Longines Ernest Francillon 1867 - References, Prices and Owners' Reviews

This dress watch is a chronograph with a date window at 3 o'clock. The pretty metallic blue dauphine hands contrast with the white guilloche dial. The applied indexes as well as the 4 Arabic numerals 2, 4, 8 and 10 reinforce its elegant character. The reo with a tachymeter scale also brings a beautiful depth. The case has very beautiful proportions with these old-fashioned horns affixed to the pretty 38mm diameter of the dial. We can also note the work on the crown and the pushers. The engraving on the back is very fine, perhaps too superficial. It is a really very chic wristwatch that makes me travel. Indeed, on my wrist, I see myself on the terrace of a café in Venice with a beautiful Italian shirt and a risretto in my hand. Extremely elegant and readable despite all its complications, this little Longines really has the chic to make our Italian class grow.

Longines Ernest Francillon 1867 The main and major interest here is its mechanism. Case in 18k yellow gold, water-resistant to 30m, this extra-flat Longines is equipped with a record-breaking extra-flat caliber of the time, a Jean Lassale 1200, 1.2mm thick. This caliber was then bought by Piaget and then abandoned because it was unreliable. Although qualified for high complications for several Swiss houses, 20 years of professional experience, I have never been able to make its operation reliable and apparently the problem of untimely stopping is known on this caliber. Between the absence of a dart at the anchor, some wheels mounted on bearings and a very relative thickness of the bridges, there is no shortage of reasons. Regardless, the result is unique in its kind due to daring technical choices, the industrial challenge that it represented and for me also in the re-dressing. This is perhaps the reason why it only worked for about 6 months, and why I bought it new from stock in 1992. A Longines with something other than an ETA engine, rare enough to be mentioned!