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Longines Legend Diver 39mm Stainless Steel
Ref. 57289477
Sits in Longines’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Longines watches we list, which start at £1,050.
Price range £1,050 to £2,995 across 17 Longines watches in stock.The Legend Diver traces its roots to Longines' Super Compressor watches of 1959, and this green-dialled version was produced to mark the 65th anniversary of that original series. The most distinctive feature it inherits is the internal rotating bezel — the 60-minute dive scale sits inside the case as a flange, turned by the screw-down crown at 2 o'clock rather than by an external ring. That arrangement removes the usual weakness of an outer bezel while keeping the timing function intact, and it gives the case a cleaner, more coherent silhouette than most divers of comparable depth rating. At 39mm across and 47mm lug to lug, it wears closer to a dress watch in proportion than the specification might suggest, helped further by a 12.7mm profile that is genuinely slim for something rated to 300m. The lacquered green dial is absent a date window — a deliberate choice in the anniversary edition, restoring the symmetry of the original layout. On the wrist the beads-of-rice bracelet drapes well, and the double-safety clasp carries a micro-adjustment system that makes dialling in the fit straightforward rather than approximate. The L888.6 movement beneath is COSC-certified and runs a silicon balance-spring, which grants both the chronometer rating and meaningful resistance to magnetic fields — practical benefits carried quietly inside a watch whose appearance is entirely concerned with the past.
- Reference
- 57289477
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Legend Diver
- Case size
- 39mm
- Case thickness
- 12.7mm
- Lug width
- 20mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Green
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Bidirectional rotating
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L888.6
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 300m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Silver
- Clasp
- Deployant clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Condition
- Vintage
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 47mm
- Power reserve
- 72 hours
Learn more about Longines
Auguste Agassiz began trading watches in Saint-Imier in 1832, but the modern company dates from 1860, when his nephew Ernest Francillon built a factory in the meadows beside the Suze — the longines of the local dialect — and consolidated the scattered outworkers of the region under one roof.
Longines registered its winged hourglass in 1889. It is the oldest watch trademark still in continuous use.
The company's identity was built on precision and on timing things in public. It supplied chronographs for the first modern Olympic events it timed in 1896, timed the 1912 Federal Gymnastics Festival with a broken-wire mechanism accurate to a hundredth of a second, and developed the photo-finish camera and the quartz timing devices used across twentieth-century athletics.
Its aviation associations are equally deep. Longines instruments were carried by Charles Lindbergh across the Atlantic in 1927, and the Hour Angle watch, designed to Lindbergh's own specification to simplify longitude calculation, remains in the catalogue. Amelia Earhart and Howard Hughes both navigated by Longines.
The house was among the most decorated at nineteenth-century observatory trials, holding numerous precision records. Since joining the Swatch Group in 1983 it has occupied the accessible-heritage position: exclusive ETA-based movements, archive-driven designs through the Heritage line, and volume that makes it one of the group's most important brands.
- 1860
- Ernest Francillon builds the factory at Les Longines.
- 1889
- The winged hourglass is registered — the oldest watch trademark in use.
- 1912
- Broken-wire timing achieves hundredth-second accuracy.
- 1927
- Lindbergh crosses the Atlantic with Longines instruments.
- 1983
- Becomes part of the Swatch Group.
Also in 6 collections
This watch appears in Stainless Steel Watches (2,762), Automatic Watches (1,400), Back in Stock (820), Sports Watches (687), Dive Watches (480) and Green Dial Watches (367).
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch built to be worn hard and got wet.
Strengths
- 300m water resistance, rated for actual diving
- 39mm suits most wrists
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 72-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
Compare alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | 57289477 | S300-BK-B | M79010SG-0001 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,950 | £2,775 | £3,050 |
| Case size | 39mm | 40mm | 39mm |
| Water resistance | 300m | 300m | 200m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Stainless steel bracelet | Leather strap |
| Power reserve | 72 hours | 38 hours | 70 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched |
|
Your new watch
Frequently asked questions, and things you should know about this watch
Can I swim with it?
Yes. At 300m it is rated for swimming, snorkelling and recreational diving.
Will the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Does it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
How long does it run for when it's not worn?
About 72 hours fully wound — enough to sit off the wrist over a weekend and still be running.
What size strap does it take?
20mm. Any strap of that width will fit, and on most modern watches quick-release bars make the swap a two-minute job with no tools.
Will it fit my wrist?
Lug-to-lug is 47mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16cm (6¼ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as unisex, and at this size it suits any wrist that takes the dimensions.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb at £2,950, pre-owned. No UK retailer we track lists this reference new.
Is this available new?
Not from the UK retailers we track. This reference is listed as pre-owned only, at £2,950 from Mappin & Webb. A pre-owned watch has been worn, and is normally sold under the retailer’s own warranty rather than the manufacturer’s.
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