Introducing Longines Completely Redesigns The Master Collection, Adding A Monopusher For The First Time (Live Pics)

It’s not every day that a brand like Longines revamps an entire collection within its catalogue, but for the first time since the Master Collection made its debut back in 2005, it’s been reconsidered from the ground up. Not only has the Saint-Imier-based watchmaker redesigned the popular three-hand watches in the Master Collection, but it’s also reworked a few of the more complicated references and even introduced an all-new model to the line-up: the Master Collection Chrono Monopusher.

There’s plenty to get into, so let’s start with the headline news of the new Chrono Monopusher, which has to be one of the most charming vintage-inspired watches Longines has released in years. There are two different references available – one with an icy blue dial and the other with a warm silvered dial – both of which feature 41mm stainless steel cases that measure a relatively slender 12.6mm in thickness. They’re powered by the new manual-winding calibre L799.5, which comes complete with a column-wheel, a silicon balance-spring, and up to 68 hours of power reserve.

What’s most exciting about these new Chrono Monopushers is the attention to detail that has gone into their execution, with Longines drawing inspiration from deep in its archives to pay homage to a 1911 monopusher reference and the compact 13.33Z calibre created in 1913. The bezel enjoys a polished scalloped form that does plenty to make the 41mm presence appear even smaller on the wrist, the chronograph button is very nicely integrated into the crown, and the dial even boasts a pulsometer scale that’s infinitely popular with vintage collectors. We’ll have a Hands-On review of these watches coming soon, so stay tuned for more details.

Moving on to the rest of the line-up, we also have a new Master Collection Chrono Moonphase reference that’s available either on a leather strap or a stainless steel bracelet that matches the case metal. It too measures 41mm in diameter (a little thicker than the Chrono Monopushers at 13.8mm) and is powered by the automatic column-wheel L687.5 calibre with 66 hours of power reserve. As you may recall from the previous generation, this calibre allows for a full calendar display with day and month at twelve o’clock, a 24-hour indicator and small seconds at nine, a pointer date, and, as the name promises, a moonphase tucked into the twelve-hour counter at six. It’s one of Longines' more complex dial layouts, but the information on display is relatively intuitive to read and, with blued steel hands and Arabic numerals contrasting the opaline dial, is highly legible at a glance.

Arriving at the three-handed Master Collection range, Longines has something for everyone with eight new references that span 30mm, 34mm, 39mm and 41mm case sizes. The 30mm references are available with either a blue dial or mother-of-pearl dials with yellow or rose gold-capped details (all of which feature diamond hour markers), and are powered by the automatic L592.5 calibre with 45 hours of power reserve. The 34mm references offer the same dial and gold-capped detail options as their smaller siblings, but are powered by the automatic L888.5 calibre with a solid 72 hours of power reserve.

The 39mm and 41mm references are also equipped with the automatic L888.5 calibre, come available on your choice of a leather strap or steel bracelet, and all arrive with an icy blue dial with barleycorn guilloché engraved across its surface and applied Arabic numerals. The entire new Master Collection has 30m of water resistance, and for the watches with bracelets, they all feature a triple-folding clasp with micro-adjustment that is excellent to see being rolled out as a standard function for Longines.

To put it simply, Longines is having a very, very good year in 2026. After kicking off the year with an all-new generation of HydroConquest (in my humble opinion, the best generation we’ve ever seen) and a special limited edition to celebrate the Commonwealth Games, this latest release is a sign of a watchmaker that knows exactly what it’s doing. The wheel isn’t being reinvented, but for a brand like Longines, it doesn’t need to be – considered, iterative updates are exactly what watch enthusiasts and the broader watch-buying public want. 

The design updates that we see across the collection have all clearly been carefully thought through, with a few favourite details including the redesigned scalloped bezels, the barleycorn guilloché engraving present on more than a handful of references, and perhaps most of all, the fact that every bracelet has a micro-adjust mechanism. The last of those isn’t necessarily the first thing on your list of “must-haves” when you’re thinking about buying a new watch, but I believe that it should be near the top, simply because of how much of a difference it makes to the comfort of a watch you intend to wear regularly.

While there’s plenty to love about the three-handed references and the Chrono Moonphase, the Chrono Monopushers are my favourite of these new releases, not only because it’s a new complication for the Master Collection, but because of how well done they are. The dials are visually interesting, the applied Arabic numerals catch the light brilliantly, and while the case is probably a few millimetres larger than I’d typically go for in a non-dive watch, it wears superbly well on the wrist with a 48.6mm lug-to-lug measurement. 

All considered, it brings a smile to my face to see Longines on such a strong run this year, focusing on the details that should matter most and updating designs in exactly the right direction. If you find yourself in a Longines boutique sometime soon, make sure you ask to try on the Chrono Monopusher – I hope you like it as much as I do.

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