The Longines 508 watch movement was developed in 1949. It was the first gents automatic-family movement with a ball-bearing rotor. Shortly after its introduction, it was replaced by the 1249UT with a different shape of rotor. Throughout its production period, there were several detail modifications made to the movement. The transition from T- to U-type shock device and a modified calibre resulted in various versions of the movement. It is uncertain if all calibres were produced in the TC variant, hence only the known variants are listed. Some signatures of UT versions were changed to UC. The movement also featured a detached manual wind function, with additional details available in the 1249UC model. In terms of functionality, the Longines 508 movement included automatic winding and a sweep seconds hand.