Longines Greenlander
Longines Military Watch "Greenlander"
Longines' military watch, the Greenlander, is one of the "Dirty Dozen" military watches manufactured to the "WWW" standard established by the British Ministry of Defence during World War II.
"WWW" is an abbreviation of the words "Warch," "Wristlet," and "Waterproof."
To meet these standards, the watch had to be accurate, robust and reliable, while also being equipped with a movement that met chronometer standards and able to withstand water, dust and shocks.
Other detailed specifications included a black dial, Arabic numeral indexes, luminous hour, minute and hour markers, an independent seconds hand, a minute track designed to resemble a railroad track, a shatterproof crystal, a stainless steel case and a water-resistant crown.
As for the movement, in addition to meeting chronometer standards, it had to be small (11.75 to 13 lignes (approximately 26.5 to 29.3 mm) in size, simple and contain 15 jewels.
A total of 12 Swiss watchmakers, including Longines, met the "WWW" standards and supplied watches to the British Ministry of Defence.
The 12 Swiss watch manufacturers, listed in alphabetical order, are Buren, Cyma, Eterna, Grana, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Lemania, Longines, IWC, Omega, Record, Timor, and Vertex.
These identical looking watches were later nicknamed the "Dirty Dozen" after the title of the 1967 war movie.
Why is it called "Greenlander"?
Among the Dirty Dozen, this Longines watch is commonly known as the "Greenlander."
It all started when a book about military watches mentioned that "these watches were worn by members of the British expedition sent to North Greenland from 1952 to 1954."
The expedition was made up of British soldiers and scientists, and the British Army was also involved.
However, it was later discovered that the information in the book was incorrect and that it had not been carried on the North Greenland expedition.
In fact, the watch that the expedition took with them to Greenland was the Tudor Oyster Prince.
Some people seem to be of the opinion that since it was not taken to Greenland, it should not be called "Greenlander."
However, the term "Greenlander" has become widely accepted and established, and is still in use today.
Features of "Green Lander"
The first thing that stands out about the Green Lander is its 38mm case size.
Most of the Dirty Dozen watches have a case size of around 36mm.
The Green Lander is the largest watch in the range.
Including the crown, it is 41mm, the lug width is 18mm, and measured vertically from end to end of the lugs, it is 48mm.
The case is made of stainless steel and features a stepped bezel, a feature of Longines watches from the same period.
The needles also have their own unique features.
The Greenlander uses cobra needles.
They are called cobra needles because of their shape resembling a cobra's head, but overseas they are mainly called "cathedral needles" because they are reminiscent of the stained glass found in churches.
Cobra hands are commonly seen on military watches, but only Longines and Jaeger-LeCoultre (JLC) feature them among the Dirty Dozen.
Among the Dirty Dozen, this watch has a particularly military watch-like design.
And the movement is also distinctive.
The Green Lander is equipped with Longines' 12.68Z mechanical hand-wound movement.
The movement is gold plated and features a micrometer regulator and a Breguet balance spring.
It has 15 jewels, beats at 18,000 vibrations per hour, and has a 40-hour power reserve.
And best of all, it's the only one in the Dirty Dozen that's shock-resistant.
The shock resistance of the watch makes it a safe, everyday watch, which is why the Greenlander is especially popular among collectors.
As such, the Greenlander has become one of the most popular watches among the Dirty Dozen, thanks to its modern 38mm case size, attractive stepped bezel, cobra hands, and shock-resistant mechanism, which all attract people.
Only 5,000 to 8,000 pieces of the Longines Greenlander are produced.
This rarity is one of the reasons that makes the Greenlander so popular.
