Like all German manufacturers, it took a number of years for Mercedes to rebuild its reputation following the end of the Second World War. However, thanks to an unnerving focus on racing and performance upon returning to competition in 1952, within two years the three-pointed star was once again the dominant force in motorsport.
But it also wanted to be a dominant force in the US car market and thanks to Max Hoffman, a Vienna-born racing driver turned US-based European car importer, it quickly found the answer.
Hoffman complained that the marque didn’t have a “crowd puller” to get US customers excited. So, to provide him with an out-and-out sportscar, Mercedes had the ingenious idea of offering its racing car, the 300SL Gullwing, as a road car for the well-heeled, a move that essentially set the original template for the supercar, a vehicle that combined mind-blowing performance with phenomenal aesthetics.
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster (W 198 II series) built from 1957 to 1963. Image courtesy of Daimler AG
So that same year, head designer Friedrich Geiger took the SL back to the drawing board and enhanced its low drag look while simplifying every aspect that could be a hindrance to “care-free” open-air motoring.
This meant a complete reimagining of the chassis. The Gullwing used a spaceframe that rose along the car’s sides so half-size upward opening doors was the only way to allow anyone into or out of the car. The changes enabled the car to have traditional doors, a generous trunk and enough space for a more complex suspension set up to really improve handling.
These did not hinder performance. With a racing wind shield fitted and the passenger seat covered, the car managed an average speed of 242.5 kilometres per hour on the on the Munich-Ingolstadt motorway.
Between 1957 and 1963, despite being one of the most expensive cars in the world — it cost $10,900 in standard specification —Mercedes sold 1,858 300SL Roadsters before replacing it with the W113 series SL, better known as the Pagoda, but again overseen by Friedrich Geiger.
Mercedes-Benz 300 SL Roadster (W 198 II series) built from 1957 to 1963. Image courtesy of Daimler AG
The car cemented Mercedes‘ place in American consciousness, too. Between 1936 and 1941, the firm had exported a grand total of 41 cars to the country. Yet with Hoffman helping guide the firm, by 1957, the company was exporting 6,048 cars to the United States yearly.
Today, even 300SL Roadsters in poor condition easily fetch more than US$1 million at auction, making it one of the most collectible and sought-after Mercedes in history.
Looking broadly at Korean contemporary art, two distinct groups emerge, one technological, the other traditional. These distinctions refer not so much to aesthetics but the choice of material and technique. Artists like Choe U-Ram, Lee Bul, Haegue Yang, and video artist duo Moon Kyungwon and Jeon Joonho come to mind in the first category, where the use of software and electronics, amongst other digital technologies, create works that evoke futurism and science fiction. Falling under the traditional are artists like Chun Kwang-young, Yeesookyung, and Kang Ik-joong, who employ traditional materials or motifs like Korean hanji paper and Korean ceramics but reconfigure their uses and meanings in contemporary ways.
The artists presented in Opera Gallery’s exhibition, ‘Shadow of a Pine Tree’, from February 24 to March 12, belong to the latter group. Born in the 1960s, artists Lee Gil Rae, Bahk Seon-ghi and Suh Jeong Min share a heightened sensitivity toward material and construction, as evidenced by the intricate, labour-intensive nature of their works.
Soldered from steel and copper piping, the pine tree sculptures by Lee Gil Rae (b. 1961) juxtapose nature and man. The dissonance between their quiet elegance and symbolism—in Korean tradition, pine trees represent longevity and honour—and the hard metal express Lee’s views on the inevitability of nature’s erosion by industrialisation. However, just as the pine tree remains upright even in harsh weather, it is a also symbol of unbending virtue. The austere beauty of Lee’s sculptures thus also harbour a sense of hope, of nature defiant.
In contrast to the stately presence of Lee’s sculptures, the works of Bahk Seon-ghi (b. 1966) are a study in lightness and balance. Bahk suspends small pieces of wood, steel and charcoal on nylon thread to create levitated sculptures depicting objects in nature or everyday life. They are masterful expressions of the fleetingness of nature, life and beauty, and are liminal objects between presence and absence that demand close, contemplative looking.
