Someday, when the history of the contemporary vintage inspired sports watch is written, the Longines Legend Diver will need an entire chapter devoted to it. It’s an incredibly important watch not just in this very specific genre (which at times over the last decade or so has been the most important segment in watchmaking) but in the annals of modern watch history. I sometimes think its influence is not quite given enough credit as it is often compared and lumped in with the Tudor Black Bay, but the Legend Diver is very much its own thing and set a course for Longines upon its introduction that the brand is still very much following to this day.
There have been a number of iterations on the original Legend Diver format over the years, including limited editions and a very well received line of smaller, more compact Legend Divers in easy to wear 39mm cases. The latest Legend Diver, the Legend Diver 59, arrives today and feels like a return to the original reissue of the iconic diver in a number of ways.
The most notable thing about the Legend Diver 59 (besides the name, which will likely invite even more comparisons, and probably some memes, comparing the watch to various numbered Tudor Black Bays) is the watch’s size. The case here measures 42mm, the same as the original reissue of the Legend Diver, as well as the actual original Legend Diver, which first appeared in, you guessed it, 1959. When I saw this watch in person at a Longines preview event in Dallas earlier this year, it had been a minute since I’d experienced a 42mm Legend Diver, but I found the new 59 to be familiar to those initial Legend Diver experiences. That is to say, it’s a big watch, with a case that’s dominated by the very long, and pretty thick, lug design.
I’ve felt that the Legend Diver, at 42mm, is a very nice looking watch but just not well suited to my own wrist. That’s why I find the 39mm versions that came out a few years ago so appealing. Still, there were plenty in the community who have always loved this case size, either for the way it wears, its fidelity to the original design, or a combination of both. I imagine those fans of the larger versions of the Legend Diver will be very happy with the Legend Diver 59.
I suspect Longines is calling our attention to the date in the name of this watch to highlight their intent to make it feel like a watch that has seen some action over the course of many decades. The dial is matte and has a fine, textured finish that looks really nice when the light hits it, and provides a pretty substantial contrast to the glossy dials found throughout the rest of the Legend Diver collection. A more subtle change in this edition of the Legend Diver are the sandblasted hands and indices, which are complemented by “old radium” colored lume.
The Legend Diver 59 runs on the L888.6 caliber, a movement made by ETA exclusively for Longines that is COSC certified. It has a power reserve of 72 hours on a full wind, and silicon balance spring that is resistant to magnetism. Other specs to note include a water resistance rating of 300 meters, and a case thickness of 12.85mm. The Legend Diver 59 is available on the new Longines mesh bracelet that first appeared on the Hydroconquest earlier this year. This is a really nice bracelet, and I think it works even better on the Legend Diver 59 than the Hydroconquest.
The retail price of the new Legend Diver 59 is $4,100. It’s interesting to take note of Longines’ pricing strategy here, as the new Legend Diver sits well above the new Hydroconquest, which starts at $2,400. The Hydroconquest was rightly praised as an excellent value when it showed up a few months ago, and while I don’t think the Legend Diver 59 is necessarily overpriced at around $4,000, it seems that Longines is pitching it to a more niche segment of the market as a more luxurious product, while they’re happy for the Hydroconquest to cast a much wider net covering both enthusiast and more general watch consumers.
More information on the new Legend Diver 59 can be found on the Longines website, here.
