Last year’s Pilot Majetek was one of the strangest releases of the year. Longines has long been incredibly skilled at raiding their own archives – they are perhaps better at this than any other brand – so when they come up with a new vintage reissue, everyone takes notice. The Majetek felt like Longines flexing a little, going a century into the back catalog to show contemporary collectors a vision of the pilot’s watch from a much earlier time. It’s something that only Longines could, at least in a way that feels credible. The Majetek was a surprise hit, so Longines is doubling down this year with a new version of the watch, one that might feel a little more modern to some while still retaining all of the most important vintage cues.
The Pilot Majetek Pioneer Edition is a limited edition version of the old-school pilot’s watch in titanium, with a muted matte black dial that matches the tone of the case nicely. Titanium, in theory, should make this case considerably more wearable. It’s 43mm and wears every bit of that measurement, so a significantly lighter case material ought to be a very different wearing experience.
The key features of the watch remain intact. The coin-edge bezel still rotates a small arrow that can be used for rudimentary timing applications. While we think of this type of bezel as being mostly associated with dive watches, the intended functionality here was to time the duration of an entire flight. Longines was an early pioneer of the manufacturing tech that allowed for this type of simple marker on the interior of the case to be rotated via a bezel on the outside.
Another feature ported from last year’s watch: a plaque on the 9:00 side of the case with “1935” engraved on it, paying tribute to the year the original Majetek was produced. The plaque isn’t just decorative, but functional, as it features a gear mechanism that guarantees water resistance (to 100 meters) even though the bezel is mechanically coupled to the timing arrow under the crystal.
It’s worth noting that while last year’s Majetek shares a platform with the new Pioneer Edition, the aesthetic differences are significant. The previous version was made in the spirit of a vintage watch, with a handset and Arabic numerals that are both in a color that suggests aged lume. There’s none of that with the Pioneer Edition version. The “grayed out” dial feels distinctly modern, and while the case (and that bezel) are still giving off major vintage codes, the package as a whole is much more in line with what we expect from a modern sports watch, no matter the genre. The specs, of course, back that up. The caliber powering the Majetek is COSC certified with a 72 hour power reserve, and the case is rated to a full 100 meters of water resistance and is equipped with a sapphire crystal.
The Pilot Majetek Pioneer Edition is a limited edition of 1,935 pieces. The retail price is $5,000. Longines
