The New Adventure-Themed Longines HydroConquest 41mm

Known for its chronographs and elegant, vintage-inspired timepieces, Longines is no stranger to the field of dive watches. Recent examples such as the Ultra-Chron Diver or the Legend Diver Gradient showed that the brand was talented when it comes to introducing past icons. But the brand also has a solid collection of modern dive watches, with the competent and quite accessible HydroConquest. Available in an array of sizes and colours, Longines has recently added a new version to its collection. And with its vintage, adventure-inspired colour scheme, it could be the coolest example so far. 

The HydroConquest is the modern vision of a dive watch, according to Longines. Classic in its design, robust, fully equipped and meant to be a powerful go-anywhere-do-anything watch, it was first released in 2007. Benefitting from a makeover in 2018 with a fresh palette of colours and matching ceramic bezels, streamlined dials, revised movements, and several case sizes (32mm, 39mm, 41mm and 43mm), it has become a cornerstone of the brand’s portfolio. It is available in a large palette of colours and materials, ranging from classic black or blue to slightly more audacious tones such as green or mid-grey with a two-tone case. On most of the models, the rule has long been to match the dial and bezel. But rules are meant to be broken, and the latest edition of the HydroConquest dive watch does this brilliantly.

The present edition, which I’ll unofficially name the HydroConquest 41mm Adventure, comes in a new set of colours and textures applied to a well-known base. I’ve said it on multiple occasions, but a simple dial colour can drastically change the appeal of a watch. Here, it is more than true. The base remained unchanged, with the mid-size 41mm version. The case is identical to all other editions, with large lugs and crown guards, a unidirectional bezel with a 60-minute scale, an anti-reflective domed sapphire crystal, a deeply engraved solid steel back, a screw-down crown and a 300m water-resistance. As we’ve seen in our previous review, it is a solid, competent dive watch with a no-nonsense look. It does the job, looks good and wears well.

What changes are the colours and some of the textures. First, the ceramic bezel is green with a cream-coloured, patina-like diving scale. Then, to give this adventure look, and contrary to all other references, the dial opts for a black colour and, new to the model, a finely grained texture. Matching the bezel, all elements of the dial – applied numerals, markers and hands – are filled with cream-coloured Super-LumiNova. Even the date, printed on a black disc, is done in this vintage cream tone. The result is cool and retro-styled, adding a lot of charm to an otherwise quite serious and contemporary watch.

While available with a solid 3-link steel bracelet with folding clasp and diving extension, the finishing touch (and the version to get IMO) comes from the green textile NATO strap, giving the desired adventure look to the watch. Powered by the automatic calibre L888.3 (a refined ETA 2892 base), it incorporates a silicon hairspring and boasts a solid 72h power reserve.

Now available from the brand and retailers, both editions of this new Longines HydroConquest 41mm are priced at EUR 1,950 (the same price as all other versions). For more details, please visit longines.com.