Longines Master Collection L2.665.4.78.3

[TorzJohnson]

I've had this watch for a couple of months now. I figured it would be best to get to know the watch for a while before reviewing it. My experience with mechanical watches is limited to the cheap hand-winds that I had as a kid, before the quartz revolution, and they were always uniformly inaccurate and uniformly dead after a few months. So this was my first experience with not only an automatic watch, but a mechanical watch that wasn't considered "disposable".

My first impression is that the watch is larger than I expected. I'm a fairly large guy, but I have average sized wrists (7.5"). It doesn't look clownish or anything, but I feel that this watch at 42mm is about as big as I should be wearing.



Specs: The watch is also fairly thick, roughly 14mm, to house the L691.2 movement (base movement: ETA A07.111). I read up a little on the A07.111, it's apparently based on the 7750 but somewhat larger, 36.6mm in diameter. It's nicely decorated too, with Geneva stripes, perlage, and a nicely engraved Longines logo that's unfortunately obscured by the rim of the case back. The power reserve is 46 hours, and the watch is rated for only 30 meters of water resistance. That's OK with me though, this is a dress watch after all.



The watch kept decent time out of the box, +7 sec/day, just beyond COSC specs. I know that there is some controversy as to whether watches actually "settle in" or not, but this watch is now keeping a consistent +3 sec/day after 2 months. I can only speak for my own experience in this case. I was fairly obsessive at checking the time after coming home from work at the same time every day. I'm pretty satisfied with the timekeeping.



As to the looks, I think it's just a beautiful watch. I love the simple face with the "barley" guilloche pattern, the blued hands (which normally look almost black, but brilliantly shine blue when the light hits them just right), the flawlessly polished stainless case, and the beautifully decorated movement. I looked over the whole thing rather critically, and was unable to find a single flaw. Perhaps a jeweller's loupe would expose some, but there's nothing that can be seen with the naked eye.

The only things that can be considered a negative is the crown and the overall thickness of the watch. I feel the crown is a bit too small and it makes it hard to get a grip to wind it up. Not really a big deal, since it's an automatic, but there it is. The thickness is not too bad, but I would prefer it to sit a bit flatter and sleeker on the wrist. Again, you can't have everything, at least in this price range, and overall it's a very nice watch.

[mr00jimbo]

Great review, and lovely, classic Longines watch!
My Longines settled down from +7 to +2 a day after a few months and knowing how to rest it at night, so you're not alone!
Post a wrist shot please? :)

[asadtiger]

thank you for a very nice review...its a lovely watch you have there :)

and do plz share a wrist shot :)

[TorzJohnson]

Thanks for the kind words - wrist shot as requested.

[thatoneguysmells]

Can you show us a shot of the caseback and some side views so we can see the thickness? Also, could you take a photo of the bracelet in sunlight or with the flash so we can see the actual color?

[TorzJohnson]

I don't have access to a camera right now, but here's an older picture at an angle that gives some idea of the thickness.



For the case back, see this thread. SydneyDan's post shows the case back which is exactly the same on his 47mm model as my 42mm model, except on the smaller watch the Longines engraving on the rotor is partly covered by the rim.

As to the bracelet, I take it you're referring to the strap? It's a Rios aftermarket strap and the color you see in the pictures is it's actual color, black.

[MLRoach]

Thanks for posting these - it's satisfying my fix while I wait for my L2.665.4.78.6. I just ordered it Wednesday, and am looking forward to it.

[vteasy]

Hello,

I am looking for this exact watch. How do you go about getting the 47mm version rather than 42?

Thank you!

I don't have access to a camera right now, but here's an older picture at an angle that gives some idea of the thickness.



For the case back, see this thread. SydneyDan's post shows the case back which is exactly the same on his 47mm model as my 42mm model, except on the smaller watch the Longines engraving on the rotor is partly covered by the rim.

As to the bracelet, I take it you're referring to the strap? It's a Rios aftermarket strap and the color you see in the pictures is it's actual color, black.