Longines pays tribute to female pilots; Rado lays it bare

Longines Spirit Longines is using International Women’s Day on Mar 8 to do more than tick a calendar milestone.

Instead, it is telling its history through the women who helped shape it. The brand’s long-running relationship with pioneering women aviators gets another outing here, neatly bridging past and present by linking those early trailblazers with contemporary adventurers such as Geraldine Fasnacht.

The message is familiar but effective: precision, courage and elegance don’t shout. This ethos shows up clearly in the Spirit Pilot and Spirit Pilot Flyback, two modestly sized aviation-themed watches from its current collection.

The Spirit line, launched in 2020, was Longines’ answer to the crowded pilot-watch space. Neither loud nor gimmicky, it is a solid and sensibly priced watch with enough heritage storytelling to keep watch enthusiasts new and old interested.

The new Spirit Pilot continues this formula, but with a slightly cleaner and more focused personality.

The 39 mm stainless steel case is a smart move. Pilot watches can easily look bulky on the wrist, but this one wears with more restraint, fitting both a man’s and a woman’s wrist easily.

The dial is where the changes really matter. Earlier versions carried extra decorative touches, including the brand’s five stars, but those are gone. In their place is a stripped-back, matte-black dial that feels more like an aviation instrument panel than a luxury watch trying to look sporty.

Gold-coloured hands, applied Arabic numerals and a sharp minute track keep everything legible at a glance. Inside, the automatic calibre L888.4 keeps things technically serious, while the silicon balance spring helps with magnetic resistance.

The 72-hour power reserve is genuinely useful, and the COSC chronometer certification is the watch’s badge of accuracy.

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The Spirit Pilot Flyback is the more historically romantic of the two. Longines was one of the early watchmakers to patent the flyback chronograph mechanism back in 1935, when aviation demanded timing tools that could keep up with fast, sequential navigation calculations.

The 39.5 mm Flyback leans into that story. Its hand-wound L792 movement uses a column-wheel chronograph with flyback function so the chronograph seconds hand can instantly reset and restart with one push.

Details matter here. The bidirectional bezel with countdown scale reinforces the aviation theme, while the box sapphire crystal gives the watch a slightly vintage silhouette. 

Together, the pair reflect Longines’ enduring philosophy: Celebrating the achievements of pioneering women through heritage-driven design and genuine technical innovation, reimagined for modern wearers who value both performance and elegance.

Rado Anatom Skeleton More than four decades after it first wrapped itself around wrists with ergonomic intent, the Rado Anatom quite literally sheds its skin.

Meet the Anatom Skeleton, which, like its name implies, is a version that trades opaque minimalism for full mechanical disclosure.

If the original Anatom was about how a watch hugs the wrist, this new iteration is about what lies beneath. The sculpted case still follows the contours of the arm, but now a cylindrical sapphire crystal opens up an unobstructed view of the automatic R808 calibre within. 

With its 80-hour power reserve and anti-magnetic Nivachron hairspring, it is no wonder the movement takes centre stage. Anthracite-coated bridges, yellow gold-coloured wheels and ruthenium-toned plates are arranged in a layered formation, creating the impression of a three-dimensional maze in motion.

A suspended white minute track with Super-LumiNova indices frames the display, ensuring legibility amid the visual drama. The matte plasma high-tech ceramic bezel and the matching crown and clasp cover reinforce Rado’s “Master of Materials” credentials, while a grey rubber strap keeps things contemporary and wearable. Subtle flashes of yellow gold add contrast without tipping into excess.

With the new Anatom Skeleton, Rado has literally opened up its icon and proved that beauty runs far deeper than the surface.