Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. Up Close with the High-Beat Lightweight Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon
Longines' powerful Ultra-Chron makes a lightweight return in carbon, a first for the brand!
Longines is known to tread carefully in developing new watches, often delving into its hugely impressive archives to find inspiration for tons of fine heritage-related watches. It’s also a brand that doesn’t jump in unexpected directions, resulting in strange and inexplicable choices and subsequent releases. So it’s fair to say this Ultra-Chron Carbon took us by surprise, as it’s the very first time – that I know of – that Longines has ventured out of the field of metal cases and into a composite material. There simply has never been a watch from the Winged Hourglass like this before. More than enough reason to dive deeper into this lightweight, high-beat Ultra-Chron Carbon!
The Ultra-Chron holds a special place in Longines’ extensive history. The name goes back to 1968 and thus predates Zenith’s famous high-beat El Primero automatic chronograph by a year. The reference 7970 (below, left), with which the Ultra-Chron was introduced, was a 200m dive watch and the very first diver to be fitted with a fast-paced 5Hz automatic movement (calibre 431). A decade earlier, Longines entered its manual calibre 360, which also beat at a 5Hz or 36,000vph frequency, into observatory chronometric competitions. So, the brand knows a thing or two about high-beat movement construction!
With this in mind, we were quite pleased when the Ultra-Chron made a comeback in true-to-original form in 2022 (above, right), but it has gone quiet around the watch ever since. No more, though, as the Ultra-Chron Carbon got us all excited again, but it also had us scratching our heads. Normally, brands tend to introduce colour variations first before venturing into exotic materials like this. Nevertheless, considering the fact that the Ultra-Chron was a very innovative and important watch back in the day, it seems like a fitting choice if you think about it. Carbon fibre or forged carbon has been around for quite some years now, but it’s still considered a relatively modern material. Combine this with the advantages in accuracy and the ultra-smooth sweep of the seconds hand thanks to the high frequency, and things start to make some sense!
Time to move to the watch itself, which retains its characteristic shape, albeit the ‘vintage’ element does take a bit of a backseat with the introduction of this new (to Longines and the Ultra-Chron) material. In terms of size and proportions, we’re still dealing with 43mm in diameter but with a 14mm height instead of 13.6mm – just a small increase, but an increase nonetheless. The lug-to-lug size is quite reasonable, at approximately 48mm, as a result of the short, integrated lugs. The case is made from strips of carbon fibre mixed with epoxy resin, which are put into a mould and then heated and compressed to form the exterior casing. This is then topped with a fixed titanium bezel (the previous one was rotatable) with a black aluminium insert, all to add as little weight as possible. Overall, the Ultra-Chron Carbon tips the scales at just 80 grams, which makes for a very enjoyable experience on the wrist.
To match the stealthy exterior, the Ultra-Chron Carbon has adopted a matte black dial with a white printed minutes track on the outer edge. The applied hour markers have luminous inserts and printed white lines on either side. The central hands for the hours and minutes are faceted and also finished with Super-LumiNova. The only one that doesn’t light up at night is the smooth-sweeping central seconds hand. Despite retaining all the characteristic design elements, the face of the watch has a much more muted and contemporary look, pairing well with the carbon case. Even the applied winged hourglass logo joins in on the fun, almost seamlessly blending into the background!
Ticking away at the elevated rate of 36,000vph behind the solid titanium caseback is Longines’ calibre L836.6. As explained in Brice’s in-depth coverage of the 2022 Ultra-Chron, this is a heavily modified ETA base with an increased frequency. It is fitted with an anti-magnetic silicon hairspring and has a running time of 52 hours when fully wound, which is done by a central rotor. Instead of being COSC certified, which was perhaps to be expected, it’s certified by TimeLab Geneva and is labelled as an ultra-chronometer (hence the watch’s name). The watch head is subjected to rigorous testing over a 15-day period in five positions and three temperatures to ensure it performs according to TimeLab’s strict ISO 3159:2009 standards.
The Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon comes on a technical black fabric strap with a titanium pin buckle. Excluding watches with gold, two-tone or gem-set cases, the Ultra-Chron Carbon sits at the very top of Longines’ portfolio of watches in terms of price. Retailing for EUR 5,450 (incl. VAT), it’s quite a bit pricier than the stainless steel Ultra-Chron, which comes in at EUR 3,700 on a leather strap and EUR 4,000 on a steel multi-link bracelet.
Now, that’s something to consider, but in the end, it’s up to you if it’s justified or not. Regardless, the Ultra-Chron Carbon is one heck of a cool watch and an unexpected surprise from Longines! We’re curious to see what door this might have opened up for the brand! The only drawback, perhaps? Losing the function of the rotating bezel renders it a dive watch no longer… which is sad.
For more information, please visit Longines.com.
1 response
Honestly if they’d kept the red hand and put a minute track on the bezel (it would be fine black) I’d probably choose it over the original.
But I always prefer at least some minute markers on the bezel, 20 or 60 is fine and the red hand is just such a nice touch that I still would rather buy the OG.