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Longines Legend Diver 59 42mm Mens Watch Black
Ref. L37954599
Sits in Longines’s upper tier here — more premium than three quarters of the Longines watches we list, which start at £900.
Price range £900 to £22,850 across 271 Longines watches in stock.The Legend Diver 59 is a direct revisitation of the compressor-style diving watches Longines produced in 1959 — the "59" in the name is not decoration. The defining feature of that original design was the internal rotating bezel, a flange that sits beneath the crystal rather than on the case exterior, turning via a second crown on the left side of the case. It cannot snag a wetsuit and cannot be shifted accidentally. Longines invented the arrangement; this watch brings it back without apology. At 12.85mm thick for a 300-metre-rated dive watch, it wears closer to a dressy sports watch than a tank, and 42mm across with a 50.10mm lug-to-lug span sits squarely in the range that disappears under a shirt cuff while still reading confidently in open water. The absence of a date window keeps the black grained dial symmetrical, which matters when the whole point of the dial is legibility at depth. The L888.6 inside is COSC-certified and carries a silicon balance spring, meaning it resists magnetic fields up to 600 gauss — relevant if the watch is ever near equipment rather than just water. Seventy-two hours of power reserve is enough to survive a long weekend off the wrist without resetting.
- Reference
- L37954599
- Brand
- Longines
- Collection
- Legend Diver
- Case size
- 42mm
- Case thickness
- 12.85mm
- Lug width
- 22mm
- Case material
- Stainless steel
- Case shape
- Round
- Dial
- Black
- Crystal
- Sapphire
- Bezel
- Rotating
- Movement
- Automatic
- Calibre
- L888.6
- Water resistance
- 300m
- Bracelet / strap
- Stainless steel bracelet
- Strap colour
- Silver
- Clasp
- Folding clasp
- Lume
- Luminous
- Retailer
- Mappin & Webb
Additional specifications
- Lug-to-lug
- 50.10mm
- Power reserve
- 72 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 the Longines Legend Diver range (15), Back in Stock (3,734), Stainless Steel Watches (2,581), Automatic Watches (1,570), Sports Watches (707) and Dive Watches (505).
Best of 2 retailers
What the specifications mean
A mechanical watch built to be worn hard and got wet.
Strengths
- 300m water resistance, rated for actual diving
- Sapphire crystal, which resists scratching
- 72-hour reserve survives a weekend off the wrist
- Luminous hands and markers for low light
- One of Longines's more premium watches
Longines Legend Diver 59 alternatives
Watches from other brands at a similar price, style and size, so you can see what else your budget can buy.
| Specification | L37954599 | ARGONAUT-BZ-BK-R-S | HBF002J1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | £3,550 | £3,650 | £3,550 |
| Case size | 42mm | 42mm | 42.6mm |
| Water resistance | 300m | 300m | 300m |
| Movement | Automatic | Automatic | Automatic |
| Strap | Stainless steel bracelet | Fabric strap | Stainless steel bracelet |
| Power reserve | 72 hours | 38 hours | 72 hours |
| This watch | Closely matched | 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.
Water resistance explainedWill the glass scratch?
Unlikely. Sapphire is second only to diamond in hardness and shrugs off everyday marking.
Sapphire, mineral and acrylic comparedDoes it need a battery?
No. It is automatic — the motion of your wrist winds it, and there is no cell to replace.
Quartz, automatic and solar comparedHow 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?
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 50.10mm, which suits wrists from roughly 17.5cm (7 inches) upward.
Lug-to-lug decides fit more than case diameter does.
How to size a watch to your wristIs it a men's or women's watch?
Listed as men's.
Cheapest place to buy
Both Mappin & Webb and Goldsmiths list it at £3,550, so choose on delivery and warranty rather than price.
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