Suh Jeong Min, ‘Mandala’, 2015
While abstract, the elaborate paper works of Suh Jeong Min (b. 1962) manifest a deep respect toward the natural. Suh’s painstaking technique of rolling mulberry hanji paper and using those rolls to make a composite whole conflates painting and sculpture. His time-consuming treatment of hanji allows the handmade paper to express its versatility, in turn also making the overall work alive with texture.
Collectively, the three artists affirm the respect for craft and natural materials in Korean contemporary art. ‘Shadow of a Pine Tree’ is an apt title for an exhibition that suitably demonstrated the continued relevance and inspiration of the traditional in the contemporary.
This article is written by Rachel Ng and was originally published in Art Republik 14.
This is not, as one might assume, just the next Oceanis, a Beneteau range that extends from 31 feet to 60 feet. No, the Oceanis Yachts 62 is the harbinger of a new range of boats, distinctive in style, that will extend from 53 feet to 73 feet, and is designed by a team that includes the man who has been designing Beneteau’s Monte Carlo Yachts powerboat range for some years, Pierangelo Andreani. No wonder it took home the European Yacht of the Year 2017 award in the “Luxury Cruiser” category at the recent Düsseldorf Boat Show.
Beneteau was looking for something new, and decided the powerboat world was a good place to look. Just in aesthetics alone, the signature horizontal black stripe could be borrowed from the appearance of half the powerboat brands out there, and it does the same job, disguising the number and size of portlights that collectively provide huge amounts of brightness below.
The realisation that the modern family sailing boat is rarely going to be set up for long passage-making means that below-deck accommodation can be minimal, yet comfortable and some serious thought has been put into what the boat will actually be used for.
The design team, which also includes French designers Berret Racoupeau Yacht Design, have created a boat which includes a raised cockpit that sits above a toy garage that will hold a 2.85meter Williams Jet Rib, the stowing of which is facilitated by a hydraulic swim-platform, that folds away completely when the boat is underway.
Not content with just using the same designer of their Monte Carlo Yachts, they are also going to use the same yard. The yard that regular readers of this column already know produces the MCY boats very cheaply indeed by building the interiors outside the boat and dropping the completed module into the hull in one quick operation. Interior work is always costly and slow because of the confined space within which the work has to be done. Doing this work on the factory floor permits more people to have access with better tools and in more comfort and safety than before. All this translates to “lower costs” and keeps the MCY boats affordable. The lessons learned on the MCY shop floor will be applied to the Oceanis Yachts production line with the objective of being able to sell large yachts at significantly lower prices than 20 years ago.
The cockpit area is enormous and is extended by the swim- platform; the side-gangways are wide and flat, as is the foredeck. Indeed, all the usual toe-stubbing traps for the unwary have been kept out of the way as much as possible. Generally, the yacht has been designed with the destination in mind as much as the journey. This, and the “industrial” innovations are the chief lessons learned from the powerboat world.
This boat is a sailing boat and boasts a perfectly centred sail plan, which with the chined hull and twin rudders, is designed to provide impeccable balance and manoeuvrability. The mainsail is kept high (the mast height is 90 ft), the boom well above the tallest crew in the cockpit, and the mainsail traveller is on top of the arch that goes over the cockpit. This arch can be extended into a full bimini, handy in a sun-bound anchorage.
Cabin accommodation is three double cabins, two aft and one forward, a twin bunk (that can be swapped out for another head), and two heads, one en-suite with the forecabin. The galley is built-in as a long bench against the starboard hull (you can have another pop-up galley to the rear of the cockpit if you like). All in all, a great family cruiser that will be a delight to sail.
This article was first published in Yacht Style 37.
Design buffs and industry professionals will be heading to Milan from April 4 to 9, for its annual furniture fair. This year’s edition of the Milan Furniture Fair sees British designer Tom Dixon present a new lighting collection, as well as other recent creations. Dixon will be taking over an immense movie theater, Milan’s Multiplex, dating from the 1950s, to present his latest lighting collection.
