Unveiling the Most Surprising Swiss-Made Timepiece of the Decade

The Not-So-Good Surprises

I was thoroughly disappointed with the bezel on the Longines Ultra-Chron Carbon. It looks like a dive bezel with elapsed time markings, and given the watch’s 300m water resistance and screw-down crown, I assumed it would rotate like a traditional dive watch. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. The bezel is fixed, leaving me with a big letdown.

I was excited to wear this watch and play with the bezel, only to be consistently disappointed when I realized it didn’t rotate. It looks great, but its functionality is lacking. The non-carbon version of the Ultra-Chron, which was released in 2022, actually features a rotating bezel. It’s a big miss from Longines on this one.

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This fixed bezel is also quite large and made of titanium with an aluminum insert. If it's not going to function, I'd at least like to see it made of carbon, which would increase the watch's carbon content. With the caseback, crown, bezel, and buckle all being made of titanium, it's perplexing that the mid-case of the watch is the only carbon component. For a watch with "Carbon" in its name, I'd like to see more emphasis on the high-tech material.

I was hoping to see a more premium feel with the Ultra-Chron Carbon, but this design choice was a letdown.