As a mega-fan of super compressor style cases, I was beyond excited to be one of the first get my hands on the 36mm Longines Legend Diver (LLD). I already own a 36mm Hamilton super compressor so I have no issues wearing a 36mm watch and I am a big fan of the two crown case design.

They nailed the dial on this one. It is the best thing about the watch by far. In some lights it is black and in others it is the colour of milky coffee. It gives the watch an aged tropical feel and is executed in such an understated way. The regular-sized Longines Legend Diver had lugs for days and that prevented a lot of slim wristed chaps like myself from buying one. Well, that problem has now been taken care of. So everything is good now, right? Wrong!

Whenever brands shrink down a watch to a smaller size they always screw at least one thing up. It is normally something to do with the proportions of the smaller watch and this one is no different. Now it might just be that since I own a vintage super compressor I notice this where most people won’t. I feel like they shrunk down the crowns too much. They are too small. When you look at 36mm vintage super compressors the crowns are the same size as on the 42mm cases. Even when I got my partner a vintage ladies Bulova super compressor in 28mm the crowns were still the same size. It is just part of the practical design of a super compressor watch. They were at the cutting edge of dive watch technology when they were created (later found out to be crap) and for this reason, they had large usable crowns regardless of the case size. I am probably grasping at straws here as I often need to remind myself that these are only vintage reissues and are not meant to be identical recreations.

If you always wanted an LLD but found them too large, then this Longines Legend Diver 36mm could be perfect for you.