Longines has a fascinating history that is intertwined with some of the world’s most significant Arctic explorations, Antarctic scientific research, and aviation breakthroughs. We review three adventurers who chose and relied upon Longines’ precision instruments as a crucial part of their expeditions’ equipment list.

Explorer Prince Luigi Amedeo’s 1899 Arctic Exploration

As early as the 1500s and through the 19th century, scores of explorers ventured into the vast and unforgiving Arctic wilderness hoping to leave their mark in history by reaching the North Pole or navigating the Northwest Passage that connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

In 1899, Spain’s Prince Luigi Amedeo, Duke D’Abruzzi, already an accomplished mountaineer and explorer and the first to ascend Mount St. Elias in Alaska in 1897, organized an expedition to the North Pole. Amedeo’s crew of 20 men boarded their 570-ton steam whaler ship, the Stella Polare (Pole Star), and among Amedeo’s personal gear was a Longines watch, specially furnished by the brand.

After camping on Rudolf Island, the northernmost Russian island of an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean, Amedeo’s team rode dogsleds to reach a latitude of 86° 34′ on April 25th, 1899, setting a new record in North Pole exploration. Unfortunately, Amedeo himself had to remain behind after losing two fingers to frostbite, therefore rendering him unable to hold the reins of his dogsled.

This ultimately did not hinder his exploration career. Amedeo went on to summit peaks in Uganda’s Rwenzori Range, scale the mountain K2, and set a world altitude record in his attempt to climb Chogolisa mountain in Pakistan.

Aviator Charles Lindbergh and Longines’ Navigational instruments
After his historic non-stop solo flight from Long Island, New York to France, across the Atlantic in 1927, pilot Charles Lindbergh was an international star of unprecedented and epic proportions. The 25-year-old aviator was celebrated around the globe with city-wide parades. Virtually every newspaper headline shouted his name. Even a commemorative US postage stamp bearing his name and a picture of his plane was released.

In 1931, Lindbergh designed a navigational instrument that—when used with a nautical almanac and a sextant (which measures the angular distances between objects)—could help aviators calculate their latitudinal and longitudinal positioning and therefore their exact geographic location.

In the 1930s, Lindbergh’s celebrity status had hardly waned and, given his hero’s status in the world of aviation, he could have collaborated with virtually any watchmaker to realize his specially-designed aviation equipment. Lindbergh selected Longines as his collaborator on the Lindbergh Hour Angle Watch.

By this time Longines had established itself as an innovator and developer of highly accurate and reliable navigation instruments. Longines had, in fact, been the World Air Sports Federation at the time of Lindbergh’s celebrated flight and, therefore, were responsible for timing and recording Lindbergh’s flight time in the history books. In 1927, Longines worked with US Navy officer Philip Van Horn Weems to develop a series of navigational devices to synchronize the second hand with a GMT signal, essential for accurate navigation. This patent set the foundation for Longines’ work with Lindbergh and ultimately helped the watchmaker and the aviator create the Lindbergh Hour Angle Watch.

Scientist Paul-Emile Victor’s Expéditions Polaires Françaises
In 1947, French ethnologist and explorer Paul-Emile Victor was commissioned by the French government to study Antarctica and the Adélie Coast and the Arctic and Greenland. Victor organized a robust team of scientists including geologists, meteorologists, biologists, physicists, and geographers and founded the Expéditions Polaires Françaises (French Polar Expeditions). This scientific collective set up polar study camps to understand the fragile relationship between the oceans and atmosphere.

Working in these inhospitable regions required a lot of equipment, including several tractors, a mobile weather station, two Dakota propeller airplanes, and seven amphibious vehicles. Counted among the 30 trucks’ worth of supplies, were four Longines chronometer (set to both civil and sidereal time, the time adjusted for the motion of the Earth and relative to the stars instead of the sun) and fifteen Longines stainless steel wristwatches.

This equipment was crucial for the scientists to determine their astronomical position and make precise geodesic calculations. As a part of Victor’s French Polar Expeditions that lasted from 1947 to 1976, the Longines-issued equipment traveled to both the North and the South Poles and was an integral part of the team’s research equipment.

In 2011, Longines re-issued a modern interpretation of Paul-Emile Victor’s Longines wristwatch as a tribute to the accomplished scientist’s work. The commemorative watch (appropriately named the Expéditions Polaires Françaises – Missions Paul-Emile Victor) is a faithful reproduction of the Longines watch Victor wore himself.

