For sale we have a good original example of a 1960 Longines Conquest Reference 9040-1. It has a 34mm Stainless Steel case, with sharp lug design and screw on back with Conquest fish medallion to the centre. The dial is a cream tone with gold applied three-dimensional hour markers and Dauphine handset. There is an even speckled patina to the dial, with it wearing its age well. Inside is an Automatic Longines cal 290 movement of excellent quality, keeping good time.
The Longines Conquest was a dress watch, which also had utilitarian capability. Seeking to be the best offering from Longines at the time, it has impressive features such as being automatic, with a sharp case design, waterproof case back, enamel painting to the centre, with luxurious dial markers. It was high-end for its time, and that continues to shine through. It is also a model that has gained more notoriety due to the re-issued model by Longines more recently. Rightly so we say. Here is your chance to own a handsomely aged original example.
The Stainless-Steel case is well proportioned measuring 34mm x 34mm, with a 41mm lug-to-lug length. At 11mm deep, it sits neatly on the wrist. This is aided by the tapered angular lug design. The lugs stem from a slim central notch on the side of the case, moving into a bevelled face that increases in size towards the tip. The circular bezel is polished and has a faceted finish which frames the crystal neatly. The sides of the case are polished and appears top heavy from the side profile, with the notched bezel feeding into the central band, before falling into a larger flat polished section. The result of all of the above is a unique case design, with angular design which provides many faces for the light to reflect from.
To the right is the original Longines signed crown, with a screwback to the rear. It has the fish centre medallion to the centre, with green enamel finish which has worn.
The dial has a cream finish, with an even and attractive speckled patina. The applied hour markers are luxurious and three-dimensional. They are in a gold tone, with baton shaped marks, with arrowhead markers at 9,12,3 and 6 adding balance to the dial and catching the eye. The simple and clean signing is attractive, with applied Longines hourglass logo, with Longines name, fancy Conquest script, three stars and joined futuristic automatic signing.
The gold tone Dauphine style hands are original and compliment the hour markers, with unique bow counterbalance.
The watch is presented on a dark brown leather strap for 18mm lugs.
Inside is an impressive In-house calibre from Longines, the cal 290. It is an automatic movement with sweep central second. It has a jewel count of 24 and a frequency of 19,800 BPH. A quality movement in good condition, keeping time to -8 seconds a day.
Full condition report below. Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.
Dial:
The dial is in good patinated original condition. The cream base tone has light speckled patina evenly spread across the dial. The applied arrow hour markers are good and bright with little corrosion, as is the applied winged hourglass logo. The signing is good and clean.
Hands:
The luminous Dauphine style hour and minute hand are original, in gold tone with some slight corrosion to the finish. The tapered central second hand appears to be a replacement as it is slightly short. The lume in-fill is original and has aged.
Glass:
The acrylic crystal is a replacement in perfect condition.
Crown:
The Stainless crown is original with Longines logo.
Case:
The case is Stainless Steel and is in average original and un-polished condition. The flat notched polished bezel, the sides and the lugs are all decent with light surface scratching and light nicks associated with light wear.
Caseback:
The screw back is Stainless Steel and is in acceptable condition for the age. It has light surface scratching. There are some deeper markers from poor opening. The centre medallion is in decent condition, with loss of green enamel.
Strap:
The watch comes on dark brown leather strap for 18mm lugs.
Movement:
The movement is a Longines cal 290. It is an automatic movement with sweep central second. It has a jewel count of 24 and a frequency of 19,800 BPH.
The service history is unknown, but the movement is in good condition and is keeping good time. It’s keeping time to -8 seconds a day, with an amplitude of 265 degrees and a beat error of 1.3m/s.
Case dimensions:
Case width: 34mm
Case width with crown: 36mm
Case length: 34mm
Case length lug to lug: 41mm
Case Depth: 11mm
Lug width: 18mm