108th Auction
2023/5/20
Lot 70
LonginesSiderograph
An extremely rare prototype of an astronavigation cockpit clock with degree graduation, hour angle display and split seconds chronograph, forerunner of the "Siderograph" - with Longines extract from the archives
The actual Longines Siderograph was not developed until 1938, originally to facilitate navogation on an aeroplane. These siderographs were powered by chronometer calibre 21.29, which at the time was the most accurate movement Longines possessed. The predecessor used the well-proven rattrapante chronograph calibre 19.73N dating from 1909.
The siderograph reads the Greenwich hour angle, in minutes and angular minutes and also features a rattrapante function. Its accuracy and precision make the siderograph the measure of all things when it comes to navigation and allows the navigator to work at night just as during daytime. It means that the siderograph outperforms both Weems' and Lindbergh's system which were dependent on time signals.