Hands-on Longines DolceVita Sector Dial Longines, a fan-shaped dial watch with a retro and cool Art Deco style
Recently, Longines has performed a bit with cool but reasonably priced vintage style watches. Considering the long history of the brand, this is not a real surprise. After all, its history can be traced back to 1832, so there are many historical works to choose from. Although DolceVita may not be the most popular series in the Longines product portfolio, adding a fan-shaped dial to the portfolio will seriously enhance the cool factor.
So far this year, we have seen a complete set of attractive vintage style watches from the Wings Hourglass brand. There are several new Longines legendary divers to choose from, and of course new models in the Spirit series. Another example is the very beautiful Longines traditional classic, with several color combinations. Of course, we also have the Heritage Silver Arrow and the surprisingly stylish Avigation BigEye titanium and gradient blue dial.
Launched in the mid-90s, DolceVita is an ode to the fascinating Italian lifestyle. It can even be transformed into a good life or a sweet life. Its design was inspired by Longines in the 1920s, when the Art Deco style flourished. Perhaps the watch that evokes the Art Deco movement the most is undoubtedly the Cartier Tank series.
In turn, this Longines watch exudes the same vibe, especially because of the original flinqué style dial we knew before. The flinqué dial is evenly distributed with oblique printed numbers on the rectangular dial. The dial has a pattern similar to the guilloche pattern, but the pattern is machine-applied. The new fan-shaped dial, launched earlier this year, aims to change the Art Deco style of the previous model and elevate it to something more prominent.
Let’s start with the case, it has two different sizes throughout the range. You can choose a case of 27.7 mm wide x 43.8 mm high, or a case of 28.2 mm x 47 mm. Both watches have the same proportions and details, but they provide people with versatility when considering this watch.
The rectangular stainless steel case has a smooth, polished outline, and there is a small step on the strap to give it some extra style. On the right hand side, there is a restrained polished crown with a strap for gripping on the side, and the spelling “Longines” on the top with an hourglass logo. Although the surface of the watch and case has a curvature from top to bottom, the closed case back is flat and decorated with the model name and the vintage-style Longines strap wing hourglass logo. Considering that this is a case without a real bezel, its outline is smooth to the touch and flows seamlessly into the lugs.
The real novelty of this DolceVita series is of course the Sector-style dial. This typical style divides the markings into subsections, adding a pleasant power balance to any dial while maintaining its legibility. It is usually considered a pure retro style, but it is very popular even today. A common design element of most fan-shaped dials is the railroad minute track on the outer edge of the dial.
The new Longines DolceVita has a two-tone fan-shaped dial with a matte silver finish in the center. This also has a black crosshair, which is another retro design element in a fan-shaped dial watch. The exterior of the dial has black hour markers and a black railway minute track, with a vertical drawing process. Except for the hour markers at 3 o’clock, 6 o’clock, 9 o’clock and 12 o’clock, all time markers connect the railway minute track to the central crosshair portion of the dial. Again, this special style dial has a classic style. The hour, minute and second hands are all made of blue steel, and there is a date window at 6 o’clock.
Regardless of the size of the Longines DolceVita, you can buy the L592 mechanical movement. This automatic movement comes from ETA and is regularly used by Longines. It runs at 28,800vph (or 4Hz) and has a 45-hour power reserve. Until you state that it should benefit from the 80 hours provided by the new ETA C07.111 (used by Tissot as a Powermatic 80), this is simply not suitable for DolceVita. So choose the 19,40 mm diameter of L592 instead of 25,6 mm of ETA C07.111
In all fairness, Longines DolceVita is a very attractive rectangular watch, there are not many on the market. Of course, the legendary French brand has obvious alternatives, but it offers a similar style at a lower price. Especially the adaptability to the new fan-shaped dial makes it more attractive, at least for us.
fake Longines DolceVita has four different combinations, from black, blue or light brown leather straps with ordinary pin buckles to stainless steel multi-link bracelets with folding clasps.
Case: 27,70mm x 43,80mm or 28,20mm x 47,00mm size – rectangular stainless steel case – stepped case profile – sapphire crystal – solid caseback – crown adorned with Longines hour-glass logo – 30m water resistance
Dial: two-tone sector style dial – matte silver finish on center section, vertically brushed finish on outer section – black railroad-style minute track – black sectorized hour track with Arabic numerals for 3, 6, 9 and 12 – blued steel hands – date window at 6 o’clock
Movement: Longines Calibre L592, ETA based – automatic winding – 28,800vph (4Hz frequency) – 22 jewels – central hour, minutes, seconds and a date indication – 45h power reserve
Strap: Black, blue or light brown alligator leather strap with steel pin-buckle – stainless steel 5-link bracelet with folding buckle