Pre-owned Longines watches: which models to buy and what to pay
A second hand Longines costs a third to two thirds of a new one and is the same Saint-Imier watch underneath. Which models turn up, how to read the reference number, how to date one, and what each is worth.
A pre-owned Longines is one of the easiest ways into a genuine Swiss house with real history. Longines was founded in Saint-Imier in 1832, and its winged hourglass, registered in 1889, is the oldest unchanged trademark still active in the international register kept by WIPO. A new La Grande Classique quartz lists at £1,050 in the UK and a new Conquest quartz at £1,300; the second hand equivalents we handle sell for roughly a third to two thirds of that.
The short answer: for most buyers the best pre-owned Longines is a 1980s or 1990s quartz dress watch, a Presence, a La Grande Classique or a Lyre, at £250 to £600. They are slim, accurate, cheap to keep running and made to a standard the price does not suggest. If you want mechanical, a 1960s or 1970s manual-wind Longines costs £375 to £750 and is the more collectable buy.
What a pre-owned Longines costs
The prices below come from the 20 Longines we have handled in 2026: what nine of them actually sold for, and what the eleven in stock in October are priced at. They are real, inspected, working watches rather than auction estimates. Our 2026 sales ran from £255 to £600, with a median of £360. The pattern is clear: most of what reaches the second hand market is quartz, most of it is ladies' size, and the case is usually gold-tone.
| Model | Era | Movement | Case size | Sold for in 2026 | In stock, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Presence | 1980s to 1990s | Quartz | 20 to 24mm | £255 and £360 | £500 to £520 |
| La Grande Classique / Les Grandes Classiques | 1990s | Quartz | 26 to 33mm | £600 | £600 |
| Lyre | 1990s to 2000s | Quartz | 25mm | £300 | None |
| Flagship | 1990s | Quartz | 32 to 33mm | £425 | £350 |
| Conquest | 1990s | Quartz | 25mm | None | £445 |
| Other L4 ladies dress watches | 1990s | Quartz | 20 to 24mm | £450 | None |
| Older numbered quartz (960, 6486, 717 1141, 7751 type) | 1980s to 2000s | Quartz | 18 to 24mm | £282 to £388 | £650 |
| Ladies manual wind (817, 410, 7271 type) | 1960s to 1970s | Manual wind | 15 to 23mm | None | £375 to £680 |
| Manual wind with sub seconds | 1930s | Manual wind | 28mm | None | £750 |
The models you will actually find
Presence is the name that turns up most often on second hand Longines, and the one people search for most. It covers slim, round, gold-tone quartz dress watches, usually with a white or cream dial and Roman numerals, on a leather strap. They are understated in the best sense, and because there are a lot of them, condition and originality matter more than the name. Our Presence ladies quartz with cream dial is a typical example.
La Grande Classique launched in 1992, developed from the 1982 Agassiz collection, and is famous for how thin it is: the lugs are built into the case back, so the slimmest versions are only around 4mm thick. It is the most recognisable Longines dress watch and the most sought after second hand, which is why it sits at the top of the quartz range. Our gold PVD La Grande Classique with champagne dial sold in July 2026 for £600.
Flagship dates back to 1957 and is identified by the caravel, a small sailing ship, on the case back. The originals were automatics; the 1990s Flagships we see are quartz, around 32mm, and wear well on either a man or a woman. Conquest, a name Longines registered in 1954 as its first protected collection name, appears second hand mostly as 1990s quartz on a bracelet, like our ladies Conquest in gold tone.
Lyre is named for its short, curving lugs, shaped like the arms of the instrument, and is one of the prettiest small Longines of the period. DolceVita, launched in 1997 as a rectangular design based on a 1927 watch, is the Longines name for rectangular watches today. Rectangular ladies' pieces do not always carry a collection name on the case, so search them by number, as with the Longines 7751.
How to read a Longines reference number
From the 1990s onwards, Longines references follow the pattern L4.215.4 or, in full, L4.709.4.11.6. Longines does not publish a decoding table, but the structure used across the trade holds up well against real watches. The digit after the L is the collection family, L4 being the classic dress family. The first digit of the middle block is the size, 1 to 4 for ladies, 5 for medium and 6 to 9 for gents. The single digit after the second point is the case material. Any further digits describe the dial and then the strap or bracelet.
It checks out on watches we have sold. The L4.215.4 is a ladies' size (2) in stainless steel (4); the L4.197.2 is a ladies' size (1) in gold PVD (2), and so is the L4.259.2 Lyre. For a buyer that last digit is the useful one: it tells you whether a gold-coloured case is plated, two-tone steel or solid gold before you ask.
| Digit | Case material |
|---|---|
| 2 | Gold PVD |
| 3 | Steel and gold PVD |
| 4 | Stainless steel |
| 5 | Steel and 18ct gold |
| 6 | 18ct gold |
| 7 | 18ct gold with diamonds |
| 8 | Pink gold |
| 0 | Steel with diamonds |
Older Longines numbers, and how to date one
Before the L-format, Longines watches carry plain numbers on the case back, such as 7751, 6486, 960.2005 or 1137 817. These are case or model references rather than dates, and searching the number with the word Longines is the quickest way to find matching watches. On some 1980s quartz pieces the first group appears to be the movement calibre: listings for references beginning 960 usually show Longines calibre 960 inside.
