For sale we have a rarely seen and desirable Longines Conquest XX Munich Olympic Games Ref. 8614. It is a stylish and sporty monopusher Chronograph, created for the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. The watch features a silver dial with navy second chapter and 30-minute counter. The Tritium lume plots have aged to an excellent pumpkin tone.
This is a sensational unworn example, a real time warp. It comes complete with its original box, hang tag and signed paperwork. It is presented on its original Longines leather strap with Steel Longines buckle. Watches like this don’t come about often.
It was purchased on 4/11/1975 from Robertson LTD London, 199-201 Edgware Road, London W2. It was noted as the reference 21148/A.
Longines introduced the Conquest 1972 Munich to celebrate their achievement, being named the official Olympic co-timekeepers (alongside German brand Junghans). Until then, this was a title held exclusively by Omega.
The watch encapsulates the Olympics within its design, being perfectly round in the centre of its case and dial. This resembles an Olympic ring, but also a stopwatch. The pusher at 2 O’clock is stand out and really draws your attention as intended, with this being a functional watch.
The dial is good and original with silver satin sunburst finish. The exterior has a blue seconds ring, with silver tachymetre scale to the exterior. The 30-minute sub-dial is also a dark blue tone. The signing is good and clear with winged hourglass logo, with two Tritium lume plots that have a beautifully aged tone. The hands are original and the central second hand has a bright orange tone. It is perfectly evocative of the 1970s with its bold accents.
The Stainless-Steel case measures 36.5mm by 37.75mm with a lug-to-lug measurement of 41.5mm. It is a statement case with its perfectly circular centre section. The lugs are experimental, of hooded design with central cut out, which is not something we have ever seen on another watch. The case has a sandblast effect to the top, with polished sides.
The screwback is good, with circular sunburst finish and Munich 1972 signing. Inside it is signed with the reference 8614.
The movement is a Longines cal 334, which is a Valjoux 234 base calibre. It has a jewel count of 17, with incabloc shock protection and a date function. A classic monopusher timing watch, it counts 60 seconds and 30 minutes, with no constant second hand. It is exceptionally well made and finished. A real joy to look at. The movement is in good condition, keeping time to within +20 seconds a day.
The Munich Olympics history and Longines
The history behind the Munich Olympics was one of hope and tragedy. It was created for the second Summer Olympics hosted in Germany, with the first being under the Nazi regime in 1936. It was meant to be a celebration of a new Germany and was marketed as the “Happy Games and the “Rainbow Games”. This was manifested in marketing by the multi-coloured mascot named Waldi, a rainbow dachshund.
The rosy beginnings were marred by Black September terrorists kidnapping and holding hostage members of the Israeli national team. It resulted in the deaths of eleven members of the Israeli team, and seventeen total fatalities.
Longines was a supplier of timers to the first modern era Olympics in 1896, but at that point no company was awarded ‘Official’ timekeeper status.
Omega have always been synonymous as the official timekeeper of Olympics, since 1932. 1952 saw Longines as timekeeper for the Oslo winter games and in 1968 they shared the summer Olympics in Mexico with Omega. In 1972, Longines offered to be official timekeeper again, for free. Yet they still had to share the title with German brand Junghans.
Longines technicians were also put under the spotlight in the basketball match between the USA and Russia. The clock was stopped with 1 second left but was altered to 3 seconds. This allowed Russia to clinch victory with the final basket. This resulted in the US team refusing to collect their silver medals. These remain in the Olympic Museum in Lausanne to this day.
Full condition report below. Please see the images as these compliment and aid the description provided below.
Dial:
The dial is in perfect original condition.
Hands:
The hands are original, with original lume in-fill. The lume in-fill is original and has an aged pumpkin tone. The central second hand is original and bright, as is the 30 second counter. They are all in excellent original condition.
Glass:
The acrylic crystal is original and is in perfect condition.
Pusher:
The pusher is in perfect original condition.
Crown:
The crown is original, Longines signed and is in perfect original condition.
Case:
The case is in perfect original condition.
Caseback:
The case back is stainless steel and is in perfect condition with polished exterior and a brushed circular finish to the face. The black ink infill is intact.
Strap:
The watch comes on its original Longines leather strap with Stainless Steel Longines buckle. It is in un-worn condition.
Movement:
The movement is a Longines cal 334, which is a Valjoux 234 base calibre. It has a jewel count of 17, with incabloc shock protection and a date function. It has no constant second hand but has a stop centre second and a 30 minute counter.
The movement service history is unknown, but it is in good condition. It’s keeping time to within +20 seconds deviation a day, with an amplitude of 280 degrees and a beat error of 0.1m/s.
Case dimensions:
Case width: 36.5mm
Case width with crown: 39.25mm
Case length: 37.5mm
Case length lug to lug: 41.25mm
Case Depth: 11.5mm
Lug width: 18mm