the form of a total aesthetic redesign, lest we forget that it’s also sporting a new hand-wound movement, the Longines exclusive L792.4. This is not an in-house movement in the more traditional sense of the term, but rather a highly modified Valjoux 7750. The new engineering adds column wheel control, flyback functionality, and a silicon balance spring for superior anti-magnetic resistance. The L792.2 was the movement used before this update, and it was automatic with a larger rotor. This new hand-wound version with no rotor is now offering more visibility of the movement through the exhibition display window.
The L792.4, just like the base Valjoux 7750, is a pleasure to view in action. The three quarter bridge with Geneva stripes, blued column wheel in the shape of a flower, and the flyback lever, are front and center when turning the watch over. The movement runs at 4 Hz, and has a power reserve capacity of around 68 hours while also maintaining COSC certification. This is an impressive, and excellent, hand-wound movement, and really augments the desire to add this watch to any growing collection.
Total Redesign
The Spirit Pilot Flyback is now quite unique in the Longines catalogue, it’s their most wearable enthusiast driven Chronograph. The new case at 39.5mm unsurprisingly wears to near perfection on my 6.5 inch wrist. Of course the Valjoux based movement, which is known for being a fairly large movement, is going to add some thickness to the watch though, but not much. In fact, the very slight thickness of 13.4mm adds just a touch of additional presence that the watch benefits from. Instead of it sitting perfectly flat on the wrist, like for example a Rolex Daytona, it pops up by a few millimetres.
This is a very wearable watch for long periods of time, making it a great every day wear despite the need to hand-wind it yourself when needed. The bezel is quite skinny, and made of ceramic, with a very deep black inky look to it, and low shine. It has engraved markings that are also lume filled, matching the lume on the dial. Because the diameter of the watch is now so small, there’s limited room to work with on the dial when factoring in the width of the bezel. Despite the constraints, Longines did a pretty good job with spacing and color coordinating for readability.
The two sub-dials cut into some of the numerals on the dial, which was probably the best layout choice they could have gone with. The dial itself is pretty much what we’d consider a “gilt dial”, with the high polished gold finish on the numerals and hands, against the black dial. Very easy to read at a glance even in challenging lighting, and it also looks pretty and photographs well. One of my favourite sections of this watch is its vintage inspired, and slightly oversized, pump pushers. The sizing and the shape of the pushers is perfect, and matches the rest of the watch. They also provide a nice tactile experience when operating, with an audible click, and pleasant resistance when actuating, stopping, and resetting the chrono hand.
Final Thoughts
This is easily one of Longines best releases as of recent. They’ve managed to fulfil a big desire in the watch enthusiast community, and I can see online that many people already love this watch. The sizing has been nailed, the fit and finish is up to par with what you’d expect from Longines, and it’s sporting an outstanding exclusive movement with a bespoke finish. The main downside it it’s price, coming in at $5,500 USD for the steel bracelet version, or $5,300 on a leather strap. It’s a slightly hefty ask for a Longines, but for those who understand the value offered with this new release, it’s a fair deal.
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