As of July 2018, Chopard has been using 100% ethical gold in the creation of its fine jewelry. Such a major jewelry brand committing to using only ethically sourced gold has made waves in the industry and might even portend a more environmentally-friendly future for watch and jewelry brands. We’re taking a look behind what all of this means for Chopard, the jewelry industry, and for jewelry shoppers.

What is 100% ethical gold? Is there unethical gold?

First of all, yes, there is unethical gold, or “dirty gold”. In fact, very few methods of sourcing gold can actually be considered ethical. Unethical gold refers to gold that is sourced from mines whose workers are subject to inhumane and dangerous working conditions. It can also refer to gold whose origins are unknown, and, since it cannot definitively be classified as ethical, it ends up falling under the umbrella of unethical.

According to Chopard’s Ethical Gold Manifesto, the brand classifies 100% ethical gold as that which is “responsibly sourced from one of two traceable routes”: it will either use freshly mined gold from small-scale mines that participate in the Swiss Better Gold Association and in Fairmined’s or Fairtrade’s programs, or it will recycle gold from the RJC Chain of Custody. Simply put, the onlygold that Chopard will be using is either sourced from mines that meet international best practice and social standards or is recycled from refineries that also source from ethical mines.

Is there a difference in quality or in price between ethical gold and unethical gold?

While jewelers like Chopard have to pay premiums to Fairmined or Fairtrade that go towards ensuring fair living conditions and work environments for the miners, it often falls on the brand to adjust by reducing overhead costs internally. According to theFinancial Times, “A 7g 14-karat wedding band in Fairtrade gold costs £14 (about $18) more at purchasing price than a non-Fairtrade one.” So, because brands themselves are re-allocating their funds internally rather than just inflating the purchase price of their products, the customers won’t feel much of a difference in cost.

As for the quality of the gold, these fair mining associations use the London Bullion Market Exchange standard for the metals that are used and traded by the largest banks in the world: the London Bullion Market Association’s list of members spans 148 companies in 24 countries and includes financial giants Credit Suisse, J.P. Morgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and Goldman Sachs.

Their standards for gold dictate that “the minimum acceptable fineness is 995.0 parts per thousand fine gold, with fineness determined to four significant digits.” As 100% pure gold is not technically or economically feasible, Fairmined and other fair mining associations use this to grade their gold. In other words, because these organizations use the same stringent standards as other gold sourcing companies do, the quality of the metal will not be affected.

Why does it matter that Chopard is doing this? Aren’t there smaller brands doing the same thing?

While there are smaller independent brands that only use ethically-sourced metals, Chopard’s commitment to ethical gold is groundbreaking because it’s a heritage brand—in fact, it’s the first out of all the major maisons to make such a change. And not only did Chopard commit to using 100% ethical gold and paying the extra $2,000 per kilogram of gold, but it also funneled an incredible amount of resources into helping more small-scale mines achieve Fairmined certification by providing “training, new processing plants, and social and environmental support.”

That Chopard is leading the charge towards achieving sustainable luxury means that other major maisons will be more likely to follow in the brand’s footsteps and change how they source and produce their fine jewelry and watches as well. This move will hopefully portend a significant change in the jewelry industry and lead to the dissolution of mines that still use inhumane and dangerous practices, eventually making it so that the metal mining industry is operating entirely inside a sustainable and more socially- and environmentally-friendly system.

This is especially important as most modern mining practices involve using mercury to find the metals, and after use, the mercury is discarded into waterways or burned away so that it pollutes the air. Gold mining, in general, is terrible for the environment, as tons worth of rock is laid to waste for just a few grams of the metal, leading to huge craters and quarries that are disruptive to the natural formation of the land, which can cause landslides and droughts. The industry has also been accused of “encroaching upon protected land—especially that of indigenous peoples—and disrupting local communities.”

As such, that Chopard is moving so completely towards using ethical and recycled gold is a good sign that this industry is finally doing its part to create a better, brighter world.

The primary birthstone for the month of September is the typically blue variety of the mineral corundum that goes by the name of sapphire.

The Origins and Cultural Significance of Sapphire
Etymologically, the English word “sapphire” stems from the Latin word sapphirus, though there are linguists who believe the word comes from the Sanskrit term Shanipriya meaning “dear to Saturn” (although many have long connected blue sapphires with the planet Venus).

Historically speaking, it is said that the Ancient Greeks associated the gemstone with the god of prophecy, Apollo, which is why Greeks often wore the gem during consultations with oracles at Delphi. According to lore, sapphires tapped the power of the “third eye,” making pronouncements considered too difficult to understand seem clearer. Ancient Persian leaders also looked at sapphire in a good light through their belief that Earth rested on a giant sapphire and that the stone’s reflection colored the heavens blue. In the Middle Ages, clergymen wore blue sapphires as a way to represent their connection with Heaven, and in the British monarchy, sapphire has been associated with romance for centuries up to an including being worn as an engagement ring by Princess Diana and Kate Middleton, now Duchess of Cambridge.

