Despite the ever increasing pace of watch releases, where virtually every week sees multiple new watches announced from every corner of the industry, it is still a relative rarity to see a brand come out with something that truly departs from our expectations. It makes perfect sense why. Developing watches often takes years and a whole lot of resources, making large risks in material or aesthetics very, very risky. But despite the potential downsides, now and then we see a glimmer of light peeking through, indicating that change is on the horizon.

Such is the case with Longine’s new Ultra-Chron Carbon, a brand new interpretation of the cushion case sports watch from The Winged Hourglass. The watch is a 43mm cushion cased dive watch constructed from a forged carbon case which houses an inner titanium cage. The fixed bezel is made of titanium with an aluminum insert (more on that in a bit). The screw down crown is also made of titanium, as is the engraved screw down caseback, and comes paired with a black sail cloth fabric strap with titanium pin buckle.

Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon

The Ultra-Chron has always been something of a stylistic outlier for Longines, having first been developed in 1968. Today, the high-frequency watch sits on the outskirts of what we might expect a Longines to look like. This latest iteration continues the use of the high-frequency L.836.6 chronometer certified automatic movement. Beating at 5hz, or 36,000 beats per hour, resulting in greater stability and accuracy for the movement over time. This has always been a hallmark of the Ultra-Chron, and that is not about to change now.

On the Wrist

What has changed, as a function of the material, is the aesthetic and impact of the watch. You see, this is the first time that Longines has ever used forged carbon for a watch case. While carbon is certainly not a new material for the watch world at large, its arrival to a Longines watch, and an Ultra-Chron at that, is an exciting departure for the brand, leaning into its identity as a luxury watch maker in a more modern context. Couple this release with the enormous news of Longines’ new brand ambassador Henry Cavil and it’s starting to feel like a signal that the times they are a changing.

Longines’ new brand ambassador Henry Cavil

It’s exciting to say the least. But fortunately, the best bits of the new Ultra-Chron Carbon are not relegated to how it looks or what it means for the brand’s image, but rather how it feels. Of course, the watch is very comfortable owing to its lightweight materials and overall form. There’s a nice, subtle curvature to the Ultra-Chron Carbon, ensuring a broadly comfortable fit on a wide variety of wrist sizes. This of course is further supported by the watch’s weight of just 80 grams.

Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon

Now, I have to confess a slight bias- I’m a sucker for carbon in virtually all its forms (my very first Swiss watch actually featured a carbon fiber dial). That said, this is a particularly cool application of the material. The monochrome dial, the retro-futurist Ultra-Chron logo, the gray titanium accents, it all just works, resulting in a sleek, luxurious, contemporary watch that feels as cool paired with a nice cashmere sweater as it does slipping under an Arc’teryx Gore-Tex jacket cuff (if you are Gorpcore inclined, of course).

Pairing the watch with a very nice, tightly woven, nylon strap grounds the watch in a subtle, luxurious if slightly high tech look. As much as I would’ve loved to have seen the watch affixed to a matching carbon bracelet, I doubt I would’ve been quite so enthusiastic about the 10, or 15 thousand dollar premium that would’ve likely brought. With that said, at $4,900 the watch feels fairly priced – not too low that I would be screaming its underpriced value from the rooftops, nor too high that I would be looking askant at the spec sheet. It feels right.

Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon

It’s not all perfect (as nothing in life ever is) but what few gripes I have are most limited to the fixed bezel. Now, while there were certainly non-dive variations over the years, in my mind the Ultra-Chron is, was, and hopefully shall remain, a high-beat dive watch. Of course no one NEEDS a watch to time dives anymore, but that’s part of the fun, right? Thus, having a watch which otherwise checks all the boxes (screw down caseback and crown, 300m water resistance, excellent legibility and lume) without a functioning, mono-directional timing bezel is a little bit of a letdown.

With all of this having been said, I am a very big fan of this watch and what it means for Longines as a brand. Moving into a more modern, high-tech luxury aesthetic alongside an exciting new era of ambassadorship is a super exciting move for the brand (and no I’m not just saying that because I secretly want to meet Henry Cavil, become best friends and spend the rest of my free time playing Warhammer 40k together… moving on.) In an industry where there is so much focus on heritage and history, it’s exciting to see Longines take a collection like the Ultra-Chron and move it decidedly into the future. If this release (and past few years for that matter) have been any indication, we can only expect more great things from Longines in the releases to come.

Tech Specs: Ultra-Chron Carbon

Movement: High-Frequency (5hz) Longines Calibre L.836.6 Automatic movement
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds
Case: 43mm forged carbon case with titanium core, fixed titanium bezel with aluminum insert, screw down titanium caseback and crown, water resistant to 300m
Strap: Black sail cloth fabric strap with signed titanium pin buckle
Price: USD 4,900