Introducing the Longines Legend Diver 59
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...
Fratello