New designs include a ceiling light called Cut with a futuristic aesthetic. The light’s highly polished, faceted design has a mirror finish when switched off but, when switched on, casts kaleidoscopic reflections over the room.
Tube, inspired by futuristic optics, is a cylindrical floor lamp perforated with cut-out circles. The Melt also returns in an updated version that can be mounted on a wall, ceiling or floor. Design fans heading to Dixon’s exhibition can discover, for the very first time, the British designer’s collaboration with the Swedish furniture giant IKEA, in the form of a modular bed/sofa called Delaktig.
The designer’s first ever textile collection, Super Texture, will be heading to Milan too, with velvets, boucles, and knits featured on cushions and blankets. Colors and motifs include gray, yellow, blue, and black and white stripes. In addition, the exhibition includes Tom Dixon’s design classics, including the S Chair, the Bird Chair, the Pylon Chair and the Jack Light lamp.
The B.zero1 Design Legend by Zaha Hadid ring in pink gold. Image courtesy of Bulgari
Over a decade ago, Bulgari established the B.zero1 ring, inspired by the Colosseum in Rome, Italy. It was named B.zero1, to symbolise the “B” of Bulgari and the zero.1 of infinite beginnings.
The B.zero1 ring has since evolved into an iconic collection for Bulgari, engendering numerous reinventions, such as the 2010 B.zero1 designs by Anish Kapoor in celebration of the collection’s decennial. It has come to embody charisma, allure, independence, and spiritedness. In October 2016, the Smithsonian Institution declared the B.zero1 ring a “jewel of extraordinary design” in their compendium, ‘Gem: The Definitive Visual Guide’.
This year, Bulgari presents the B.zero1 Design Legend, conceptualised by the late Zaha Hadid. The Iraqi-British architect is well known for her daring ideas and the signature curves in her many architectural projects all over the world. These have garnered her many awards throughout her career, including the prestigious Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2004, for which she was the first female recipient, and the Stirling Prize in both 2010 and 2011.
Art Republik discusses the B.zero1 Design Legend with Maha Kutay, Director at Zaha Hadid Design, to find out more the collaboration between Bulgari and Zaha Hadid, and the inspiration behind the ring’s design.
How would you summarise Zaha Hadid’s vision in architecture and other works? Moving forward, how will her vision influence the works of the firm?
Zaha’s vision undoubtedly redefined architecture and design for the 21st century and captured imaginations across the globe. Marrying concepts of integration and connectivity with technological advancements, ecologically sound materials and sustainable construction methods, she has never looked at the disparate parts, but worked hard to understand them as a whole, to raise standards and benefit all.
Zaha taught us to work with curiosity, integrity, passion and determination, and everyone at Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) is committed to continuing this legacy.
The B.zero1 Design Legend by Zaha Hadid ring in pink gold. Image courtesy of Bulgari
How did Zaha Hadid come to work with Bulgari for the B.zero1 Design Legend?
B.zero1 seemed to be the perfect project for a reinterpretation of its original design. As the original B.zero1 design was based on an architectural icon — the Colosseum — Bulgari decided to start this new collaboration with Zaha Hadid, one of the most renowned architects of our time.
Hadid looked back to the classical design of the Colosseum and reinterpreted it for her design of the B.zero1. How else has she looked back and reinvented past designs in her own style so that they become cutting-edge designs of today?
Not really; rather than being tied to a specific building, I would say that the inspiration comes from a variety of elements we have used and still use in the development of our architectural concepts: repetition; linearity; fluidity; explosion and vortex motion. We are always investigating existing ideas and established traditions — especially in this case, considering Bulgari’s bold and distinctive heritage — but then we reinterpret those ideas into something new.
The B.zero1 Design Legend by Zaha Hadid pendant in pink gold. Image courtesy of Bulgari
What is it about fragmentation and abstraction that captured Zaha Hadid’s imagination for her work?
