Longines Hydroconquest Review: So Much Watch For $2,000

The Longines Hydroconquest has been around since its debut in 2007 and in that time it has come to be one of the staple entry level luxury dive watches. And it’s certainly for good reason considering just how much quality is on offer for the price which is in no small part thanks to the brand’s positioning under the Swatch Group umbrella. Derived from the classic Longines Conquest collection, the Hydroconquest is a decidedly un-vintage inspired dive watch that rather leans into contemporary design. Given how much safer a vintage-inspired design is these days, I give Longines a lot of credit for developing and nurturing this collection over the last 18 years. After all, having the Legend Diver as a sibling sets a rather high bar.

The Hydroconquest was refreshed back in 2018 when it gained a ceramic bezel which, quaint as it might seem today, was not such a universally available option at the price point. Here I will get into the standard model as well as the excellent GMT iteration that was released back in 2023.

[toc-section heading="Longines Hydroconquest Case"]

This watch is available in several case size iterations ranging from a 32mm quartz model all the way up to a 43mm all black ceramic case iteration. I want to talk about the 41mm size which is also likely the most popular for obvious reasons. Measuring 41mm wide and 11.9mm thick with a 51.1mm lug-to-lug height, the Hydroconquest does stretch out onto the higher side of that 50mm L2L, meaning it wears on the bigger side that feels closer to 42mm. That said, the sub-12mm thickness coupled with the  300m of water resistance does make for some truly impressive performance in a very slim case.

The case itself is nicely brushed with pronounced lugs that do hug around the wrist a bit (though they are certainly the reason for the substantial lug-to-lug measurement). As for the crown guards, I am personally not the biggest fan of how prominent these are but they do serve a practical benefit and the crown is large and simple enough to operate. And then there is that 120-click unidirectional bezel with that glossy ceramic finish. This is still one of the best ceramic bezels for the money and I would go so far as to say that the quality between this bezel and those from Swatch sibling Omega are not worlds apart. Finally, there is the enclosed case back with a nice Longines branded engraving. I am constantly going on about how more watches should opt for enclosed case backs over exhibition and the Hydroconquest is a perfect example of why. The movement is certainly nice but does it need to be on display while simultaneously negatively impacting water resistance and adding cost? I don’t think so.

[toc-section heading="Longines Hydroconquest Dial"]

Beneath the crystal (which has double-sided AR coating for great legibility) is the straightforward dial which is easily characterized by those nice large applied Arabic numerals at 6, 9, and 12 o’clock. These are dotted with circular applied indices for the rest of the hour markers while the date window sits at 3 o’clock, done with a nice downward sloping frame. I’ve always like the unique take on the hour hand here which is like a faceted and somewhat diamond-y snowflake. The minutes hand is nicely faceted as well while the lollipop seconds hand wraps things up. Naturally, there is healthy lume applied throughout. I also want to note how much I appreciate the clean dial with just two lines of text at 6 o’clock and the Longines branding with wing logo up top.

[toc-section heading="Caliber L888 Movement"]

One of the benefits of being in the Swatch Group family is the access to ETA movements. As such, the Caliber L888 is one of these movements that are manufactured by ETA for use only by Longines. The L888 operates at 3.5 Hz and has a very healthy 72-hour power reserve. It also features hacking seconds and hand winding functionality.

[toc-section heading="Longines Hydroconquest GMT"]

In 2023 Longines released the travel watch iteration of the Hydroconquest which, to no surprise, makes a good thing even better. So what’s different here besides the obvious added GMT functionality? Well, the case is still 41mm wide though a little thicker at 13.2mm while the lug-to-lug measurement drops a tiny bit down to 49.2mm. There’s also a new H-link bracelet that debuted with the GMT and, yes, it has a micro-adjust feature that allows for up to 5mm of adjustment. The case design looks similar but there are changes throughout like the more curved lugs which account for that slightly smaller wearing experience. You’ll notice the dial here is noticeably different with alternating rectangular and circular hour markers replacing the Arabic numerals. The chapter ring has a 24-hour track running around it which is nice and easy to read. Finally, there is that new arrow-shaped GMT hand that really blends right in without busying things up.

Inside is the L844.5 movement which has been used on other GMT watches by Longines. While this isn’t a chronometer certified movement it is accurate to -1/+5 seconds per day which is really quite good.  This movement also has a silicon balance spring which should help to avoid the harmful effects of magnetic field on timekeeping and accuracy. And of course, with this being a “true” GMT movement, the first crown position offers isolated adjustment of the local hour time without stopping the balance, making this watch an real option for frequent travelers who need to track multiple time zones. The movement operates at 25,200 VPH or 3.5 Hz with hacking and hand-winding capabilities while achieving an impressive power reserve of 72 hours.

Final Thoughts

The Longines Hydroconquest offers quite a bit of watch for the money in a competitive category with the likes of Oris, TAG Heuer, and higher end Seiko options out there. Regardless of strap or bracelet choice, both the 41mm and 43mm iterations are priced at exactly $2,000 in stainless steel while the two-tone models are $2,350 and the black ceramic model is $4,700. As for the Hydroconquest GMT, price starts at $3,050 on textile strap, $3,150 on rubber, and $3,350 on steel bracelet. You can learn more about this collection over at longines.com