Longines Spirit Zulu Time 1925: New Rose Gold GMT Watch
In its campaign for the new Spirit Zulu Time 1925, Longines is harnessing the power of a simple question: “What time is it there?” In a nutshell, the new 39mm watch is a “true” GMT that reminds the world that Longines claims to have made the world’s first dual time zone wristwatch in 1925. Today, we might find ourselves asking “what time is it there?” daily, given our relentless news cycle, but in 1908, Longines was reacting to a request from the Ottoman Empire.
The empire followed a different standard of time but also found it useful to keep track of Western time, and thus Longines settled that first “what time is it there?” question. Interestingly, the original 1925 model had a proper square case (to our eyes) and sported two hour and two minute hands.
The current Spirit Zulu Time 1925 adds something highly unusual for the brand – a rose gold cap bezel insert. In fact, this is the first and only instance we can confirm of such a move. The look is quite charming, at least in pictures, and rose gold does tend towards warmer tones in reality. In most other ways, including the automatic calibre L844.4, the Spirit 1925 model is unchanged from the 2022 Spirit Zulu Time. Note here that you can actually view the movement in this new model because Longines has switched out the closed caseback for an exhibition one. This is fantastic news, given that the calibre was big news in 2022 and now has a special rose gold (via PVD treatment) rotor engraved with an old school map of the world. Note also that the hands are all rose gold plated and so are the applied Arabic numerals.
While everything that is new about the Spirit 1925 model is covered above, and we have not had a proper session with the new watch, a few points are worth reiterating. The most obvious feature to remember here is the “true” versus “desk” nature of the GMT, which means you can adjust the local hour hand in one-hour increments (controlled via the crown).
We do recall seeing Spirit models at the Longines regional novelty show but we are not certain about the handling experience for this specific model. The bezel of these models tends to be pleasantly stiff, moving in distinct steps and with a comforting sound.
When the Spirit GMT was introduced in 2022, it was amongst the first such proper GMT models. It remains a welcome horological instrument in a sea of deskers but, here with the gold capped bezel, the price has gone up by a fourth. Bronze might be a good option for Longines to consider here, to maintain this warm look. As an exclusive alternative, the Swatch Group’s 14k bronze gold comes to mind.
This story was first seen as part of the WOW #79 Summer 2025 Issue
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