Longines claims to be the inventor of the flyback chronograph, having developed it in 1925 and had its patent published a decade later.
It was developed to helping pilots navigate using a quick and easy way of timing different stages of a flight in the pioneering era of aviation.
That achievement has provided inspiration for a fresh family of Longines Spirit Flyback chronographs, launching today, which use a new automatic movement, the COSC-certified L7914, which has an anti-magnetic silicon balance spring and 68 hour power reserve.
There are two 42mm models arriving today in steel on steel or with leather or NATO fabric straps.
Longines is starting with the choice of a matte black or sunray blue dial.
The Longines Spirit Flyback is priced at £4,100 with the leather strap and £4,200 on a steel bracelet.
How does a flyback chronograph work?
Flyback is an additional function of chronographs that has particular advantages in terms of time and speed.
A simple press of a pusher instantly resets the chronograph’s direct-drive second hand, which immediately restarts timing from zero.
A single press enables three operations (stop, reset and restart), in contrast to conventional chronographs, which require the stop and reset functions to be activated before restarting the timing function.
