Longines Heritage Military COSD full emotional hands-on

I have to admit that, at first sight, I was not overwhelmed with excitement… but as I manipulated it and wore it, I grew fond of the watch. It settled very well on my wrist, which is rather small, and the Nato strap feels very comfortable.

A blue smile on your face…

Its lightweight makes you forget it is there and puts a smile on your face when you turn to it and actually see its sympathetic face looking back at you. The long lungs confer a sleek, slender touch to the design, more elegant than its predecessor. The lovely blue flamed steel hands are enhanced by Luminova filings. You also find Luminova on the railway minute scale raised indexes. This offers great readability and volume to the watch’s face. 

The same goes for the date window which is of a nice size, beveled inside and framed by a thin black rectangle that makes it stand out on the off-white opaline dial. The inner 24 hours red arabic numerals add to the animation of the dial and confers a pilot feel of the watch. The broad arrow logo on the dial face is Britain’s military reference and enhances the « officer » watch atmosphere.

It is simple, not simplistic! It is light but does not feel cheap. Its cool face really grew on me and I found myself playing with the Luminova elevated indexes before going to bed: men and their toys! If I compare it with the original model, I have to say it is an excellent iteration. It kept its military distinctive design while adding a sleek modern touch as well as a real qualitative finish with the polished bezel and soft angled long lungs.

If I wanted to be picky, I would say that they could have kept the original seconds hand shape (with the arrow head) for an extra vintage feel… but the pure, slim hand they choose works very well in the current «less is more» approach. So I won’t say it… or did I?

While I understand the Nato strap idea, and loved the nice contrast between the military green and cream dial color, I felt it was a bit too much of a funky touch for a $1,700 watch. I am sure that with a brown leather (rugged style, maybe?) strap this model will look fabulous. But that’s really my personal view. 

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