Tap the image to enlarge
Longines Ultra-Chron 43mm Stainless Steel L28364529
Ref. L28364529
Sits in Longines’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Longines watches we list, which start at £750.
Price range £750 to £2,995 across 14 Longines watches in stock.The original Ultra-Chron Diver of 1968 was one of the more serious instruments Longines produced — a high-frequency automatic built for accuracy as much as depth. This revival honours it closely: the cushion case, the applied Ultra-Chron logo at six o'clock, and the clean, dateless dial are all drawn from that reference, and the proportions are truer to the original than most retro reissues manage. At 43mm it reads large, but a 49mm lug-to-lug span means it sits against the wrist rather than bridging over it. The movement is where the story is. The L836.6 beats at 36,000 vibrations per hour, which gives the red minute hand a sweep that looks almost continuous, and the silicon balance-spring addresses the wear that high-frequency running would otherwise accelerate. Crucially, TIMELAB Geneva certifies this watch fully cased over fifteen days and across three temperatures — not the bare movement to a laboratory standard, but the finished object behaving as it will on a wrist. That is a meaningfully stricter test than conventional chronometer certification. The sapphire bezel insert protects the printed dive scale beneath it rather than relying on engraving, and the box sapphire crystal above carries multiple anti-reflective coatings. At 185.7 grams on the steel bracelet, it has real presence without being punishing, and the triple-safety folding clasp holds it securely enough that the 300-metre rating is not a theoretical one.
- Reference
- L28364529
- Brand
- Longines
- Case size
- 43mm
- Case thickness
- 13.60mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Cushion
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Unidirectional rotating
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L836.6
- Functions
- Date
- Water resistance
- 300m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Silver
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Lume
- Super-LumiNova
- Condition
- Pre-owned
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 49mm
- Power reserve
- 52 hours
- Origin
- Swiss made
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 (2,616), Automatic Watches (1,362), Sports Watches (675), Dive Watches (469), Pre-Owned, Ex-Display & Vintage Watches (235) and Tonneau & Cushion Watches (153).
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch built to be worn hard and got wet.
Strengths
- 300m water resistance, rated for actual diving
- 49mm lug-to-lug keeps the 43mm case wearable
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Longines's more premium watches
Worth knowing
- 43mm sits at the larger end
Compare alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L28364529 | R32128202 | WBP208D.BF0631 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £2,550 | £2,700 | £2,870 |
| Case size | 43mm | 43mm | 43mm |
| Water resistance | 300m | 300m | 300m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Ceramic bracelet | Titanium bracelet |
| Power reserve | 52 hours | 80 hours | 38 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 52 hours fully wound — enough to survive a night off the wrist, but not a full weekend.
What size strap does it take?
22mm. 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 49mm, which suits wrists from roughly 16.5cm (6½ inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
Is it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Mappin & Webb at £2,550, 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 £2,550 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.
You may also like
In stock, and close on style and price