Zaha studied architecture at the Architectural Association where, at that time, they were addressing and deconstructing ideas of repetitiveness and mass production, and she became interested in the concept of fragmentation and with ideas of abstraction and explosion. Her work first engaged with the early Russian avant-garde — the paintings of Moholy-Nagy, El Lissitzky’s ‘Prouns’ and Naum Gabo’s sculptures, but in particular with the work of Kasimir Malevitch. Malevitch was an early influence for her as a representative of the modern avant-garde intersection between art and design; he discovered abstraction as a heuristic principle that could propel creative work to new and higher levels of invention.
The Evolution of the B.zero1 Ring
1950s
“Bib” necklace in gold with emeralds, amethysts, turquoises and diamonds, 1965. Image courtesy of Bulgari
Amidst 1950s diamond-focused designs, Bulgari begins fashioning rebellious creations with semi-precious and precious stones together, inventing an unprecedented style with colour combinations.
1960s-1970s
“Tubogas” bracelet-watch in gold, ca 1972. Image courtesy of Bulgari
Bulgari pursued the metamorphosis of bijouterie through the materialisation of motifs which employed atypical constituents, such as steel, silk, and ancient coins.
In addition, Bulgari unveiled the inaugural Serpenti Tubogas timepiece. Tubogas, or the mechanisms extrinsic to soldiering employed to construct bands of smooth, elegant curves, developed into a representative technique of Bulgari’s in the sixties.
1999
Bulgari B.zero1. Image courtesy of Bulgari
Bulgari debuted the B.zero1 ring. The ring was impelled by Bulgari’s appetency with the capital of Italy and the structure of the Colosseum. The inaugural B.zero1 was well received by jewellery aficionados, who characterised the ring as timeless and sui generis.
2000-2009
Several other variations of the B.zero1 ring as well as pendants, earrings and bracelets were introduced.
2010
Bulgari B.zero1 pink gold and steel ring by Anish Kapoor. Image courtesy of Bulgari
The B.zero1 was reinterpreted by British sculptor Anish Kapoor. To commemorate B.zero1’s tenth anniversary, Anish Kapoor transformed the original tubogas-inspired spiral into a layer of shiny, mirror-like appearance, integrating contemporary art with B.zero1’s distinctive character.
2012
B.zero1 pink gold and blue marble four-band ring. Image courtesy of Bulgari
The noteworthy B.zero1 marble ring collection was revealed, which harmonised the external bands of pink gold with the exceptional green, brown and blue marble.
2014
B.zero1 Roma pink gold and bronze ceramic four-band ring. Image courtesy of Bulgari
The B.zero1 Roma Ring was released in celebration of Bulgari’s anniversary of 130 years, featuring bronze ceramic enclosed in pink gold bands, which evoke the monolithic structures of Italy’s capital.
2015
B.zero1 in pink gold and black ceramic with pavé diamonds along the edges. Image courtesy of Bulgari
Bulgari presented the gamesome B.zero1 ceramic ring collection, enhanced with pavé diamonds on the edges highlighting the stylish motif of the circular double logo. The B.zero1 ceramic ring collection, informed by clean lines, elegance and finesse, paid homage to the Bulgari Chandra collection, launched in 1994.
2016
B.zero1 Perfect Mistake. Image courtesy of Bulgari
One of the most recent additions to the B.zero1 collection is the B.zero1 Perfect Mistake, which blossomed from a second prototype devised much earlier in 1999, that did not quite turn out the way it was intended, but seemed perfect to revisit for 2016. B.zero1 Perfect Mistake harmoniously amalgamates pink, white, and yellow gold, and exemplifies the conversion of a creative mistake into resplendent imperfection.
Additionally, the B.zero1 bracelet form materialised through a third prototype, which constituted a band that received maximum extension or stretching. The B.zero1 bangle bracelet expresses adventure, with nuances of delicacy.
2017
B.zero1 Design Legend by Zaha Hadid four-band ring in pink gold. Image courtesy of Bulgari
This year, Bulgari incorporates an adaptation of the inceptive B.zero1 ring by Zaha Hadid into the collection. The collection’s latest addition is cleped the B.zero1 Design Legend. Distinguishing the central body of the ring are oscillating waves framed by B.zero1’s signature two exterior bands.
