SPECIFICATIONS
Incredible Longines designed by Serge Manzon, reference 5019/2, oversized, with a 925 silver case and powered by the Longines 5601 manual-winding movement from the 1970s.
Asymmetrical 925 silver case measuring 56mm x 38mm
Original crystal
Original crown
Original leather strap
Original silver buckle
Longines 5601 manual-winding movement
ANALYSIS
When it comes to famous collaborations between designers and major watchmaking houses, the collection created by Serge Manzon for Longines is the one that immediately comes to mind.
Serge Manzon (1935-1998) was a multifaceted artist who worked in France. Although he trained as a gemstone dealer, he later developed an extraordinary sensibility for sculpture and design. His style melded the Italian experiences of “Radical Design,” which questioned the rationalist expressive processes of the post-1968 movement, with those of a rediscovery of the “Streamline Modern” (or “Art Moderne”) movement originating in the 1930s, which was conceptualized as curved forms fused with rigidly geometric lines and modules.
This approach led to the creation of the collection Manzon designed for twenty watches commissioned from the artist by Longines, which debuted at Baselworld in 1973.
This incredible watch is a piece of high design imbued with the superior craftsmanship that Longines guaranteed. It features a stunning case in solid 925 silver shaped like a “stirrup.” Its asymmetry—conceived with soft lines and very feminine curves—infuses the composition with a sense of softness. At the center of the large two-piece case (Manzon designed an imaginative, yet smaller, case), the tobacco-colored ovoid dial with a mirrored finish stands out. Above it is a cross and the white Longines signature, and, completing the composition, are the understated pencil-shaped hour and minute hands.
The original hammered leather strap with its clasp is an integral part of the entire watch’s eccentric design. It is very wide and fastens like a belt, featuring a very wide buckle and a semicircular silver applique at the end.
Beneath the heavy case is the Longines caliber 5601, also ovoid in shape. It is borrowed from the in-house manually wound caliber 410, which has 17 jewels, Incabloc, and beats at 21,600 per hour.
