Another exciting piece just announced by Longines, which is celebrating its 180th anniversary this year and doing so with a number of anniversary pieces (such as 1942 Heritage Chronograph and Monopusher Chronograph 180th Anniversary LE).

This watch is the Longines Avigation Type A-7, inspired by models developed during the 1930s on request of the U.S. Army for its aviators.

While at the time designated the “Type A-7″ by the U.S. Army, Longines has borrowed from the American military nomenclature to give the modern day interpretation the additional moniker “Avigation”, a mashup of “aviation” and “navigation”.

The A-7 is intentionally large in a number of respects: diameter (49mm), fluted crown, and white numerals — the obvious point of which is to enable aviators to easily read and manipulate the watch, even if wearing gloves.

And then there is its angled position (50° to the right) — thus allowing a pilot to read the timepiece without moving his or her arm or letting go of the controls.

Inside the watch is a single push-piece chronograph is an L788 calibre, a column-wheel movement developed exclusively for Longines (ETA base).

Via Perpetuelle