180 YEARS OF
180 YEARS OF
180 YEARS OF
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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