You have to hand it to Longines, the seminal Swiss watchmaker is continuing to knock it out of the park. The mid-tier luxury brand has for long occupied the space between OMEGA and Tissot, providing Swatch Group with a steady supply of top-sellers, but in recent years, the Saint-Imier legend has undergone somewhat of a revolution.
The businessman aesthetic of the 1980s is long-gone and Longines has instead opted to embrace its stellar history as an innovator, dropping arguably the best value GMTs of the past decade and it isn’t stopping there. At a star-studded event in New York City last week, Longines unveiled the new Mini DolceVita, a pint-sized take on the quiet luxury favourite.
With a name like Mini, you would assume that Longines has slimmed down the profile for the new piece, and you’d be right. Measuring in at 29mm, the stainless steel release walks the line between jewellery accessory and contemporary timepiece, a fact further compounded by the different dial options and matching leather strap options. Needless to say, the slimmer profile makes the option of an automatic movement near impossible, so Longines has instead opted to power the entire collection with the L178 quartz movement.
The new Cosmo circular dial, which is viewable through a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, marks perhaps the only significant change to the watch’s design. A marvellous addition, if only for aesthetics, the dial is characterised by subtle contrasts, featuring a silver sunray background, a white matte hour track, silver sunray inner circle, and a white matte round small seconds subdial.
Thankfully, the silhouette of the new Mini DolceVita doesn’t stray too far from the traditional path, with the latest timepiece bearing a resemblance to the early 1997 release. An art-deco inspired piece, the DolceVita has always harked back to a time when elegance reigned supreme and the new Mini is no exception.
Six of the new references feature diamonds bordering the case, with dials in classic colour options such as ivory white, mint green, blossom pink, and serene blue. In a sense, you could easily see the latest release on the wrist of a Hollywood starlet during the Golden Age of cinema, so it makes sense that Longines has tapped the modern-day equivalent.
Held at New York City’s iconic Gotham Hall, the Mini DolceVita launch offered a rare glimpse into Longines’ idea of ‘the sweet life’. Academy Award winning actor Jennifer Lawrence and South Korean pop superstar Suzy joined Longines CEO Matthias Breschan onstage to kickstart the collection, unveiling a new campaign filmed locally in the Big Apple.
“The Mini DolceVita is a powerful expression of quiet luxury and contemporary elegance,” Breschan said. “These stunning jewel watches not only build on a rich heritage, they are also contemporary models for dynamic, spirited women, such as our guests of honour tonight.”
The new Longines Mini DolceVita releases are available in a range of dial and bracelet combinations available from Longines boutiques now. Priced from AUD$2,625, the new references feature 21.50mm x 29mm stainless steel cases with the option of adding diamond settings.
Longines Mini DolceVita
- Brand: Longines
- Model: Mini DolceVita
- Movement: Quartz L178
- Diameter: 29mm
- Thickness: 6.75mm
- Case material: Stainless Steel
