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Longines Comet Cal. 702, 1969 — view 1 of 6
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Wristwatches · Wristwatch

Longines Comet Cal. 702, 1969

DocumentedDocumented from a dealer's listing; attribution and date as stated by the dealer.
Maker / attribution
Longines (maker)
Date
1969
Country of origin
Switzerland
Object type
Wristwatch
Stock no.
LNGSCMT702
Credit line
Dealer listing, Craft & Tailored (LNGSCMT702)
Catalogue title (original)
1969 Longines Comet Cal. 702 (English)

View the source record (dealer listing) ↗ (opens another website in a new tab)Suggest a correction

Record summary

Catalogued by Craft & Tailored (dealer), Los Angeles (stock number LNGSCMT702), this is a wristwatch by Longines, made in Switzerland, dated 1969. The Atlas places it in the Quartz Revolution period (1969 – 1990) of its Wristwatches collection. The record is illustrated with 6 photographs.

Assembled from the source record's structured fields. Dates and attributions are given as the source states them; where a field is missing the Atlas leaves it blank rather than estimating.

Catalogue description

Dealer description — Craft & Tailored

The world of vintage Longines is vast, filled with interesting and unique references, unlike almost any other manufacturer. This is true whether one wishes to get weird with a racing, dress, diving, or any other category of a watch. Longines has them all. The late 60s and 70s especially were a time when the watch world as a whole really tested the limits of design, of what a watch could be and how it could look, not just what it could do. SPECS Stock # LNGSCMT702 Brand Longines Style Comet Model N/A Serial 505XXXX Size Men's Material Stainless Steel Dial Blue Millimeters 35x41 Bracelet 2pc Leather Strap CASE & BRACELET The stainless steel case measures in at 35x41 millimeters and is somehow almost as round as it is rectangular. It features a satin finish, original Longines signed crown, and a screw-down case back. The case has an almost cartoonish energy, making it one of the most fun but completely wearable watches we have ever come across. Interestingly, due to the mostly functioning dial, the "Longines, Comet" text is actually applied to the underside of the crystal. This watch comes supplied on a 2pc handmade leather strap. DIAL & HANDS The dial continues the cartoonishness with its gorgeous and totally unique cerulean and gunmetal bullseye layout. The time is told by the rotation of the two blue dial sections, and their accompanying tritium dot and arrow, relative to the stationary hour and minute tracks. The massive, almost computer cursor-like, arrow hour hand is a design element as bold as anything else on this watch, and possibly more so. From every angle this is a watch to admire. ACCESSORIES None. The watch is keeping time, previous service history is unknown.

Historical context

Quartz Revolution (1969 – 1990)

Seiko's Astron begins mass quartz timekeeping; traditional industries contract sharply.

Quartz and digital watches transformed the market after 1969. Swiss employment collapsed, Japanese and Hong Kong production soared, and the Swatch (1983) helped the Swiss industry recover; mechanical watches survived as luxury goods.

Read the period in the timelineMore wristwatches from this periodEarlier: Modern Mechanical Horology

Atlas type guide

Wristwatches

Bracelet watches were worn by women from the early nineteenth century — Breguet made one for Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples, in 1810–12 — but the wristwatch only became a man's instrument with military use and aviation in the early twentieth century. Between the World Wars it overtook the pocket watch; the 1920s and 1930s brought rectangular Art Deco cases, water-resistant cases and the first automatic winding systems.

After 1945 the wristwatch became a carrier of identity — dress watches, sports and dive watches, chronographs, calendars — produced by Swiss, American, Japanese, German, Soviet and Chinese industries. The quartz revolution after 1969 and the mechanical renaissance since the 1990s, including the rise of independent watchmakers, complete the story.

What to look for

  • The reference number (between the lugs or inside the case back) and serial number, the starting point for dating.
  • The calibre: its maker and number are often stamped under the dial or on the bridge.
  • Originality of dial, hands and crown — refinished ('redial') dials are common.
  • Case material marks: 18K/750, 14K/585, stainless steel, gold-filled, plated.

Dating clues

  • Wire-lug cases: before c. 1925.
  • Water-resistant screw-down cases: from 1926.
  • Quartz movements: from 1969; sapphire crystals widespread after c. 1980.

General guidance written by the Atlas editors about this kind of object. It is not a statement about this particular piece; for that, rely on the source record above and on physical examination.

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