Towards the Horizon

A century after the first Zulu Time arrived, Longines continues to honour its role as timekeeper of the skies.

- by Digvijay

We track this ascent, from the early Turkish Watches that set the brand on this path, to aviation instruments that aided precise timekeeping, to modern wristwatches that meld style and heritage.

—It was 1925, when Longines introduced the first dual-time zone wristwatch—Zulu Time. At a time when aviation was becoming popular with pilots setting records, Longines had taken the step to associate itself with Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) as the official timekeeper in 1919; by the beginning of WW II, Longines had timed no fewer than 34 record-setting flights. One such flight was the one that saw American pilot Charles Lindbergh fly nonstop from New York to Paris in 1927, eventually winning the Orteig Prize of USD25,000. Longines officially measured his flight time of 33 hours and 39 minutes from takeoff to landing.

It only made sense that in a time of flying across time zones, Longines would also develop dual-time zone watches. In 1925, the Swiss brand released the first ever dual-time zone wristwatch, the Zulu Time. Inspired by aviation, the dial of this historic model featured the colourful maritime flag, below 12 o'clock, representing the letter 'Z' which signified the time at the zero meridian in Greenwich, London, now known as Universal Time (UTC +0). In professional aviation, it is referred to simply as 'Zulu Time.' Presented in a four-digit format, it removes any ambiguity between AM and PM, allowing pilots and navigators to maintain precise and unambiguous communication during radio transmissions.

The watch was housed in a square 34 mm x 24 mm case, typical of the Art Deco era, and was crafted from 18-karat white gold. The dial featured a 24-hour scale with a fourth central hand indicating the second time zone. The watch was powered by the hand-wound Longines Calibre 10.68N.