Welcome to Dialed In, Esquire’s column bringing you horological happenings and the most essential news from the watch world.
If you know about dive watches, the Longines Legend Diver is an instant eye-catcher. With no external rotating bezel, it doesn’t look at all like the chunky divers we’re used to. But the design, which dates to the original Legend in 1959, is every bit as authentic and functional as your standard diver.
The look of the Legend is inspired by the “super compressors” of the 1950s and ’60s, which were equipped with a spring-loaded case back that tightened against rubber gaskets as water pressure increased. The deeper you went, the more watertight it got. Another trademark of super compressors was an internal bezel placed under the crystal, making it less likely than an external bezel to get knocked out of position. You set the internal bezel with a screw-down crown at four o’clock and did your normal winding and adjustments with another at two o’clock. The modern iteration of the Legend isn’t a true super compressor; it has a screw-down case back. But the look—slimmer, sleeker, and a little surprising—is an homage to those mid-century designs. And its testing bona fides—it’s a highly precise chronometer and is ISO 6425 certified for water resistance—only underline its businesslike purpose.
Longines Legend Diver
Last year, it was reintroduced with blue and black dials in a 39mm diameter that works well for a broad range of wrists. This year, Longines came to play, adding colors like forest green and anthracite gray. Our favorite addition, though, is the rich terra-cotta you see here. Because even though this watch is more than capable of getting the job done, there’s no reason you can’t have a little fun along the way, too.
This story appears in the October/November 2024 issue of Esquire magazine.
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