Longines has been a watch manufacturer for 180 years, and it released the Master Collection Retrograde as a way of commemorating everything it has accomplished over the last century or so. One of the things that was important to Longines is that it retain its spot in the marketplace that requires luxury watches but at economy prices. That is the area where the Master Collection Retrograde falls into. From the moment that you first see this watch, you can tell that there were concessions made on the design and the functionality to keep the price reasonable. But none of those concessions take away from the quality of the watch itself.
The most unique attribute of the Master Collection Retrograde is the lack of secondary dials on the face of the watch. Many years ago, Longines perfected the sleek look of having hands but no dials on its watches. The look caught on, and it has helped the company to carve out its own niche in the marketplace. This watch is not quite a grand complication watch, but it does possess many of the indicators that a watch would need to be considered in that criteria. The big difference with this watch is that the scales for the sub-dials run along the outside of the main dial and can make precise time accounting tricky.
The functionality on this watch is extremely helpful. When you attempt to set the main face, the other functions of the watch appear to remain in wait until you are done making your adjustments. Once you are done, the rest of the watch springs to life and synchronizes itself. One of the functions that the Master Collection Retrograde has changed is the second hand. Instead of a second hand, the watch has a power indicator instead. It seems like a fair trade, but it can get inconvenient at times.
As was mentioned at the outset, the changes in functionality to this line of designer watches was to allow Longines to offer it at a price that most people could afford. What the watch lacks in functionality, it makes up for in precision and style. The polished case and the leather strap work together to make a timepiece that is durable but, at the same time, extremely elegant. Do not be put off by the price tag on this watch, it is something that collectors all over the world will want in their personal watch collections.