Editor’s Note
**Editor’s Note:** This article highlights Longines’ innovative VHP watch, which automatically adjusts to local time across time zones, eliminating manual resetting for travelers.
This wristwatch automatically adjusts to any local time
Timm Delfs
17.12.2018
(Bild: PD)
When traveling across multiple time zones, one previously had to manually set their wristwatch to the new local time. Longines has put an end to this with a brilliant idea.
After Longines introduced the new quartz watch line VHP in 2017, characterized by a quartz regulation circuit significantly more precise than the norm, the line recently received an addition that expands the advantages of quartz technology with a practical new function.
The Conquest V.H.P. GMT Flash Setting can be synchronized with a smartphone’s time in a very simple way. The watch requires neither Bluetooth nor Wi-Fi for this, but only the smartphone’s built-in flash and a specially installed app, the Flash Setter. Once the app is open, it suffices to point the built-in flash at the watch dial and tap the corresponding field in the app. The smartphone’s flash then sends a sequence of light signals to the watch, which recognizes them and transmits them to the movement.
(All images: PD)
This is not only practical for frequent travelers, but also for the annual change from winter time to summer time and vice versa. Apart from the local time, the watch constantly displays a second time zone in 24-hour format via a long hand with a red tip.
The automatic time change is also practical for the annual switch between winter and summer time.
Whether a V.H.P. model from Longines has this function can be easily recognized by looking closely at the number 12 on the dial: a small opening reveals where the light sensor is hidden. The time can, of course, also be set as usual via the crown. With a quick turn, only the hour hand moves forward or backward by one hour, so when changing time zones, the minute display is not lost. The minutes, in turn, are adjusted step by step with slow turns of the crown.
Apart from the Flash Setter, the new model of the V.H.P. series—which stands for “Very High Precision”—includes other interesting features. The movement detects if the position of the hands has shifted due to a strong impact and corrects them automatically. The date display at the 3 o’clock position does not need to be corrected; it is programmed until the year 2399.
The Flash Setting technology is not entirely new. It has been used since 2017 by the German company Biegert & Funk to set their square Qlocktwo wall and table clocks.
The large Conquest V-H-P. GMT Flash Setting is currently available in two sizes and four variants each.