Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle Caliber 990.1

nilomis · 2012-11-22T05:13:50Z

Discover the Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle with the rare in-house Caliber 990.1. Explore its history, authenticity, and collector insights.

nilomis

WPS member · Horological Meandering forum

18 replies8621 views8 photos

Nilomis shares an intriguing discovery: a Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle watch acquired through a trade, which unexpectedly houses the esteemed in-house Longines Caliber 990. This post delves into the mystery of the movement's identification, sparking a community discussion about the watch's authenticity and the historical significance of this rare caliber.

18 collectors discussing this on the WatchProSite forumJoin the Conversation →

Team,

Few weeks back, I did a trade and since the watch that I was trading had a higher value than the one that I was taking the seller offered a Longines in order to make our deal even.

I took the watch assuming that it was recent, based on the overall looks, and I was expecting an ETA movement inside.

I sent the Longines to my watchmaker for a cleaning and buffing of some minor scratches and I forgot about it.

Time passes and my watchmaker called and made a comment about the Longines movement.

- "It's a twin barrel power train ...".

A quick Google visit shows that this movement was the last one made "in house" by Longines, the 990.

Here is the watch:

A very nice size and the winding crown works so smoothly that shows the intrinsic qualities of the movement.

It's a Lindbergh "hour angle".

It's a beautiful watch, IMHO

Outside of the case back, it carries the Longines classic logo

On the inside, hunter case?, it shows the designer of the Hour Angle

Here is where the problems started. Notice the movement number: L994.1. Some info that I got shows this as a manual wind movement.

My question is if this watch is correct or I just got a frankenwatch?

Thanks for seeing.

Cheers,

Nilo

Key Points from the Discussion

The Longines Caliber 990.1 is a highly regarded, thin, twenty-five jewel full-rotor automatic movement with twin side-by-side spring barrels, introduced in 1977 as the world's thinnest automatic with center seconds and calendar.
The Longines 990/Lemania 8815 movement is well-regarded for its durability, extended power reserve, excellent isochronism, notable thinness, and pleasant aesthetics, as seen in various high-end watches.
The watch is likely an early issue of the Lindbergh collection's relaunch, possibly a limited edition, housing an in-house Longines movement that was later sold to another entity.
The movement is considered amazing and a great discovery, with connections to modified versions found in other notable watches like the Antiqua.
There is a debate about the accuracy of online databases regarding the L994.1 movement, with some sources incorrectly listing it as manual wind when it is an automatic.
The specific reference number 989.xxxx for the watch and the caliber 994.1 inside raise questions about the correct pairing, prompting further investigation into Longines' historical records.

The Discussion

dedestexhes

Nov 22, 2012

As far as I know, it was the first issue of the relaunch of the Lindbergh collection in this size. I seem to remember that it also is a limited edition. It houses a in house Longines movement (they sold the movement afterwards to someone, don't remember anymore to who). I've the ETA version that came out afterwards. It is a very nice movement, however, at that time discussions were going on if this movement is in line with the philosophy of the watch as the movement is said to be rather fragile.

nilomis

Nov 22, 2012

From the Internet: " In the mid-1970s, Longines began producing a series of automatic movements with twin spring barrels. They created some long-running movements that could serve as the basis for complications and would be quite accurate. After a couple years of production and refinement of caliber L890, Longines introduced caliber L990.1, a thin twenty-five jewel full-rotor automatic with twin side-by-side spring barrels. This little marvel measures only 2.95 mm thick and was, upon its introdu

Ancienne Le Brassus

Nov 22, 2012

This a great discovery, the movement is amazing. Isn't this what we find modified (via Lemania) in ... what's that watch called .. Antiqua ... ? :) I hope you enjoy the watch and treasure that you've got this movement in there, it is one of my favorites from the more modern Longines before their manufacture was closed... thanks for sharing this story! S

nilomis

Nov 22, 2012

That was, for me, the catch of the year. I should have noticed, when I wind the watch for the first time, that it was not the average ETA. Thank you, Nilo

KIH

Nov 22, 2012

... but i am a bit curious.... The ref# is 989.xxxx and naturally I would think the caliber should be 989.xx Why 994.1 on this one? Curious mind wants to know! Ken

nilomis

Nov 23, 2012

And my question. Let's wait and see if a Longines expert can help. Cheers, Nilo

Continue the conversation

This thread is active on the Horological Meandering forum with 18 replies. Share your knowledge with fellow collectors.

Join the Discussion →

Longines Lindbergh Hour Angle Caliber 990.1

Key Points from the Discussion

Continue the conversation

More from this Forum