NavList:
A Community Devoted to the Preservation and Practice of Celestial Navigation and Other Methods of Traditional Wayfinding
From: Ed Popko
Date: 2022 Feb 25, 14:15 -0800
Art
Thanks for spotting this teaser ad. The graphics and animations are quite nice though it's impossible to stay with the rapid pace explanation without a rewind/replay or two.
Three things caught my eye. While it shows the relationship of the Equation of Time to the watches rotatable bezel feature, it never says where that value comes from. Same for local time. All statements about it and finding longitude are right but how does one know their local time in a moving plane? And what about the second setting feature. It’s not mentioned at all and it’s a huge reason for the watch's design (and high price). Details details, I shouldn’t get picky here. Afterall, they are selling status accessories.
I have always admire these kinds of ads. Without ever saying so directly, you are led to believe that this watch was key to Lindbergh's New York to Paris success. The background Atlantic Ocean map that covers his route, the example latitude/longitude is on or near his historic flight path, statements about how critical time is in position finding and portraits of Lindbergh all leads you to believe that this watch made it happen. Which, of course, it didn't. It was designed and produced by Longines AFTER the flight. For sure, Longines was anxious to leverage Lindbergh's image to make a play for the emerging aviation market.
Having said all this, there is no doubt that all modern aviators watchs owe something to this very innovative and masterly produced watch.
Ed
This Is the Actual Watch that Helped Charles Lindbergh Navigate the Skies