Longines Mainliner: Why my first-ever mechanical watch is ripe for a revival

Zach Blass

Call me Mr Zachary Wonderful, because lately, I have been on a tear with horological shark tank pitches. First I suggested that Swatch should make an Olympic-themed MoonSwatch collection, before pitched a Swatch x Taylor Swift collaboration in which her various album covers would be printed onto a range of Skin or Irony watches. Once again, I have a pitch for Swatch. Well… Not Swatch, but a Swatch Group brand. I think Longines should revive a watch that happens to be my first-ever mechanical watch: a Longines Mainliner from the ’40s. Let me explain why.

What is the Longines Mainliner?

The Longines Mainliner is quite distinct, its defining feature a cage in which a circular case rests within a rectangular tonneau shape. Little information is readily available online about its origins, but it appears the collection was available throughout the 1940s and ’50s in a variety of configurations. Its case was either stainless steel or gold-filled, but the most amount of variety can be seen in the Mainliner’s dials – with different styles of applied numerals (Breguet, Arabic, etc.) and some versions used a central seconds hand, while others had a small seconds sub-dial.

There are even some configurations with a rotating bezel. The circular case itself is very small by today’s standards, at 29mm or so in diameter, but the longer lugs of the extend out to around 40mm lug-to-lug – a large presence for a smaller watch. And even with its domed acrylic crystal, the watch comes in around 9mm thick. The watches are driven by a 10L calibre, a manually wound, 17-jewel workhorse movement of its era.

Why I think it’s ripe for a revival

Now, anyone tuned into the watch world knows Longines was one of the brands that kickstarted the now longstanding heritage revival trend. Think about pieces like the Big Eye Avigation, the Ultra-Chron, and the Conquest Central Power Reserve – the list is endless. Its Flagship Heritage range literally has the word heritage in the name. Another burgeoning trend, led at present by Cartier, is an increased interest in shapes – watches with less conventional forms. Speaking of Cartier, its Tank design is a rectangular watch icon, and fellow Richemont brand Jaeger-LeCoultre has long succeeded with its timeless rectangular Reverso.

At present, Longines’ only rectangular watch collection is the DolceVita. It’s nice enough, but at the risk of sounding like a snob, it’s exclusively quartz. If it was just a two-hander, it would not bother my personal sensibilities, but its small seconds hand ticking away gives me the ick. I am well on the record for hating deadbeat seconds, whether quartz or mechanically driven. You could say its quartz exclusivity is in part due to the current absence of a rectangular mechanical calibre in Longines’ repertoire, but this is where the Mainliner comes into the picture.

The biggest obstacle for its revival, perhaps, is the recreation of its caged case. But its circle-within-a-rectangle design would mean an existing circular calibre could be used. Of course, I doubt the modern market would prefer its original smaller size. Then again, I would not rule it out entirely. Working off the original proportions, if Longines was to upscale its dimensions to 34mm x 45mm, I imagine that is a size the market could get behind. It would also mean Longines could have a 72-hour automatic movement like its L888 with a silicon balance spring inside. Longines uses this movement in its current Conquest 34mm that are also 10.9mm thick. Bonus points if it was exhibited, but not if it meant it would become too thick. Ideally, a Mainliner revival would not go beyond 11mm thick – including a domed sapphire crystal. Let’s keep the bubbly vintage vibes, right?

In effect, a Longines Mainliner revival could yield a more affordable alternative to a watch like the Cartier Tank Cintrée, while being completely distinct in its look. If I was spearheading this relaunch, I would kick things off with an 18k yellow gold limited edition, with a creamy, ivory-tone dial, and then follow it up in stainless steel with blue and copper dials for regular production. Given the price was right – around US$4,000 or below in steel, and under US$10,000 in solid gold – I think Longines could have a big hit on its hands.