Longines is taking flight into 2025 with two new additions to its celebrated Spirit line: the Spirit Pilot and Spirit Pilot Flyback. Both models pay tribute to the brand’s storied aviation heritage while incorporating contemporary materials and technology, underscoring Longines’ leadership in the pilot watch category.
Honouring an Aviation Legacy
For nearly a century, Longines has built timepieces that accompanied some of history’s most daring explorers and aviators. From early transatlantic flights to Arctic expeditions, the Swiss brand’s instruments earned a reputation for precision and dependability. The Spirit collection, first launched in 2020, was designed as a modern continuation of this heritage. celebrating the men and women who pushed human limits while relying on their watches.
The 2025 Spirit Pilot and Spirit Pilot Flyback continue this narrative, combining classic aeronautical cues with state-of-the-art horology. Together, they represent a refinement of the Spirit aesthetic and functionality, balancing tool-watch robustness with everyday elegance.
The Longines Spirit Pilot
The three-hand Spirit Pilot evolves the original Spirit design with subtle but meaningful updates. Its 39 mm stainless steel case has been redesigned for greater ergonomics and a cleaner profile, while a matt black dial provides stark functionality. Gone are the five stars and date window of the previous model, replaced with a streamlined minute track and vintage-inspired gold-coloured hands and Arabic numerals for improved clarity and charm.
Inside, the Spirit Pilot is powered by the exclusive calibre L888.4, featuring a silicon balance spring for 10-times greater magnetic resistance than the ISO 764 standard. The movement is COSC-certified, offering outstanding chronometer precision and a 72-hour power reserve. A new screw-down case back further enhances durability.
Wearability remains central to the design. Buyers can choose from a stainless steel bracelet, brown leather strap, or a green rubber strap with textile styling. All come with micro-adjustable clasps, ensuring comfort whether in the cockpit or on the ground.
The Spirit Pilot Flyback
Perhaps the headline release, the Spirit Pilot Flyback pays homage to a Longines innovation first patented in 1935: the flyback chronograph. This complication allows the chronograph hand to instantly reset and restart with a single press, ideal for measuring consecutive intervals in aviation.
The new Flyback model arrives in a 39.5 mm stainless steel case, just 13.4 mm thick for improved wearability. A bidirectional rotating bezel with countdown timer debuts in the Spirit line, while a box-shaped sapphire crystal and matt black dial recall the look of vintage cockpit instruments. Gold-toned hands and Super-LumiNova numerals ensure strong visibility.
Longines Spirit Pilot Flyback
Longines Spirit Pilot Flyback
Longines Spirit Pilot Flyback
Under the hood lies the hand-wound calibre L792.4, a column-wheel chronograph movement with flyback function. It provides 68 hours of power reserve, enhanced magnetic resistance, and COSC chronometer certification. The transparent screw-down case back allows a view of its intricate mechanics. Like the three-hand Spirit Pilot, it is offered with either a stainless steel bracelet or brown leather strap, both with micro-adjustable folding clasps.
Continuing the Pioneering Spirit
These new models embody the philosophy that has guided Longines since 1832: blending tradition with innovation. The Spirit line has always symbolized more than just timekeeping, it reflects human ambition and the drive to explore.
By expanding its Spirit collection in 2025, Longines not only strengthens its ties to aviation but also introduces a modern expression of tool-watch authenticity. For watch enthusiasts, these new releases strike the balance between heritage styling and cutting-edge technology.
As Longines puts it, the Spirit Pilot and Spirit Pilot Flyback remind us that “when technical excellence meets genuine passion for adventure, the result transcends mere timekeeping to become an instrument of human achievement.”