Notable Sapphire Jewelry

In early 2016, the largest sapphire ever mined – a “star sapphire” – was discovered in the Ratnapura mines in the southern part of Sri Lanka. It weighed a whopping 1,404.49 carats and reports originally generated valued the stones anywhere between $175 million to $300 million.

Some of the world’s most famous sapphires include the Star of Bombay, a 182-carat Sri Lankan star sapphire given to silent film star Mary Pickford by her then-husband, Douglas Fairbanks Sr.; the roughly 423-carat Logan Sapphire, one of the largest gem-quality blue sapphires in the world; the Rockefeller Sapphire, a 62.02-carat internally flawless cornflower blue sapphire acquired by John D. Rockefeller Jr. in 1934 from an Indian Maharajah thought to have been the seventh and the last Nizam of Hyderabad; and the Stuart Sapphire of the Imperial Crown, which is placed in the back of the 1937 version of Queen Victoria’s State Crown.

The Properties and Hardness of Sapphire

One of the most significant characteristics of the gemstone sapphire is its presence in nearly every corner of the world. Asian countries producing natural sapphires include Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Kashmir (which produces some of the most valuable sapphires in existence). Africa has put forth deposits coming from Tanzania, Nigeria, Kenya, and Madagascar. And in the United States, the state of Montana has seen its fair share of sapphires being mined.

Other than the traditional blue sapphire, corundum is also available in what is referred to as “fancy-colored sapphires” which have been found in colors such as orange, pink, purple, violet, green, yellow, gray, black, and even brown. Red sapphire does not exist because the red variety of corundum is a ruby, although when a ruby is found to be an extremely light color of red to the point where it can be categorized as pink, the stone will then be known as a pink sapphire.

Sapphire scores a 9.0 on the Mohs scale, putting the gem just below diamond and moissanite (which scores a 9.5) in terms of hardness. It is a popular gemstone for engagement rings and everyday jewelry due to its wearability, durability, and overall beauty.

Lean into the spirit of back-to-school shopping with one of these fall must-haves, guaranteed to be a cool and standout addition to your wardrobe.

1. Bulgari B.Zero1 Ring
Defined by strong lines, the versatile elegance makes the B.Zero1 ring a sleek everyday accessory that you’ll never tire of.

2. Panerai Luminor Marina Watch
Step out of the box and sport a Panerai Luminor as an unconventional and still impressive dress watch.

3. Cartier Amulette Collection
This delicate Cartier collection, made of semi-precious gemstones and capped by a bezel-set diamond, is a beautifully understated addition to your jewelry collection.

4. Longines Master Collection
Longines expertly pares down its watch designs to give it a strikingly simple look, perfectly suited for modern tastes.

5. Chanel C&C Logo Jewelry
Step out with a piece of CHANEL logo costume jewelry. From brooches to pendants on long chains, any piece with that iconic C&C always makes for a street style wow-moment.

6. Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra
The Aqua Terra‘s signature “teak concept” pattern exudes luxury appeal and makes it a distinguished part of any collection.

7. Tiffany & Co. Keys
Soften up your fall wardrobe with a romantic and sentimental Tiffany & Co. key pendant.

8. TAG Heuer Monaco
The unique square-shaped Monaco was popularized by style icon Steve McQueen and remains a daringly cool conversation piece.

9. Cartier Love Bracelet Small 
This slimmer version of the fan-favorite Cartier Love Bracelet has a youthful vibe and makes for a trend-right style to wear everyday.

10. IWC Portuguese
The IWC Portuguese is an essential part of proud watch collection– plus this classic model is offered in a variety of price points so you can find the one that suits your taste and budget.

Have you ever spotted a Rolex for sale that just doesn’t quite look like a Rolex? Maybe the dial is a unique color or the bezel has big diamonds or is a color combo you’ve never seen on a Rolex before…

Is this a fake Rolex? Or is it an after-market watch?

We break down the crucial difference between these two watch categories and what to look for to ensure you’re getting exactly what you expect.

What are After-Market Watches?
After-market (or custom) watches are, at their core genuine designer watches, but decorated with non-brand approved details. Using a real luxury watch as its base, after-market watches are outfitted with diamond bezels and colorful or printed dials or encrusted (also known as “iced out” or “blinged out”) with pavé diamonds. (Check out our post here to see more examples of after-market alterations.)

