News · Longines

Longines gives the new Master chronograph one button and two moods

The hand-wound Master Collection Chrono Monopusher pairs a 41 mm steel case with ivory or frosted-blue barleycorn dials, for A$5,825.

Hen & Mills Editorial · 3 min read · 26 August 2026

• The Master Collection Chrono Monopusher uses one chronograph control to give its 41 mm steel case a cleaner, more formal profile.
• Longines calibre L799.5 is manually wound, runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour and delivers an approximately 68-hour power reserve.
• Ivory and frosted-blue barleycorn dial references share an Australian list price of A$5,825, with matching alligator straps and folding clasps.

Longines has added a Chrono Monopusher to the Master Collection, and the watch doing the most interesting work is not the loudest one in the room. It appears in the Australian catalogue as two new steel references, one with an ivory barleycorn dial and brown alligator strap, the other with a frosted-blue barleycorn dial and anthracite alligator strap. Both measure 41 mm and both are listed at A$5,825.

That single push-piece changes the character of a familiar sort of watch. A conventional chronograph advertises its purpose with two controls flanking the crown. Here, the case edge looks calmer, leaving the textured dial and its chronograph display to carry the complication. The 41 mm case stays identical between colours, so choosing one does not alter the fit, movement, water resistance or price. The result still reads as a Master Collection watch first: formal, measured and more interested in proportion than theatre. I would take the blue, although the ivory version makes the stronger case for the design's old-school manners.

One control cleans up the case

The monopusher format is the centre of the design. One chronograph control replaces the usual pair of pushers, so the case has less hardware competing with its polished surfaces. At 41 mm across, 12.6 mm thick and 48.6 mm from lug to lug, it is not a tiny dress chronograph. Nor does it try to be. The dimensions leave room for the dial to breathe while keeping the profile below 13 mm.

The two dial treatments make that same architecture behave quite differently. Ivory with a brown strap is the warmer and more traditional choice. Frosted blue with anthracite leather tightens everything up, without turning the watch into a sports chronograph by colour alone. Both use the same barleycorn texture. That matters because a chronograph dial can become a list of things to read; the patterned surface gives it depth before the eye starts sorting information.

The practical details do not interrupt the formal design. Water resistance is rated to 3 bar, while the alligator straps keep the material character traditional. The triple-safety folding clasp includes a push-piece opening mechanism and fine adjustment system, which is useful on a watch that otherwise leans firmly into familiar choices. Longines lists a 21 mm lug width. The blue reference weighs 93 g, while the ivory version is 94 g.

Calibre L799.5 asks to be wound

Inside is Longines calibre L799.5, a mechanical chronograph movement with manual winding. It runs at 28,800 vibrations per hour and provides approximately 68 hours of power reserve. Manual winding is the right decision here, at least aesthetically. A monopusher chronograph already asks its owner to participate, and adding the small routine of winding keeps that relationship intact. The movement is visible through the back, so the second supplied image is not merely a reverse angle of the dial but a look at what the push-piece is controlling.

The sapphire crystal carries several layers of anti-reflective coating on both sides. Longines also gives the watch a stainless-steel case and a chronograph function, with the two references sharing the same dimensions, movement and Australian list price. The difference is therefore one of mood rather than capability. That is a sound way to offer choice: nobody is asked to pay more or accept a different mechanism for preferring blue over ivory.

The case for this watch rests on a small group of choices that all point the same way. Longines has kept the winding manual, given the calibre approximately 68 hours in reserve, limited the chronograph to one push-piece and paired both versions with alligator leather. Nothing in that list is attempting to disguise the watch as a sports model. Both references share those specifications. I like the consistency more than any individual detail. A formal chronograph does not need to mimic a dive watch, but it does need enough character to make its extra mechanism feel worthwhile. Here, the monopusher layout supplies that character without changing the Master Collection's formal register.

Longines Master Collection Chrono Monopusher pricing and availability

The Longines Master Collection Chrono Monopusher is listed in Australia for A$5,825 in either configuration. Reference L2.960.4.78.2 has the ivory barleycorn dial and brown alligator strap; reference L2.960.4.93.2 pairs a frosted-blue barleycorn dial with an anthracite alligator strap. Longines marks both as new and lists both as in stock in its Australian online catalogue. The price is the standard catalogue price, with no special price shown. For buyers deciding between them, the real question is not specifications but temperature: ivory is the warm room, blue is the cool one.