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Weems’ idea:<br />

An adjustable inner<br />

dial allowed the pilot<br />

to synchronize the<br />

watch precisely<br />

with standard time.<br />

Variation: Weems<br />

watch with a 24-hour<br />

dial (above right)<br />

correct any deviation on his own watch from the standard<br />

time and take it into account for additional calculations.<br />

For long-distance navigation even the dierence of a<br />

few seconds causes enormous errors in calculations of<br />

location and course. e more accurate, the better. In cooperation<br />

with Longines, Weems nally submitted his<br />

wristwatch for patenting in 1929, which was designed as a<br />

complement to the much larger cockpit chronometer. e<br />

following detail might be worth noting: e patent for the<br />

watch was awarded in 1935. Perhaps someone at the<br />

patent oce just didn’t understand the simplicity and<br />

ingeniousness of this particular invention.<br />

e current remake of the watch from Commander<br />

Philip van Horn Weems, the “Weems Second-Setting<br />

Watch,” has a large and masculine design. It is equipped<br />

with the automatic movement L699 whose balance vibrates<br />

at 28,800 vph. It has a power reserve of 46 hours.<br />

e stainless-steel case has a diameter of 47.5 millimeters,<br />

and an additional caseback cover protects the actual<br />

sapphire back. Once it is open, it is possible to see the<br />

engraving and numbering as well as the automatic movement.<br />

Just like at the beginning, the opaline, silvered<br />

central subdial today makes possible the exact synchronization<br />

with the standard time signal emitted by radiocontrolled<br />

or atomic clock. e Weems Second-Setting<br />

Watch comes with a brown alligator strap, a “Charleston”<br />

clasp and an extension piece.<br />

Photos by John Goldberger, Longines Watches, Ebner Verlag Ulm<br />

LONGINES SPECIAL WatchTime | 53

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