Longines Legend Diver Review: Chronology of a Classic Dive Watch

The Longines Legend Diver, introduced in the mid-aughts but tracing its origins all the way back to the embryonic era of modern dive watches in the 1950s and ‘60s, is the epitome of retro-vintage cool for many lovers of sport watches. Here’s how the watch, and its hallmark and still-rare Super Compressor case design, found a successful niche, and an avid audience, in the 21st century. 

1959: The Inspiration

As with many now-common watchmaking innovations, Longines was one of the pioneers in waterproofing timepieces, making its first water-resistant case as early as 1937, and introducing its first wristwatches purpose-built for recreational diving in the late 1950s. Unlike many of its predecessors and contemporaries in that fertile era of iconic dive watches — like the Blancpain Fifty Fathoms, Rolex Submariner (both 1953), and Omega Seamaster Professional (1957) — Longines’s Super Compressor Diver Ref. 7042, launched in 1959 and the most direct ancestor of today’s Legend Diver — did not employ the now-ubiquitous, external, unidirectional rotating bezel for its dive scale. Instead, the watch was designed in the so-called compressor style, also used by brands like Jaeger-LeCoultre, Enicar, and Universal Genève, whose case design included an inner dive-scale ring, positioned on the dial’s flange and mounted under the crystal, which rotated in both directions, operated by an additional crown at 4 o’clock. The “Super” in Longines’ “Super Compressor” timepiece was likely a reference to its case’s patented technology, which enabled its water resistance to increase exponentially as water pressure increased. 

2007: The Heritage Revival

A handful of dive watches being produced today still use the “compressor” or “super compressor” design, though they are far less common than the more traditional style with the dive-scale bezel on the exterior. Longines’ modern revival of its 1960s classic, launched in 2007, has proven to be one of the most successful. Called the Legend Diver, and initially part of the Swiss brand’s far-reaching Heritage collection of vintage revival pieces, the first version sported a simple gloss-black dial with no date window; this minimalist layout was faithful to the original, as was the 42mm case in stainless steel — now with a very 21st-century depth rating of 300 meters.

The watch, which was only produced for a short time before it gave way to the second-generation model with a date window added, established the retro elements that all subsequent versions have more or less followed. They include a pair of screwed crowns on the right side of the case, one for winding the watch, the other for rotating, setting and locking the inner dive-scale ring so a diver wearing the watch can track his time underwater; a set of luminous Arabic numerals and indexes for the time, indicated on a retro-look handset matching a broad-arrow hour hand with a sword minute hand; and an automatic mechanical movement ticking behind a solid caseback with a relief engraving of a scuba diver. The first version with a date window added debuted just two years later, in 2009, with the same 42mm case.

2017: The Family Expands

For the 10th anniversary of its 21st Century production run in 2017, the Legend Diver family began an expansion of its range of sizes, colorways, bracelet options, and materials that is still ongoing. That year marked the debut of a new, “Milanese” steel mesh bracelet for the model, which to many enthusiasts ramped up its retro-vintage appeal. The steel, two-crown case was still 42mm, and the black dial, with its inner dive scale and lume-coated handset and markers, made room for a date display at 3 o’clock. Beating inside was the ETA-based Caliber L633 with a 38-hour power reserve. 

The following year, Longines introduced a more ladies-targeted version of the Legend Diver, with its steel case reduced to a more modest 36mm — a size that many, in this current smaller-is-better era, would also consider just right for many gentlemen as well. The 36mm Legend Diver came on the Milanese bracelet as well as a variety of colorful strap options that matched the rainbow of dial colors, including burgundy, teal, purple (all with a gradient fumé finish) and white mother-of-pearl. The self-winding ETA-based Caliber L595 drives these watches’ functions, which includes the 3 o’clock date display despite the reduced dimensions. 

The gradient, colorful dials of the 36mm models were of course a nod to modernity by the vintage-influenced Legend Diver family, and Longines strayed even further into avant-garde territory that same year with the release of the first model in a black-PVD-coated steel case. The 42mm model also featured a black lacquered dial and a black rubber bracelet with a texture that mimicked the popular look of its predecessors’ Milanese bracelets. Another notable aspect of this Legend Diver was its use of an upgraded movement, Longines Caliber L888.2 (based on the ETA A31.L01), which brought a faster balance frequency of 25,200 vph and a more robust power reserve of 64 hours.

In 2020,  the Legend Diver was the first model with a case made of bronze, a metal historically used for diving and maritime equipment and increasingly popular in dive watches. Once again dabbling in bold, striking colors, Longines gave this model a deep sea-green lacquered dial that pairs beautifully with the case and its matching NATO-style nylon strap. The caseback, with the now-emblematic relief-engraved scuba diver, is made of titanium. The movement inside is the same L888.2 found in its predecessors, but in this timepiece, Longines opted not to include a date display on the dial, which would be a harbinger for things to come. 

2023: Divers on a Diet

With many would-be owners of the Longines Legend Diver still just a bit intimidated by the original watch’s relatively large (albeit period-appropriate) 42mm size, and not quite enamored with the daintier 36mm dimensions of the 2018 versions, Longines offered a middle-ground option in 2023 that proved to be the sweet spot for many. The dual-crown cases of the newest generation of Legend Divers, all in steel, measured 39mm in diameter, just under 13mm thick, and 47mm lug to lug. Their dials — initially in blue or black — notably eschewed the 3 o’clock date window that had become a mainstay of the series for more than a decade, thus giving the watches a more streamlined and period-appropriate look. Inside the case, Longines has installed its automatic Caliber L888.6, whose upgrades from the L888.2 include a silicon balance spring, a 72-hour power reserve (that’s three days) and a COSC certification speaking to its exceptional timekeeping accuracy of -4/+6 seconds per day. Bracelet options include a steel “beads-of-rice” style, with a five-position, micro-adjustable, double-push-button clasp. The enthusiast and collector response to these “midsize” models was strong, and Longines expectedly followed up the next year with an expanded palette of dial colors — Terra Cotta red, Anthracite gray and bright Green.

All three sizes remain in the Longines catalog, and the range of color options is sure to widen even further, so there really is a Legend Diver for just about everyone — especially considering Longines’ famously high value proposition. Prices for the Legend Diver starts at $2,500 for both the 42mm and 36mm models, on either mesh bracelets or leather straps. The 39mm watches start at $3,100 on leather straps and $3,400 on beads-of-rice bracelets. The bronze-cased 42mm model on brown leather strap retails at $3,125.