Legend has it that reissues are on-trend, and it appears that will continue for some time yet. Longines has lead this game and were one of the firsts with the release of the mighty Longines Legend Diver. While the case is faithful to the original 42mm, modern upgrades include screw-down crowns and a sapphire crystal with underside AR. Case thickness has also increased (a smidge under 14mm), however, compared to most it’s modest, wears well on the wrist and provides 300m WR.

The black lacquered dial combined with the polished arrowed minute hand and painted Arabic numerals and indexes provides excellent legibility, although the lume is minimal and is not overly useful in darkness. The boxed date window at 3 is unobtrusive and colour matched. Useful for daily use, in my opinion.

Time is propelled by the Longines L888 (an ETA2824-20). Nothing fancy, but robust and reliable enough to tackle any task thrown at it. Beating at 25,200 vibrations per hour should see you around 64 hours of power reserve. Continuing with tradition, the case back scuba diver engraving remains like its predecessor that enhances the vintage appeal.

The padded sailcloth style strap with contrast stitching is comfortable and wore in quickly, however, extra holes were needed due to the long length and partly because of those beautiful lugs. Measuring in at 52mm lug to lug, it’s not a piece for everyone, especially those with smaller wrists. I was fortunate to try before I bought and had no issues with my 6.5” wrist, albeit being at my maximum I would consider.

Longines has released some great reissues of late, but to me, the Longines Legend Diver remains one of their best and most faithful. A simple concept with dual crowns and an internal bezel for protection. Destined to be a legend.