Longines Romanian Army 13ZN Chronograph

Description

This watch is LEGENDARY. Why you ask? Allow me to explain:

In December of 1935, the Romanian Air Force Commandment told the Ministry of Air and Marine that they needed a wristwatch for use by their pilots. In 1936, the Air Force began taking bids for a military issued chronograph for use by their pilots and many companies threw in their hat for a chance to provide them such a watch.

After all was said and done, the competition was narrowed down to Longines and Omega, and in 1937, the two brands produced small batches for military use. In total, 161 watches were produced for the Romanian Air Force by Longines, and another 40 by Omega. As far as we know, this is the only 13zn produced by Longines to be military-issued.

According to Romanian military records available online, this watch was originally issued to a Mr. Antonescu of the Romanian Ministry of Air and Marine.

The watch itself is in great vintage condition. The dial has been extremely well preserved, and is near-mint. The original hands appear to have been relumed at some point in the past. The case is still very sharp and thick, and any polishing was done very lightly.

The watch will be accompanied by an extract from the archives of Longines, confirming its issuance to the Romanian Air Force.

This is your chance to own a) possibly THE most desirable chronograph movement ever, and certainly the most desirable movement made by Longines, in a b) highly desirable black, gloss gilt dial, and c) one of the ONLY military-issued Longines 13zn, ever.

You can throw around words like “important” and “historical” all you want – with this watch, it truly fits the bill.