Although after-market watches are not illegal, these modifications are not sanctioned by the original brand and therefore nullify the warranty. Moreover, it is important to note that, while the cost of the diamonds used to modify the watch will bring up the overall cost of the after-market watch, after-market watches typically have a lower resale value because brands have not authorized the cosmetic changes.

What are Replica Watches?
While an after-market watch is still fundamentally a genuine designer watch, replica watches are counterfeit or fake watches.

Replica watches are very much illegal—even though some sites will publicize that they carry replica watches and convincing knock-offs of the biggest brand names, particularly Rolex, Breitling, and Audemars Piguet. Even worse, unscrupulous retailers will knowingly sell you a fake designer watch claiming it’s a great deal on an authentic timepiece.

Counterfeit or fake watches can be a tempting way to “get the look,” but there are very serious repercussions to shopping replica watches, from actually having the watch confiscated by the authorities to having your credit card information stolen. Learn more about why you should never buy a phony designer watch here.

How Can I Ensure I’m Not Getting Scammed?
Although after-market watches are legal and there is a large market for them, if you’re not aware that what you’re buying is, in fact, an after-market watch, you can feel duped. Therefore, always read the listing details carefully. All credible retailers will be quick to point out when a dial or bezel is not from the brand and will note that in the product details, connoting that the item you’re browsing is an after-market watch.

As for replica watches, particularly those sold claiming to be authentic, the two immediate red flags are too-good-to-be-true prices and retailers without a return policy. If you’re quoted a price that is significantly lower than its competitors’, it may be because the item is fake and made with cheap materials. In addition, counterfeiters don’t often take the time to make sure their replica is a perfect reproduction of the original. We have some brand- and product-specific guides here that you can use to spot fake designer watches.

If you have further questions about after-market watches, please call our concierge associates at 1-800-690-3736 for help!

It’s finally cooling down outside, and as we round the corner to September, everyone’s reaching for more autumnal pieces. Reds, oranges, and mustard yellows decorate the ensembles of those who can’t wait for the crisp days of fall. We’ve rounded up our favorite watches with red dials or red details on them to match these season-appropriate colors, but we also love how we can wear these statement timepieces all year round:

1. Omega Speedmaster Schumacher Legend

This special edition Speedmaster has a sexy, sporty vibe that would be perfect for the type of person whose ensemble is never complete without a leather jacket.

2. Rolex “Cherini” Cellini

Affectionately (and appropriately) nicknamed the Cherini, this vintage Rolex Cellini‘s large, square case and cherry red dial makes the perfect statement piece for a simple, monochromatic look.

3. Vintage Omega Speedmaster Professional Mark II

A Speedmaster like this is one of a kind. Its champagne dial and burgundy bezel insert pair perfectly to represent a classic fall color combo: cream and red. This upgraded version would look snappy with more cream or champagne details, like a striped white top or a quartz cabochon piece of jewelry.

4. Breitling J-Class

A dressed up nautical watch like this Breitling J-Class timepiece would look impressive with a navy suit. The red and gold details in the bezel would make the blue stand out even more.

5. Girard-Perregaux “Pour Ferrari 330/P4″ Chronograph

This sleek Girard-Perregaux chronograph has muted features that really let its cherry red subdials pop. The red accent would make even a simple, all-black outfit pop.

6. Rolex GMT Master II

How could we highlight watches with red details without citing this classic? The Rolex GMT Master II “Coke” edition is the perfect addition to your watch collection because of its collector’s item appeal and its clean, functional design with a fun pop of color.

7. Panerai Ferrari Granturismo

Die-hard Ferrari fans will love this sporty timepiece. The large case size and cherry dial look as impressive on the wrist as an actual Ferrari does in your driveway, plus the design of the subdials and the tachymeter scale makes it look like the watch belongs on the dash of a race car.

8. Gucci Les Marche des Merveilles

Lion-hearted lovers of fashion, this watch is for you. This Gucci timepiece has a dial made of nylon web, giving it a woven, fabric-like look, and its colorful graphic design will certainly draw eyes to this chic timepiece.

While the auto industry is perhaps best known for its certified pre-owned cars, TrueFacet is leading the charge as the first ever certified pre-owned retail marketplace for fine jewelry and watches.

For the first time, brands have embraced the certified pre-owned category as a way to expand their visibility and reach a new and wider audience. In turn, some of the leading names in the industry (including Zenith, Roberto Coin, Raymond Weil, and more) have chosen to partner exclusively with TrueFacet to carry their brand-certified pre-owned merchandise. This designation ushers in a totally new and alternative way for you to shop pre-owned jewelry and watches online with confidence and peace of mind.

