The Modern Longines Pilot Majetek

According to Longines’ heritage department and publicly available information, many Czech pilots fled to France after the German occupation in 1938. When France was occupied as well, they fled to England, where around 90 of them joined Britain’s Royal Air Force. The brave Czech pilots, still equipped with their Longines watches, helped the United Kingdom to fight against Nazi Germany and played an important role during the Battle of Britain. Twenty-nine Czech fighters became official flying aces. One of them, Josef Frantisek, shot down 17 German planes during 28 days in September 1940.

At Baselworld 2014, Longines announced the Majetek Heritage 1935, a watch that paid tribute to the early pilot’s watches created for the Czechoslovak Air Force. The main differences from the original included a slightly larger case at 42mm, the removal of the triangular marker on the now-fixed bezel, date at six o’clock, and the modern ETA 2895-2 movement. Other than the above differences, Majetek Heritage 1935 remained faithful to the historical design with the cushion case, fluted bezel, large crown, matte black dial with white Arabic numerals, and luminous cathedral hands.

This year, the brand surprises us with the new Longines Pilot Majetek that is a homage to the iconic military watch, yet unapologetically modern. Unlike the Heritage 1935 model, the new Majetek truly captures the spirit and aesthetics of the original 1935 model. With all the technological updates made in this modern pilot’s watch, I am confident it can pass the military specifications with flying colors.