For mechanical watches, Longines numbered its movements in a single sequence from 1867, which makes them some of the easiest Swiss watches to date. The movement serial is the number that counts, not the case number. As a rough guide, serial 5,000,000 was reached around 1931, 10,000,000 around 1956 and 15,000,000 in 1969. For certainty, Longines will search its own archive: its "History of my watch" service issues an extract from the archives for CHF 120 on watches more than ten years old, usually in four to five weeks. Our general guide to dating a vintage watch covers other makers.
| Serial number | Approximate year |
|---|---|
| 5,000,000 | 1931 |
| 7,000,000 | 1946 |
| 8,000,000 | 1950 |
| 9,000,000 | 1953 to 1954 |
| 10,000,000 | 1956 to 1957 |
| 12,000,000 | 1962 to 1963 |
| 13,000,000 | 1966 to 1967 |
| 15,000,000 | 1969 |
Quartz or manual wind?
In 1983 Longines became part of the group that is now Swatch Group, and its quartz watches from then on use movements from the group's movement maker ETA under Longines calibre numbers; the L178, for example, is an ETA 980.153. That is a good thing for a second hand buyer: the movements are common, accurate and straightforward for any competent watchmaker to service. Upkeep is a battery every year or two and a reseal when the case is opened.
The manual-wind Longines of the 1960s and 1970s are the more collectable buy. They are small by modern standards, often 18 to 23mm for a ladies' watch, beautifully finished, and need winding each morning and a service every few years. Pieces like our 1970s 817/1132 with its original box and papers or the 1930s manual wind with sub seconds are the ones to choose if the movement matters to you as much as the name.
What to check before buying a second hand Longines
Check the reference number on the case back against the watch in front of you: the size and case material digits should match what you see. On gold PVD and plated cases, look for wear at the lug edges and the case back rim, where the base metal shows first. A dial that is clean, evenly printed and correctly signed is worth paying for; a redial costs value however tidy it looks.
On quartz pieces, never leave a dead battery in the watch, because a flat cell can leak and damage the movement; ask whether it has a fresh one and whether it has been tested. On mechanical pieces, ask when it was last serviced. Assume no water resistance on any watch of this age. Original boxes are common on Longines, so a box adds less than people expect, but it is a pleasant sign of a watch that has been looked after.
Every Longines we sell is inspected, tested, photographed in natural light and described with its faults, with a fresh battery in quartz pieces and a 14-day return window. Browse our pre-owned Longines, or compare them with other Swiss dress watches in our guide to the best vintage watches under £500.
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth buying a pre-owned Longines?
Yes, for most buyers. A second hand Longines quartz dress watch costs roughly a third to two thirds of a new one: a new La Grande Classique quartz lists at £1,050 and a 1990s one sold with us for £600, and a new Conquest quartz lists at £1,300 against £445 for ours, and the movements are common ETA-based calibres that any watchmaker can service. You get the same Saint-Imier brand and build for much less.
How much is a vintage Longines watch worth?
Our 2026 Longines sales ran from £255 to £600, with a median of £360. Presence quartz dress watches sold for £255 and £360, a La Grande Classique for £600, and 1980s and 1990s quartz references for £282 to £450. Ladies' manual-wind pieces from the 1960s and 1970s are priced £375 to £680, and pre-war mechanical watches and solid gold cases sit above that. For an exact figure on your own watch, see our guide to what a vintage watch is worth.
How do I read a Longines reference number?
A reference such as L4.215.4 breaks down as L for Longines, 4 for the collection family, 2 for a ladies' size (1 to 4 ladies, 5 medium, 6 to 9 gents), and 4 for the case material, stainless steel. Further digits in a full reference give the dial and the strap or bracelet. In the case material digit, 2 means gold PVD and 6 means 18ct gold.
How do I date a Longines watch by its serial number?
Use the movement serial, not the case number. Longines numbered its movements in one sequence from 1867: about 5,000,000 by 1931, 10,000,000 by 1956 to 1957 and 15,000,000 by 1969. For an exact date, Longines' History of my watch service issues an archive extract for CHF 120 on watches over ten years old.
What is the difference between Longines Presence and La Grande Classique?
Both are slim quartz dress watches. La Grande Classique, launched in 1992, has its lugs built into the case back, which makes it exceptionally thin and gives it its distinctive shape, and it is the more sought after of the two: ours sold for £600, against £255 and £360 for our two Presence sales. Presence watches are conventional round dress watches with separate lugs.
Are second hand Longines watches mostly quartz?
Mostly, yes. Of the 20 Longines we have handled in 2026, 15 are quartz, nearly all from the 1980s to 2000s, and 5 are manual wind. Quartz pieces are the practical buy; the manual-wind watches of the 1930s to 1970s are scarcer and more collectable.
