THE ESSENTIALS

MAKE: LONGINES
MODEL: 490-3233
YEAR: c1984
CASE DIAMETER: 37MM
CASE MATERIAL: 18K YELLOW GOLD
BRACELET MATERIAL: LEATHER
MOVEMENT: MANUAL WIND

Longines has long been a pioneer in drawing from its heritage: a direction the brand continues to explore today. The present example, reference 490-3233 triple calendar moonphase chronograph, dates to the 1980s but takes clear design cues from the 1940s and ’50s.

The watch features a matte gold dial with applied gold baton indices, a pointer date around the periphery, day and month apertures at 12 o’clock, three subdials (30-minute, 12-hour, and running seconds at 3, 6, and 9), and a moonphase display. All of this is housed in a 37 mm 18k gold case, made by Eric Monnier of La Chaux-de-Fonds, bearing the “132” poinçon de maître and the Swiss Helvetia hallmark on the caseback. Interestingly, similar designs were released around the same time by Heuer (ref. 721.208), Ulysse Nardin (ref. 4355), and IWC.