The B.zero1 Design Legend has been unveiled in a four-band, pink gold manifestation alongside three-band versions in white or pink gold, and an avant-garde pendant in pink gold. The design incorporates the two Bulgari hallmarks — the BVLGARI double logo and the tubogas motif, in a deconstruction of its inaugural predecessor, and stretching the boundaries of bijouterie design.
The B.zero1 Design Legend by Zaha Hadid ring in pink gold. Image courtesy of Bulgari
Zaha Hadid’s Projects in Asia
The Peak Leisure Club, Hong Kong, Not Realised
The Peak Leisure Club, Hong Kong, Not Realised, Zaha Hadid Architects. Image courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects
In 1982-1983, Zaha Hadid won a competition to design a building divergent to existing skyscapes in Hong Kong. This design secured the architect global recognition. Her painted impressions of the Peak transpired from her voyage across China in 1981.
The Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, Completed in 2010
The Guangzhou Opera House, Completed in 2010, Zaha Hadid Architects. Photography by Virgile Simon Bertrand
The Guangzhou Opera House took five years to complete. The double boulder structure represents two stones deposited on shore from the Pearl River. The stunningly detailed Guangzhou Opera House comprises a large performance hall which seats 1800 people and a multipurpose hall designed to seat 400.
Galaxy SOHO , Beijing, Completed in 2012
Galaxy SOHO, Beijing, Completed in 2012, Zaha Hadid Architects. Photography by Hufton+Crow Photographers
The Galaxy SOHO was Zaha Hadid’s inaugural project in China’s capital. Its construction generated controversy over the compromise of heritage in favour of modern development. Conceived with the intention to provide seamless access between retail spaces and office spaces, the project showcases the architect’s skillful play with unconventional shapes, geometry and lines.
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, Completed in 2013
Dongdaemun Design Plaza, Seoul, Completed in 2013, Zaha Hadid Architects. Photography by Virgile Simon Bertrand
The proposal for the Dongdaemun Design Plaza, or the DDP, conceptualised by Zaha Hadid and Samoo Architects and Engineers Construction, won a global design competition in 2007. The futuristic structure, which incorporates art halls, a museum, design labs and the Dongdaemun History and Cultural Park amongst other amenities, realised over seven years.
The Sleuk Rith Institute, Phnom Penh, Detailed Design Stage
The Sleuk Rith Institute, Phnom Penh, Detailed Design Stage, South Facade and Memorial Park, Zaha Hadid Architects. Image courtesy of Zaha Hadid Architects
The Sleuk Rith Institute was designed in 2014 as the site for documents relating to the devastating legacy of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The Institute is determined to learn from Cambodia’s past in order to heal and shape Cambodia’s future, and Zaha Hadid Architects have provided a design that pays respect to the Institute’s mission while diverging from conventional monument forms.
This article is written by the Art Republik Editorial Team and was originally published in Art Republik 14.
Immerse yourself in the Bulgari B.zero1 Design Legend Virtual Reality Experience at Takashimaya Shopping Centre, Singapore from today to April 12.
The 2012 version of the Longines Avigation Type A-7 shares the same calibre as the current Type A-7 1935 version.
Welcome to a brand new year in watchmaking, which promises big things ahead. For this issue, we want to kick things off a little early. Yes, the Salon International de la Haute Horlogerie is behind us and BaselWorld looms ahead, but we already know what one of the major highlights will be in 2017. It just so happens that this is Longines’ 185th anniversary and the Saint-Imier-based firm revealed in January that it has a programme and a menu in place for the festivities. This is an initiative that seeks to break down the momentous birthday into bite-sized chunks that you can savour every day. A sort of horological hors d’oeuvre, if you will.
Now, when you have a history like Longines’, tackling everything in one go is bound to result in a case of severe indigestion. After all, this is a brand that has a claim to fame in sports timing, in aviation, in travel and, by entirely natural circumstance, has a special relationship with the chronograph. Trying to make a meal of all these disparate courses is a recipe for disaster, so we commend the brand for pacing itself. In keeping with this spirit, our own stories about the brand will follow us throughout the course of the year, in every issue.
