The Longines Conquest Chronograph Marco Odermatt Limited Edition

Longines teams up with skiing champion Marco Odermatt for a limited edition of its Conquest Chronograph. Registered by Longines in 1954, the Conquest was the first product family of the brand, a serially produced model evolving from the robust waterproof wristwatches designed for French Polar Expeditions with a screw-down caseback. Revisited on its 60^th anniversary in the Heritage collection, the model we are looking at today corresponds to the revamped Conquest collection undertaken earlier this year. Designed with Marco Odermatt, the limited-edition Conquest Chronograph consolidates Longines’ longstanding association with alpine skiing.

Thanks to Longines’ first chronograph model of 1878, the brand has a long track record as a sporting events timer and, in 1924, provided the timekeeping equipment for a military ski race. Today, Longines is the main partner of the International Ski Federation (FIS) and the Official Timekeeper for the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup and FIS World Championships.

Maro Odermatt (1997), Longines brand ambassador since 2019, is something of a legend in Alpine skiing events and has represented Switzerland at two Junior World Championships, three World Championships and the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he took home the gold medal in giant slalom. This year, the Swiss superstar has clinched a World Championship gold in downhill and giant slalom and has set a new FIS World Cup record with 2024 points in the men’s competition.

The Conquest Chronograph, designed with Odermatt, retains the technical specifications of the ‘regular’ blue edition but features several details that make it special. Like other Conquest Chronograph models, the polished and brushed 42mm stainless steel case has a height of 14.30mm and a fixed stainless steel bezel with a ceramic insert and tachymeter scale. The screw-down crown is nestled inside a raised protective guard module and flanked by pump-style pushers, ensuring the 100m water-resistance of the case. There are sapphire crystals with anti-reflective treatment over the dial and caseback.

The blue sunray dial is familiar but now features contrasting matte silver sub-counters – small seconds at 3 o’clock, 12-hour counter at 6 and 30-minute register at 9 o’clock. Compared to the regular blue dial chronograph, a distinct feature of this Odermatt collaboration is the snailed finish on the silver track outlining the counters and the use of red hands for the chronograph. The faceted and slightly tapered hour indices at  3, 6, 9, and 12 o’clock, and the central hour and minute hands, are treated with Super-LumiNova, and, much to the relief of many purists, there is no date window.

Instead of the stainless steel bracelet with a folding clasp, this Odermatt edition comes with a blue fabric strap with white top-stitching and four red stitches to match the colour of the chronograph hands. The folding clasp has a micro-adjustment system, and the watch is delivered with an additional blue NATO strap.

The sapphire area of the caseback features a decal of the Crystal Globe, the emblem of the Alpine Skiing World Cup, which Odermatt has won over the last two seasons. Powered by the Longines L898.5 calibre, an adaptation of the ETA 2892 modular chronograph, this automatic movement has a silicon balance spring and components that are ten times more resistant to magnetism than the ISO 764 benchmark. Beating at a frequency of 28,800vph, the power reserve is 59 hours.

Availability & Price

In honour of the Swiss ski champ’s 2024 points, the Longines Conquest Chronograph Marco Odermatt is a limited edition of 2,042 watches and retails for EUR 4,450. For more information, please consult longines.com.