Longines
Vintage Sammatore Stainless Steel - 5699

Offered here is a superb example of the rare Longines Sammatore Stainless-Steel Reference 5699 with Cream Arabic Numeral dial. Manufactured in circa 1946.

The term Sammatore is the Italian nickname for the Longines 13ZN 12 movement, although it is also referred to as the doppia lancetta.

It is a unique calibre due to the central chronograph minutes hand – which meant the watches had four central hands. The movements were fitted in steel, yellow gold and pink gold cases and were manufactured between 1945 and 1947. Longines scholars believe there to have been only approximately 250 pieces in steel in two versions. One with round pushers and screw down caseback, like our example, and another with a snap case back and square pushers.

The Longines reference 5699, known as the Sammatore, is a waterproof steel-cased chronograph. It features a large size 39mm case the watch features four central hands – minutes and hours plus centre minutes (red) and 1/5th seconds chronograph hands.

The dial has two sub dials – a running seconds on the left and chronograph hours counter on the right side. The case is waterproof thanks to the ‘6 x screw’ down case back, however due to the vintage nature of the watch we would not recommend using the watch in water.

The dial features painted luminous Arabic numeral hour markers and matching lume-filled central hour and minute hands.

Longines pushed the boundaries with reference 5699 in terms of both its aesthetic design and technical ingenuity.

The Reference 5699 further stands out due to its considerable case size, measuring a dramatic 39.5mm in diameter. This case shares the same characteristic found on many early Longines chronograph wristwatches, where the underside of the lug is stamped to match the caseback number.

The overall condition of this Vintage Longines Sommatore 5699 is very good. The case appears to have been lightly polished in the past but retains strong equal lugs with the surfaces remaining well defined.

The Cream dial has developed a consistent patina along with the hour Arabic numerals. The sword hands are in a similar condition to the hour plots and all 6 of them have aged typically for a vintage watch from the 1940s.

The acrylic glass is the correct slightly chamfered profile for this model and is free of any detrimental scratches or marks.

The watch is presented on a vintage style Brown Calf Leather strap with stainless-steel Tang buckle.