1974 Longines Ultronic Tuning Fork Silver Dial 8623-3
Ref: 8623 3

Points of Mention

This watch is sold as "Watch Only" and therefore comes with no original Longines box or paperwork. The watch comes paired with a well-suited 18mm suede strap. The watch is from Circa. 1974 and is sold in worn, vintage condition, but overall fair condition as you can see. The watch comes with our 12-Months Warranty.

The Watch

Here we have a 1974 Longines Ultronic Tuning Fork Silver Dial 8623-3, as a response to the ever-growing threat of electronic watches to the manufacturers of mechanical watches, Longines collaborated with 20 Swiss brands such as Rolex and Patek Philippe and formed Centre Electronique Horloger (CEH). Prototypes began in 1967, with production starting in 1968. Longines beat the rest of the industry and announced the first production quartz wristwatch on August 20, 1969. On April 10, 1970, the Basel Fair opened with more than 20 Swiss quartz watches on display. A 35mm stainless steel case has straight bevelled edged lugs with a lug-to-lug length of 42mm and a thickness of 10mm ensuring a comfortable fit on your wrist. On the right side, a signed crown. A polished bezel holds a domed crystal above a sunburst silver dial, an outer minute track has lume pips with block indexes marking the hours, at 3 o’clock a date window. Slender sword hands have lume infill with a sweeping tapered red seconds hand. At 12 o’clock an applied Longines motif was at 6 o’clock the Ultronic symbol. On the reverse, a screw-down case back, inside a Longines Tuning Fork Cal. 6312 (ESA 9162) F300Hz which is considered one of the very best tuning fork movements. Designed by Max Hetzel, who had previously worked for Bulova; he was also responsible for the Accutron 214, which was released In May 1972, this is the same movement that is used in the Omega f300 tuning fork watches. The watch comes fitted on an 18mm suede strap.

Personal Note

The Brand

Auguste Agassiz founded Longines in 1832 and is one of the oldest registered watch brands. The Longines factory was opened in 1867 in Saint-Imier Switzerland. From this date, the name Longines was present on their dials and the winged hourglass was engraved onto their movements. After visiting the Universal Exhibition of 1876 in the United States, Longines became pioneers in mechanised production. In 1880 the brand name was filed with the Federal Office of Intellectual Property; later their logo was registered in 1889. Their first wristwatch with a single pusher the calibre 13.33z was introduced in 1913. They became the official supplier of the International Aeronautical Federation in 1919. Lindbergh, the aviator and adventurer, worked with Longines to create the Hour Angle watch in 1927. Their first self-winding calibre 22A was produced in 1945. With continued innovation and technical achievements, Longines became the official timekeeper for Formula one in 1983 for 10 years. They also in 2009 became the official timekeeper for the French Open at Roland Garros. Purchased in 1971 by ‘Ebauches SA’, Swiss watchmakers SSIH who owned Omega, Tissot and Lemania and ASUAG who owned Certina, Endura, Eterna, Hamilton, Longines, Mido and Rado. were merged in 1983 to become the Swatch Group in 1998.