Here we explain what it means to shop brand-certified pre-owned merchandise and its benefit to you!

What does “certified pre-owned” mean?
Certified pre-owned means the brands have directly authorized TrueFacet to sell their merchandise. Moreover, the certified pre-owned pieces TrueFacet sells have been inspected by the brand to ensure they are wholly original.

Also, while TrueFacet always offers its Authenticity Promise and backs purchases with our own warranty, all of our brand-certified pre-owned merchandise includes a one-year manufacturer’s warranty.

Where does TrueFacet’s brand-certified pre-owned inventory come from?
TrueFacet partners directly with the brands to feature the items listed in our Brand-Certified Pre-Owned category. Participating brands are now an active part of the authentication process within the certified pre-owned market. Their team of in-house experts and watchmakers review any pre-owned merchandise to deem it authentic and genuine.

TrueFacet will continue to valuate every item we sell within our marketplace to ensure that the piece is genuine, the listing is accurate, and you receive the best value for your purchase. Separately, the items marked as Brand-Certified Pre-Owned have been specially vetted by the brand directly to verify its authenticity.

How is the brand-certified pre-owned merchandise different from TrueFacet Brand Boutique?
We have partnered with brands in two ways: through TrueFacet Brand Boutique and now as an authorized pre-owned retailer.

TrueFacet Brand Boutique offers all new and never worn items from the brands’ newest collections. TrueFacet’s Brand-Certified Pre-Owned section includes any pre-owned item that has been independently verified by the brand itself.

That said, you will see some brands repeated between TrueFacet Brand Boutique and in our certified pre-owned section (including Raymond Weil, and Frederique Constant).

To learn more about TrueFacet’s Brand-Certified Pre-Owned partners, call 1-800-690-3736 and a concierge associate can help!

“I feel like I am just getting started,” said Ernst Benz President and Creative Director Leonid Khankin to LeCity. “After eight years in the business, it feels like day one.”

This is how Khankin directs Ernst Benz—with a steadfast forward sprint and an unrivaled creative energy. He brings the watchmaking traditions he’s been learning all his life under the tutelage of his father, a highly respected watchmaker, and his passion for the brand together to create a refreshing palette of watch designs and an incredibly strong brand identity.

Khankin said that though he is now the leader and face of the company, he hasn’t stopped thinking of himself as a watchmaker. Still deeply entrenched in his humble roots at heart, he calls himself “an artist who wants to leave tomorrow better than it is today.”

Since he inherited the Ernst Benz brand, he has infused that philosophy into every new design and every new partnership that he makes. The result has been a shedding of the old skin for a brand that has been reinventing itself constantly—yet simultaneously staying true to its storied history—since Khankin stepped up to his position in 2005.

Leonid Khankin’s Early Years at Ernst Benz
Before taking the helm at Ernst Benz, Khankin worked as one of the brand’s skilled watchmakers. In the years leading up to his promotion, he developed some of the most iconic Ernst Benz watches, including the ChronoLunar, the first Ernst Benz model with a moon phase complication. This model was representative of Khankin’s revolutionary vision of the company: he wanted to make watches for the high-minded adventurer, one who placed in high regard the tradition of watchmaking as well as the color and vitality of a life well-lived.

Following the ChronoLunar’s success after its debut in 2002, Ernst Benz himself handed the reins over to Khankin and his family. Khankin had proved that he could marry the artisanship he learned from his father with his sophisticated understanding of the Ernst Benz watch wearer to create a better, brighter future for the brand.

Ernst Benz Under Leonid Khankin’s Direction
Ernst Benz timepieces are now living proof of Khankin’s dedication to the craft. Since 2005, the brand has released updates to old favorites like the Great Circle Chronoscope as well as entirely new models of diving watches, chronographs, and world time indicators. These timepieces are quite large, easy to read, and incredibly durable to accommodate the rugged life of the adventurer.

The brand has also partnered with several unique celebrities to create opportunities to donate to charity. For example, the limited edition Dan Marino collection’s profits went entirely to funding the Dan Marino Foundation, an organization built to provide college-level educational programs and virtual job-seeking workshops for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder. In 2009, the brand released a 47 mm ChronoDiver in conjunction with Stay-Focused, a non-profit dedicated to helping mobility-challenged young adults become certified scuba divers.

There is something to be said about people who do what they love and use that passion for their craft to make the world a better place. In committing to the art of watchmaking and diving in to the spirit of travel—and, by extension, the celebration of the human connection across borders and seas—Khankin has changed the lives of countless people and made the world a much better place.