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#1 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 219
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Longines Legend Diver Review
Background
The origins of this watch date back to the 1950’s when deep sea exploration was still a new frontier. A series of manned submersible vessels called bathyscaphes were developed to withstand huge pressures and were therefore capable of carrying people thousands of meters deep. Longines supplied many of the instruments for one of these vessels – the Trieste, which set a depth record in 1953, carrying two people to a depth of 3,150 meters. Alongside development of instruments for the Trieste, Longines also developed diving wrist watches to military specification and later for civilian sports divers. Longines recently re-released one of these watches in a modern-day version, called the “Legend Diver”. Initially the classic design of the watch caught my attention but reading about the history really got me hooked. I have since noticed that Legend Diver, shares similar design characteristics to two other re-released classics: the Jaeger-LeCoultre Memovox Tribute to Polaris and IWC Vintage Acquatimer. Packaging The watch comes in a ridiculously LARGE box! Probably not very environmentally friendly but I must admit quite impressive, and contains a nice book about the Longines Sport legends collection. Quite interesting reading and nice to look at. IMG_0652 L.jpg Case A few specs: stainless steel, 42mm, domed saphire crystal, water resistant to 300m The case has two crowns – one for winding and setting the watch and the other to access and set the rotating inner bezel. This is fairly unique feature and less common that the usual external bezel. I can also see a functional reason behind it in that it’s not possible to accidentally move the bezel by knocking it. The case height is 13.5mm which I think is pretty “thin” considering it’s water resistant to 300 metres. It certainly feels comfortable on the wrist and does not sit too high. The reverse of the case is also imprinted with an image of a diver and spear. IMG_0636.jpg Dial The dial design is quite unique and special. It has a real classic, “retro” look about it with beige/cream batton hour markers which contrast nicely against the black face. For me legibility is good thanks to the simple face and strong contrast of the markers. In short, it’s simple, elegant and well laid out. IMG_0616 L.jpg IMG_0635 L.jpg Strap The strap is made from some sort of black synthetic material with off-white stitching. It is lined with black felt on the inside to aid comfort. It certainly looks nice and matches the style of the watch. My only real gripe is that even though I have average size wrists, if I use the tightest buckle hole, the watch is still a bit loose and therefore sits a little to the side. On the positive side I do like the buckle which has nice detail in the cross-hatch pattern adorned with the Longines hour glass logo. IMG_0639 L.jpg Fit & Finish It’s a well constructed watch and you can see and feel the quality. I like the small details like the cross-hatch pattern etched into the top of the crowns and buckle. Movement Longines L633 automatic movement, based on the ETA 2824-2 Accuracy I’m not obsessed with accuracy but I know that this is part of any proper assessment of a watch’s quality. From the 6 months or so I’ve had the watch it seems to fall within +/- 5 secs a day which for me is more than accurate enough for a mechanical automatic watch. In short A handsome, classic well-designed watch with a great story behind it. A unique function with the rotating inner bezel accessed by a second crown. And not to mention, great value for around $US 2,000. |
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#2 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Stillwater, OK
Posts: 96
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Good in depth review!
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#3 |
Banned
Join Date: Dec 2008
Real Name: Andy
Location: EU
Watch: them come and go..
Posts: 2,052
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Nice technical review ! I've just posted mine about the same watch with the date version,come see me if you like.
We love this watch,don't we ??? About the strap length,they finally decided to short it a bit on the date version. |
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#4 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 219
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Quote:
Actually I'm quite surprised (and pleased!) to see that quite a few people know and like this watch - I thought it was one of those sort of "niche personal taste" watches... ![]() |
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#5 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2008
Real Name: Lewis
Location: Earth
Watch: The Beast
Posts: 1,352
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James,just collected mine today!
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" I THINK PERFECTION IS UGLY. SOMEWHERE IN THE THINGS HUMANS MAKE, I WANT TO SEE SCARS, FAILURE, DISORDER AND DISTORTION" - YOHJI YAMAMOTO |
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#6 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2007
Real Name: Asad A. Awan
Location: kabul, Afghanista
Watch: Tissot PRX
Posts: 2,698
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Hey Louie share pics man...congrats to you
![]() good review James...the watch is really classy...its a dress kind of diver which is amazing ![]() ![]() regards, Asad Abbas Awan. |
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#7 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: May 2008
Real Name: Lewis
Location: Earth
Watch: The Beast
Posts: 1,352
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Quote:
![]() ![]() *Take this opportunity to thank cocobat & Paul for the help in getting this LLD. Thank you guys! ![]() Photo By Leicashot
__________________
" I THINK PERFECTION IS UGLY. SOMEWHERE IN THE THINGS HUMANS MAKE, I WANT TO SEE SCARS, FAILURE, DISORDER AND DISTORTION" - YOHJI YAMAMOTO |
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#8 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 219
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#9 |
Banned
Join Date: Feb 2009
Real Name: David
Location: UK
Watch: Too Many
Posts: 88
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Great watch and a nice review, this has all but pusuded me to go and buy one, thank you
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#10 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Sep 2009
Real Name: Stratos
Location: Piraeus
Posts: 30
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thank you nice review
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#11 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Real Name: Tony
Location: Oxfordshire, UK
Watch: 116680 & 116622
Posts: 3,953
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Not normally a lover of two crowns on a watch but this piece certainly pulls it off! Very classic looking & gorgeous dial.