That said, we’ll leave behind the food metaphor for now because cuisine is one area Longines hasn’t quite conquered, although we will be happy to be proven wrong at BaselWorld! Seriously, our cover will clue you in on our focus this issue, but we’ll spell it out clearly here. This story looks at Longines’ significant depth in the area of pilot’s watches, and across aviation in general. We’ve chosen two pieces to take flight with: the Longines Avigation Type A-7 1935 (our cover star) and the Lindbergh Hour Angle.
Charles Lindbergh with his Spirit of St. Louis plane
For more information on the cover watch, take a look at our cover watch. For the purposes of this tale, however, our focus is on the broader association of Longines, the company, in the early 20th century with the pioneers of aviation. Properly speaking, Longines inked the first official pages of its aviation story in 1919, when the brand became the official supplier to the International Aeronautical Federation. It is this partnership that saw the brand developing precise and trustworthy professional instruments for aviators. The work of the company’s US director, the very noteworthy John P. V. Heinmuller was key here, as demonstrated in the example of the Lindbergh Hour Angle. More broadly speaking, Heinmuller got Longines involved with tracking and timing the flights of the aforementioned early aviation daredevils. At that time, just the act of getting into a plane and taking off took incredible courage.
The fact that this was happening in the United States was important, as the century of flight is most definitely an American one. For Longines, the strength of this association could even be felt in the post-WWII era, when one of its 1954 advertisements featured this tagline: “The price of travel is well worth the cost of a Longines.” Times have changed and today, we can even say that the value of time far exceeds the cost of travel.
The Angle of the Hours
The current version of the Lindbergh Hour Angle watch
If you put all the logos of watchmaking firms that claim a link to aviation and the history of global travel on a page like this one, things will get crowded in a hurry. Every firm with a history that preceded World War II likely has a story here but, over the years, legend often takes precedence over the facts. This is unfortunate because the facts are usually more interesting. Obviously, for the purposes of this story, we’re going to get into that most legendary of all pilot’s watches: the Lindbergh Hour Angle.
Now, 2017 also happens to be the 90th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh’s famous transatlantic flight from New York to Paris. It was May 21, 1927, when Lindbergh touched down at Le Bourget airfield, Paris, after a 33-and-a-half-hour flight in a high-winged Ryan monoplane called Spirit of St Louis. While this was suitably epic, its place in history is clouded over by legend, much like the Longines Hour Angle itself.
You might think Lindbergh is remembered to this day because he was the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a plane, but he actually wasn’t; dozens of people had done it. Lindbergh’s fame rests on the fact that he managed his crossing solo and flew farther than any previous transatlantic attempts. He also opted to do so without a parachute and a radio, in favour of more fuel. Clearly, Lindbergh intended to give it his all, eschewing safety nets for an improved chance of success. As a result of this drive, presumably, he captured the imagination of the public. He was greeted at Le Bourget airfield by a crowd of at least 100,000, who had earlier caused the biggest traffic jam in Paris’ history because they were en route to greet him.
Longines chose wisely in having its trademarked logo be a winged hourglass, way back in 1905.
Somewhat fittingly, the varying accounts of the momentous event get a little confusing, leading to unsubstantiated reports that Lindbergh was wearing a Longines timepiece during the flight. While it might be that the stampede at the airfield, and Lindbergh’s later celebrity and association with Longines coloured the public’s perception of the historic flight, it is not even known if Lindbergh was wearing a watch when he landed. Whatever the case might be with regards to Lindbergh’s mystery travel companion, Longines’ own records indicate that it was indeed present for Lindbergh’s departure from New York and for his arrival at Le Bourget.
Drawing Up Plans
What we also definitely know is that the Lindbergh Hour Angle — possibly one of the most recognisable timepieces in the world — was designed by Lindbergh himself after his famous flight. Historian Michael Balfour records that Lindbergh made rough sketches of the dial, actually had these drawn up properly, and registered a patent for what is known today as the Lindbergh Hour Angle watch.
