Longines Goes Rainbow With The New HydroConquest XXII Commonwealth Games

It is well known that the Swatch Group, either through Omega (with the Olympics) or Longines, has a long tradition of being the official timekeeper of sports events. Recently, Longines has announced the renewal of its presence as the Official Partner and Timekeeper of the 2022 Commonwealth Games. And in the frame of this collaboration, the brand goes bold and far more striking than usual, with a highly-colourful limited edition watch. Meet the new Longines HydroConquest XXII Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth Games might not have the same aura as the Olympics, it remains nevertheless a major sports event, with athletes from over 70 Commonwealth nations and territories competing against each other. As explained by the brand, “the story between Longines and the Commonwealth Games began in the past century, with the 1962 Games in Perth (Australia). It continued with the 2014 edition in Glasgow (Scotland) and 2018 edition in Gold Coast (Australia). A new milestone was set in 2020 with the conclusion of a historic partnership, in which the brand will continue to use its timekeeping expertise in the 2022, 2026 and 2030 Games.” And as such, Longines will be the Official Partner and Timekeeper of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham (England), from 28 July to 8 August this year.

To celebrate its presence, Longines is unveiling quite an unexpected watch, which certainly breaks the norm and the classic look that is used on the standard production versions of the watch used as a base for the limited edition, the HydroConquest. The classic dive watch of Longines, with modern design (understand a watch that isn’t part of the Heritage collection and not based on a vintage watch) and reliable mechanics, it has been updated in 2018 with refreshed dial and more resistant materials.

The base, the 41mm HydroConquest Automatic, is here transformed quite radically regarding its colour scheme. Using the vivid colours of the event logo as an inspiration, both the dial and the bezel go rainbow-mode, with inserts of bright colours for the 60-minute scale on the bezel and the minute track on the dial. Touches of colour are also found on the seconds hand and around the date window.

Other than that, the basics of the HydroConquest are kept intact in this XXII Commonwealth Games edition. The stainless steel case, measuring 41mm in diameter, combines brushed and polished surfaces, is equipped with screw-down crown and caseback, a well-protected crown and an anti-reflective sapphire crystal on top. All of that guarantees a 300m water-resistance and the indispensable uni-directional bezel is equipped with a black polished ceramic insert.

Inside is the Calibre L888.5 (also known as the ETA A31.L11), an automatic proprietary movement with a 3.5Hz frequency, 72-hour power reserve and an anti-magnetic silicon balance-spring. The watch is worn on a stainless steel bracelet closed by a double security folding clasp with an integrated diving extension.

The Longines HydroConquest XXII Commonwealth Games is a limited edition of 2,022 pieces and retails for GBP 1,600 or EUR 1,900. For more details, please visit longines.com.