Longines Olympian - Rare Black Dial - TV Case - 1965

At Innsbruck in February 1964, speed skaters came out of the final turn almost sitting on the ice, their blades throwing a white spray behind them. They crossed the line and looked up before they had slowed. Their times were already on a board above the oval, beneath the names Longines and Omega. Longines had spent generations measuring the fraction of a second that separated one skater from the next.

For the Olympian made in 1965, Longines chose a black dial with almost nothing on it. Among the surviving examples of reference 2697-370 I could trace, pale silver or cream dials with small seconds appear again and again. The black two-hand Olympian appears only once elsewhere, in an old auction record. Longines sits high at the left and Olympian low at the right, each set on a fine white line. Grooved steel markers stand at the quarters beside tritium blocks now aged to cream. Two dark faceted hands cross the center. With no seconds hand, the dial changes so slowly that it can seem still. T Swiss T is printed at the base.

The round dial sits inside a broad square of stainless steel, the form collectors call a TV case. Four short straight lugs continue the square above and below. A high, clear acrylic crystal rises from the center and softens the hard geometry beneath it, leaving a narrow field of steel visible at each corner.

Longines caliber 370 is fitted with seventeen jewels, and wound by hand. Its bridge is signed Longines Watch Co. Swiss and marked Seventeen 17 Jewels, Unadjusted. Beside the regulator is LXW, the import code used by Longines-Wittnauer in New York. The movement dates the watch to 1965.

Inside the back, Longines-Wittnauer and Star Watch Case Co. appear together above Stainless Steel and reference 2697-370. Light scratches cross the case, and a few small specks are visible on the dial under close inspection. The hands have darkened with age, and the crown is unsigned.

This is a fairly small watch so could be worn by a man or a woman.

It comes on a black leather strap. The watch runs, and its service history is unknown.

Terms: Please review all photos carefully as they are a part of the listing. This is a vintage timepiece. Accuracy, power reserve, and water resistance are not guaranteed. Vintage watches may require periodic service. Performance can vary with wear, temperature, and position.

All sales final.