Ordinarily a faithful vintage remake with an old-school aesthetic, the Conquest Heritage gets a makeover for the Chinese Lunar New Year. The Conquest Heritage Year of the Snake stands out with a striking red gradient dial featuring gold-plated hands and indices. And for the occasion, the back bears an engraved snake motif penned by Chinese contemporary artist Wu Jian’an, who drew inspiration from the ancient Chinese fable, “Legend of the White Snake”.

Initial thoughts

The Conquest Heritage Year of the Snake offers something more modern and striking, instead of the conservative look of the standard model that has a silver or black dial. I particularly like the fact that the snake motif is limited to an engraving on the case back, as having it on the dial would have been overly ornate.

It’s priced at US$3,150, almost exactly the same as the regular production model, which makes it a decent value proposition. It has a workmanlike quality appropriate for the price, while the high-spec ETA movement inside is one of its strengths.

And like other zodiac-theme watches, this would have resonance for those born in the Year of the Snake a meaningful way to commemorate the occasion, not unlike wearing a birthstone.

Vintage inspired

The snake edition is identical to the standard model save for the dial and case back engraving. Water resistant to 50 m, the stainless steel case is 40 mm in diameter, 10.7 mm in thickness, and entirely polished. It’s slightly larger than the original dating from the 1950s that inspired the design, but is compact enough to capture the vintage feel.

Unlike the plain silver or black dials on the regular production version, this has a gradient red dial transitions from bright red in the centre to black on the periphery. All finished in yellow gold gilt, the applied indices, dauphine hands, and winged hourglass logo contrast with the red surface and give it a vintage tint.

The screw-down case back is engraved with a snake motif designed by Wu Jian’an that depicts a serpent clutching a lingzhi mushroom. In East Asian culture, the snake is regarded as a symbol of wisdom, renewal, and boundless vitality, while the mushroom represents long life.

Underneath the case back lies the L888.5 that’s fitted with a silicon balance spring, giving it high levels of magnetism. The movement beats at 25,200 beats per hour (3.5 Hz) and has a usefully long 72 hours of power reserve.

Key facts and price

Longines Conquest Heritage Year of the Snake
Ref. L1.651.4.09.2

Case diameter: 40 mm
Height: 10.7 mm
Material: Steel
Crystal: Sapphire
Water resistance: 50 m

Movement: Cal. L888.5
Functions: Hours, minutes, and seconds
Frequency: 25,200 beats per hour (3.5 Hz)
Winding: Automatic
Power reserve: 72 hours

Strap: Black alligator leather strap

Limited edition: 2,025 pieces 
Availability: Now at Longines retailers and boutiques
Price: US$3,150

For more, visit Longines.com.

I was happy to see Peter Speake return with PS Horology and the Tsuba. Peter was one of the first independent watchmakers I got to know well on a personal basis, and I have followed his career for almost two decades now.

I first met Peter sometime in 2005, either at Baselworld (it was my first time there) or in Singapore during his regular round-the-world tours. He was then a fresh face in independent watchmaking, having just founded his brand Speake-Marin in 2002. In the context of the period, when independent watchmaking was a truly niche segment, Peter was a star (although he is modest enough he might disagree).

Named after himself and his then-wife Daniela Marin, Speake-Marin was a promising brand with many of the ingredients for success, including a strong aesthetic (thick, chunky, and ETA-based but I liked it), good watchmaking and quality thanks to Peter’s own skill, and of course Peter himself – the personality is as important as the product in independent watchmaking.

The unique Majestic Monkey of 2008, one of the first custom Speake-Marin watches I saw in person

Peter was not the only watchmaker I met around that time, but I got to know him better than most other indie watchmakers, as a result of an annual watch fair that took place in Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian capital. Known as A Journey Through Time (AJTT), the watch fair was staged by YTL Corporation, a Malaysian conglomerate with diversified interests ranging from power generation to luxury shopping malls (where the fair took place), and even ownership of watch brand Bedat & Co.

Every year for three or four years starting in 2009, Peter and myself were regulars at the fair, him as a star watchmaker and myself as a judge and journalist. Because the fair was almost a week, I got the chance to spend time with Peter and other participants.

Amongst them was the late Rolf Schnyder of Ulysse Nardin – he lived in Kuala Lumpur so was a frequent participant – and Max Büsser on one or two instances. It was often breakfast, lunch, dinner, and then drinks with them, inevitably at the same venues in the basement of the mall. It was an unexpected (and maybe undeserved) privilege for some like me at the time, and also informative, instructive, and enjoyable.

Lunch with Max Büsser and Peter Speake at AJTT in 2009

Another regular participant at the fair was Franc Vila, then with his eponymous brand that was in its heyday, able to sell a few dozen tourbillon and minute repeating watches each year.

Proving that history never repeats but rhymes, today Peter and Franc are in the same place – each departed his namesake brand but reestablished himself. Franc did it a few years earlier with the FVF1 Tourbillon Superligero that debuted four years ago.

Franc Vila in 2009. Image – YTL Corporation

Those years, however, marked both the peak and beginning of the end for Peter and Speake-Marin.

The peak was the launch of the in-house SM2 movement in 2009. It was top quality, with fine finishing and high-end construction, but in a manner that was difficult for the average enthusiast to understand. As a result of the quality, the price was high, which coupled with the lack of understanding, made it a tough sell.

All that was exacerbated by the slowdown in demand for luxury watches in the aftermath of the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Peter was not the only watchmaker affected by the slowdown, Franc found himself in the same boat.

Peter in Singapore in 2009 when he launched the SM2

As a consequence, Peter was compelled to seek investors in his business. As I recall, he progressively sold off small stakes in the business. By 2012, he had essentially no equity in Speake-Marin, and in 2017 he left the business altogether. Speake-Marin is still in business, but it is an entirely different proposition now.

The arc of Peter’s career over the years echoes independent watchmaking in general with its cycles of brands and watchmakers coming and going. Brands that have found spectacular, nine-figure success like F.P. Journe and MB&F are the exception rather than the norm.

I admire and respect Peter as a watchmaker, and appreciate him as a person, so I am glad he is making a comeback in good form with PS Horology. The venture is actually Peter’s second try, an earlier attempt was with (very) inexpensive and uninteresting watches, which did him no justice.

Though entirely different from his work at Speake-Marin, PS Horology feels like it has the attention to detail that marks out independent watchmaking that is done well. I look forward to seeing what else Peter has in the pipeline.