Balfour also goes on to note that Lindbergh brought his plans to none other than Heinmuller, president of the International Aeronautical Federation because the watch had a very specific usefulness for aviators. Lindbergh’s design allowed a pilot to accurately determine longitude by means of a graduated rotatable hour angle ring around the dial when used with a sextant and a nautical almanac. As fate would have it, Heinmuller was also in charge of the New York office of the Longines-Wittnauer Watch Company and he naturally brought the plans there. Obviously, Longines saw the merit in it and the firm’s records indicate that the Lindbergh Hour Angle watch was launched in 1931.
Charles Lindbergh’s original sketch of what would become the Lindbergh Hour Angle watch, next to the original model
The Longines Calibre L699.2powers the Lindbergh Hour Angle watch
Then, as now, the utility of the watch is narrow, targeting pilots alone, but the aesthetic appeal— powered in part by the impressive patrimony — is clear. Over the decades, the appeal has grown steadily even as the utility has fallen by the wayside; considering that entire generations have never used sextants and might not even know what they look like, much less how to use them. On the other hand, the meaning of the watch is, arguably, closer at hand than ever before.
Cosmos on your Watch
Ludwig Oechslin, former curator and director of the MIH (International Museum of Horology) at La Chaux-de-Fonds, once described the wristwatch as an expression of the cosmos on the wrist. Of course, he could have been referring to the materials used in the watch but not in this case. “With a watch, we can follow the rotation of our planet on a scale that is easy to grasp,” said Oeschlin. This is true of every watch, especially those with analog displays, but in the case of the Lindbergh Hour Angle, the wearer also gets to understand his or her own position on the planet. To illustrate this, we’ll chart it out in the next issue, when we hopefully will have seen a new Lindbergh Hour Angle watch at BaselWorld 2017.
The white dial here is in lacquer, while the original Type A-7 would have used porcelain
While this is truly a unique function in the world of watchmaking— the closest to it we know is the Weems watch, also from Longines that served as the base of the Lindbergh Hour Angle — it is the Lindbergh part of the name that defines the watch today. Apart from being a pioneering aviator, Lindbergh is perhaps even more widely known as the father in the infamous Lindbergh kidnapping case. This case also resonates today because the kidnapping of his son Charles Augustus Lindbergh directly resulted in the US making kidnapping a federal crime, as it remains today. While this tragic event doesn’t figure in the watch’s provenance, it did happen after the launch of the Lindbergh Hour Angle, in March 1932. It was certainly Lindbergh’s celebrity that drew the attention of the kidnapper and drove the public into frenzy for any and all scraps of news they could get.
Today, the triumph and the tragedy of Charles Lindbergh live on in the watch that bears his name.
Longines and the Chronograph
An individual named Alfred Lugrin (1858-1920) played an important role in the development of the chronograph on an industrial scale. It is no coincidence that Longines was known in the industry as a capable producer of chronographs as early as 1878. The reason for this is simple: Lugrin was one of the principal figures behind Lemania-Lugrin SA, which contemporary collectors know well as Lemania. Longines was the first firm to use Lugrin’s chronograph calibres on an industrial scale, having so great a success with these that it began making its own chronograph movements, possibly as early as 1910 (when the first patents appeared under Longines’ name).
Calibre L788.2 is based on Calibre L688.2, just in monopusher form. You can see the similarities here
Calibre L788.2 is based on Calibre L688.2, just in monopusher form. You can see the similarities here
Longines’ provenance here is proven by the words of its peers, because who can you trust but your rivals? One Charles-Émile Tissot, watchmaker from Le Locle, declared at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair that Longines “exhibited a number of watches, plain movements and chronographs based on several special and patented calibres”.
The story of chronographs is one of vaunted suppliers, some of whom are but ghosts and legends today such as Venus and Landeron. In their heyday though, Longines was one of the few brands that demonstrated in-house mastery over the chronograph mechanism.
Today, the situation is quite different but oddly similar. Valjoux and Lemania are parts of ETA, which is owned by the Swatch Group. Obviously, this puts Longines in a fortuitous position because it too is part of the world’s largest maker of watches, allowing it to once again field exclusive chronograph calibres.
