A Potentially Pre-Conquest Presentation Box
A Lonely Weekend Writing About Longines Ephemera
By Charlie Dunne
A little over a year back I wrote about a newfound love I had discovered for vintage Longines. It was sparked by a book purchase, and since then I’ve grown to appreciate the oddities such as advertisements, buckles, etc. While catching up my friend Eric we revisited the brand by admiring All Guards, chronometer pocket watches, and other lovely things by Longines.
The Box
Upon touching down in Palm Beach, Eric mentioned an interesting find that would complement my Ref. 9000, and how he had been excited to give it to me. He quickly exited the room to return with a maroon leather presentation box.
Upon seeing it, I was fascinated by the absence of the of any branding or model details. In a very pure fashion, one element of the box stood out. The Conquest fish.
The Conquest Fish
Just like the gold medallion featured on the backside of the Le Sentier wristwatches, it captured my attention the instant I saw it. Applied to the warm red leather was a gold-tone fish mid-backflip. Despite it being an emblem I became familiar with only a few years back, it had been immortalized long before during the 1954 launch of the Conquest (the first line of watches from the manufacturer). Similar to the Observatory seen on Omega Constellations, certain logos are embedded into our minds (regardless of being hidden on the caseback). Although after a moment of holding it, I began to notice the depiction of the fish motif on the presentation box featured slight discrepancies to those found on the back of Conquests.
A comparison of steel and gold Longines Conquest medallions advertisement for the European market. Image credit: hifi-archiv.info
Image credit: Longines Collector’s Corner
Image credit: La Liberté (November 1958)
Image credit: The Bund, Volume 106, Number 188 (April 28, 1955)
“This year, Longines exhibited its new products in an extremely tasteful and modern stand. In addition to the usual selection of very elegant women's and men's watches of the highest quality, we note the lovely jewelry watches, equipped with the new Longines movement 118, the smallest round movement in the world that is mass-produced. Another novelty presented by Longines this year is the "Conquest" watch. It is automatic, waterproof, shockproof, and antimagnetic. The dial is richly decorated with original decorations and has raised gold numerals. The gold medallion on the lid gives it a very special character and at the same time guarantees quality. In its guise as a wallet case, «Conquest» arouses the admiration of visitors. Another success for the Longines watches.”
Depending upon the case metal, the Conquest’s medallion will either feature a fish set in green enamel, or the ocean and night sky set in blue enamel. The fish would correspond with steel models, while the oceanic nighttime scene belonged to gold cases.
However, the fish is depicted underwater and is not performing a somersault above sea. Also, the background was void of any seagrass. It was then that I began to wonder if the mysterious box had once housed a waterprotected model that was very early, or perhaps even predated the Conquest line.
Longines Conquest Reference 9000 featuring the traditional caseback medallion (missing green enamel inlay).
While the traditional fish emblem featured characteristics like an elongated face, and more defined mouth, the one on the box was more simple. Additionally, the fish on the presentation box is seen with a background of three waves, leaving one to presume that the initial depiction was later divided for steel and precious metal.
Interestingly, I came across the fish logo on the official Longines website of all places. The website had just recently launched a new section to their website called “Collector’s Corner”. It was while browsing a later steel Conquest from the same period as mine which I saw this peculiar logo.
One thing that I’ve noticed about Longines that differentiates them from many watch brands is the fact that they truly care about their heritage, and more importantly, express it in an authentic manner. The Longines collector community is very much a standout group, as they go to great lengths to share information and details about the history of the manufacturer. In the process of reaching out to collectors, Adonya emphasized that while his primary focus surrounds 13zn chronographs, he had recognized the seal during previous encounters with 30CH casebacks.
Early Longines Conquest Fish Logo. Image credit: Longines Collector’s Corner
Speaking about the box with American collector Bill Sohne, he alluded to an early waterproof Longines within his collection that predated the Conquest line. He sent me photos of a non-luminous, black dial Longines with alpha hands. He pointed out that the caseback featured the traditional fish medallion, yet it had the distinctive blue enamel on the screwed caseback in steel.
Although some presentation boxes will include clues to the maker of the box, this particular one did not feature any initials to attribute it’s origin. After doing some research into the matter, I reached back out to Eric Wind to ask for additional context on where he had found it. “I found the box with another Conquest from Sweden and thought it was one of the most amazing watch boxed I have ever seen. Given I had sold a Longines with that box to my friend Charlie, I felt it belonged in his collection.”
