During a magical event at Neuchâtel’s historical observatory, Longines unveiled its latest quartz innovation—the VHP (Very High Precision) caliber. The fact that it was presented in the Conquest line was no coincidence either, as this collection has a long history of housing the brand’s technical innovations.

History of the Longines Conquest

The Longines Conquest story dates back to 1954 when the brand unveiled its first portable quartz clock. This revolutionary instrument allowed the timing of sporting events to 1/100th of a second thanks to an accompanying film strip that was composed of a series of prints that allowed judges to determine who crossed the finish line first. The clock went on to receive a series of precision records at the Neuchâtel observatory, thus the choice of venue for the new timepiece too!

The clock was followed by the Ultra-Quartz wristwatch in 1969. This historically interesting piece had the crown on the back and was the first mass-produced series. In 1984, a further stride was made with the quartz caliber fitted into the Conquest V.H.P. line, setting another precision record for the day.

On the Inside

This new VPH quartz movement was developed by the ETA manufacturing company exclusively for Longines and marks a new chapter in the story. It has an exceptionally high degree of precision for an analog watch, varying only ± 5 seconds per year. It also has the ability to reset its hands after an impact or exposure to a magnetic field, using a GPD (gear position detection) system and does a self-check every three days, just to be sure that everything is running smoothly.

Other features include a long battery life of five years and a perpetual calendar that will keep the correct date until the year 2,400. Even if the battery runs out, the watch will remember the time for six months so that as soon as a new battery is fitted, the timepiece will set itself.

On the Move

Even though the Conquest VHP doesn’t need any adjustment, setting the time when changing time zones couldn’t be simpler. An easy-to-use intelligent crown allows a quick and simple change of time while travelling. A gentle flick of the crown, forwards or backwards, changes the hours in hourly increments, while a slower turn changes the minutes, for those time zones that have a half-hour difference.

This new collection is being launched in two stainless steel versions— a three-hand calendar (41mm or 43mm) and a chronograph (42mm or 44mm).  The chronograph displays hours, minutes and seconds, a 30-minute counter at 3 o’clock, a 12-hour counter at 9 o’clock and a 60-second counter in the center. There is a choice of blue, carbon, silvered or black dials that are all as sporty as they are elegant.

While we continue to marvel at the technological advancements of smart watches, they still have one major setback, and that is that they need constant charging.  Without juice, a smart watch is a useless piece of equipment, and for those of us who own them, the worry of not getting to an electrical outlet in time is a constant stress! There is something very reassuring to know that your watch will keep you on time for the next five years without any need for intervention. And the day that your battery does need changing, the watch will still remember the time!  Now that is freedom in a world where sometimes it makes more sense not to be connected.