Thanks for the review & pics- superb! ![]() ![]() ![]()
__________________
"...why oh why, didn't I take the blue pill...?" http://www.helenanddouglas.org.uk/ www.cheetah.org |
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#12 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: Scandinavia
Watch: ♛
Posts: 1,330
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I've been re-reading this review and been debating with myself if I should get this watch or not.... It's beatiful but there's so much else out there ..
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#13 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Real Name: sam
Location: s.wales GB
Watch: Oyster Royal 6246
Posts: 429
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thanks for the info,i really like the classic look of this watch!
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#14 |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 185
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Thats a lovely watch and great review. Love the retro dial and domed crystal!
Funnily enough, I've also just posted a review for a different 42mm swiss made divers watch, also with a double crown, rotating internal bezel and 28xx movement: http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=123927 ...very different animal to your classic piece though. |
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#15 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: Australia
Watch: Sea Dweller, 5512
Posts: 602
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Stunning watch I love the internal bezel timer it is similar to my Hamilton Khaki
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#16 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Real Name: TC
Location: GMT -8
Watch: SeaDweller Deepsea
Posts: 582
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Awesome looking watch and a great review
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#17 |
2024 Pledge Member
Join Date: Jun 2008
Real Name: JYogi/Jeremy
Location: Metro Detroit USA
Watch: It's a Rolex!
Posts: 5,374
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They are nice fun watches.
I have had mine a few mths and am actually going to part with it soon, just need to get around to listing it. It is a nice watch, sporty yet dressy and wears great I just do not find it getting much wrist time at all :( I have worn it perhaps 1/2 dozen times. As the OP said the box is really something! Rolex could take some lessons in this department from Longines haha.
__________________
"You won't rise to the occasion - you'll default to your level of training." Barrett Tillman Kentucky Colonel, Tennessee Squire & Combat Leprechaun |
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#18 | |
Banned
Join Date: Feb 2009
Real Name: W. Stutman
Location: Motor City
Watch: TT GMT IIC
Posts: 2,223
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Quote:
here is a link: http://thescuttlefish.com/2010/11/th...randpas-rolex/ |
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#19 | |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Hong Kong
Posts: 219
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Quote:
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#20 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Canada
Watch: JS Watch co. 101
Posts: 1,388
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Thanks for the great review and pics. It is a great looking watch; I love retro styling.
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#21 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: PNW
Watch: DS,BLNR,SubLV,DJ2
Posts: 8,123
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Congrats on the good looking watch! Love that it has two crowns, definitely looks different and unique.
I bought an IWC Aquatimer BNIB from an IWC AD in 2004 and it has the similarity mentioned with your Longines. Two crowns and an inner rotating bezel gives the watch a unique look. I love it. Just not sure my Aquatimer is considered a "vintage" since as far as I know it is only about 8 y/o. |
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#22 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: spain
Posts: 21
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here in spain that watch is very apreciated, i like so much, i think that is one of my next buy
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#23 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Real Name: Jesse
Location: Finland
Watch: 14060M
Posts: 67
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This has caught my interest lately.. JLC Tribute to Polaris would be cool, but I can't justify the price just yet.
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#24 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Bogota
Watch: Submariner 16610
Posts: 2
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Great Timepiece
In part based on Jamesh's positive review, I recently purchased this LLD re-edition in stainless steel with date window from Tourneau and have been very pleased with it. I wear it frequently, suited up and dressed down, swimming in the ocean etc., and the watch is in perfect condition. It wears very comfortably on my wrist. It's a well-crafted timepiece, heavy and perfectly fitting at 42mm. I think I would have preferred the dateless version a tad bit. I also think that it loses quite a bit of its value so anyone looking to buy one should look for a slightly used model which can be had at around $1500 or so (retail was around $2200). As a big fan of diver's watches, I think this is a great addition to my small collection, though I think the JLC Deep Sea/Polaris would have been a better buy, albeit much more expensive. At its price, I think this is a great watch to own and I think I will enjoy it for many years to come. Sidenote: Tourneau originally sold me the LLD with a standard Longines box but thanks to Jamesh's review, I realized that there is a special box and booklet so after a quick call to Tourneau, they quickly sent me the original box and booklet.
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#25 |
Banned
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: BermudaAntarctica
Posts: 892
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just looked myself its listed at 2300
shhhoooot... in 2009 it was 2000$ |
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#26 |
Banned
Join Date: May 2012
Real Name: CJ
Location: Kashyyyk
Watch: Kessel Run Chrono
Posts: 21,113
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nice review on a very underrated watch.
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#27 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: North Jersey
Watch: Rolex ref 1500
Posts: 87
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Just bought one used from a forum member.
Should be in today...Can't wait!!! |
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#28 |
"TRF" Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: North Jersey
Watch: Rolex ref 1500
Posts: 87
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Just Got it!!!
already loving it!!! The box it came in is quite impressive! Thanks to forum member ABOEN for the watch, a great price and quick shipping! ![]() ![]() |
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