Hey everyone, today I’ve put together a Longines Hydroconquest review for you to read through. This is a detailed review that I’ve been meaning to do for some time now.You may be wondering why I’m only now talking about a watch that’s been available for a good 10 years? I’ll tell you why, it offers fantastic value for money.
You see, the Longines HydroConquest is quite an interesting timepiece to feature, this automatic diving watch has a 41mm diameter stainless steel casing, a solid screw down caseback, an impressive water resistance rating of 300m.
A double security folding stainless steel bracelet with integrated diving extension, a mechanical Longines 633 movement that’s based off of the popular ETA 2824, a screw down crown, unidirectional aluminium rotating bezel, and a sapphire crystal glass lens.
You can see how the HydroConquest would pique the interests of any avid watch fan.
The Longines HydroConquest is now 12 years old after being introduced back in 2007. The Swatch group who own Longines had recently decided to increase the price of their popular Omega watches and needed something to fill in this lower priced gap.
This is where the Longines HydroConquest diving collection came in, more affordable than the Omega collections, it had a perfect place in the mix for The Swatch Group.
Below is an image of the Longines HydroConquest featuring a stainless steel strap.
To get things started on my Longines Hydronquest review, before the rest of our discussion about the watch I thought it would be best to list out some of the top technical specifications that people normally take a look at. This way you can easily see if this type of timepiece is for you.
Longines HydroConquest Dial and Casing Design
Now I’m not personally one to have an interest in diving, I do, however, love diving watches. For me it’s not just about the suitability of a diving watch, I find them to be extremely well built sporty watches that tend to have that bulky design I favour in a timepiece.
Diving watches often make great day to day timepieces due to their solid build and high water resistance ratings.
The Longines HydroConquest features that typically stunning design that’s perfect for both casual and formal occasions, it reminds me somewhat of the Rolex Submariner.
So whether you’re wearing a suit or sitting back in a casual short sleeve top, this timepiece simply looks perfect.
Any good luxury diving watch will feature an easy to read dial and a ton of high-quality lume, so the Longines HydroConquest does not disappoint here.
The dial features a high contrasting design with large Arabic numerals and silver toned baton style hour markers that stand out against the black background. The polished silver hands also stand out brilliantly with a diamond shaped hour hand design.
They’ve used a coating of Super Luminova for the hands, indexes, Arabic numerals, and a luminous pearl on the bezel at the 0/60 marker.
On the dial, we find the terms “Longines”, “Automatic” and “30bar (300meter)” along with a small date indicator at the 3 o’clock position. I know most people have no real use for a date display these days but it’s a feature I personally like to have on a timepiece.
The uni-directional aluminium bezel works perfectly with solid clicks and a luminous 0/60 marker. If you don’t dive, you won’t really need this feature much.
The bezel is actually a useful feature for a real diving watch, allowing the diver to keep track of an allotted time frame. Moving on to the casing of the Longines HydroConquest now, this model features a popular 41mm stainless steel case that would sit perfectly on most men’s wrists.
They do have a smaller size available if need be which measures 39mm.
There’s even a 30mm edition for women. The thickness of the casing for this model is approximately 10mm and in keeping with the typical size of diving watches in this diameter.
Another key feature you’ll find on any decent diving watch is a screw down crown. The benefits of a screw down crown are the increased water resistance it provides, stopping you from accidentally pulling the crown out whilst under water.
The crown on this Longines watch features the Longines insignia and is fairly easy to grasp.
It’s protected by two stunning looking crown guards that I find to be very nicely shaped. The caseback for the Longines HydroConquest has a solid design and screws down.
Now I’ve always been a fan of a see-through exhibition caseback so I felt a little let down by the lack of this, but at the same time, I can completely understand the decision.
Firstly the caseback needs to screw down for the added water resistance, secondly, an exhibition caseback that could withstand the pressure would certainly add quite a bit of cost to this so far affordable timepiece.
What next on our Longines Hydroconquest review? The strap of course! The Longines HydroConquest I’ve decided to feature has a stainless steel bracelet. There are of course rubber strap versions available, I just fancied featuring this particular model instead.
Like many other popular luxury diving watches, the HydroConquest makes use of a larger Oyster-style stainless steel strap.
The links are connected by screws with a polished finish to the center links, this matches up nicely with the mixed brushed and polished finish of the casing.
The stainless steel clasp fastens with a solid fold over catch with safety catch. A bonus to this strap is, of course, the diving extension feature that allows you to slip the Longines HydroConquest over your wetsuit with no added fuss.
The Longines HydroConquest Movement
At the heart of the Longines HydroConquest is a L633 caliber Swiss made automatic self-winding movement which is based off of the ETA caliber 2824 workhorse movement.
You’ll find the ETA 2824 featured in a huge range of automatic watches from the Hamilton Khaki range to the luxurious Tudor Pelagos. This Swiss made self-winding automatic movement has 25 jewel design and beats at 28,800 BPH providing you with a smooth sweeping second hands that ticks 8 times per second. When fully wound the movement has a power reserve of 38 hours.
Longines HydroConquest Crystal
Protecting the front of this luxurious diving watch is a sapphire crystal glass lens. You’ll typically find this type of glass on higher end watches as it provides an excellent level of scratch resistance with a Mohs hardness rating of 9.
The glass features an anti-reflective coating on the underside of the glass (again typically found in higher end watches) this reduces the level of glare on the timepiece.
Also Read: Best Minimalist Watches
Longines HydroConquest Water Resistance
I’ve mentioned a few times already that the Longines HydroConquest features a very good level of water resistance. It makes use of both a screw down crown and screw down caseback for a 30 bar (300meter) water resistance rating.
The Longines HydroConquest could certainly be described as a masterpiece of watch engineering. The automatic movement features a similar sweeping second hand to that that you’d find in a Rolex which is typically indicative of a quality timepiece.
The overall quality of the Longines HydroConquest is insanely good, you get a high quality Swiss movement, sapphire crystal glass, and a 300m water resistance rating. Considering this timepiece is about 1/6th the price of a Rolex, it’s a suitable alternative for anyone looking for a luxury diving watch on a budget.
Having taken a look at the quality, specifications, and pricing of this watch, I’ve decided to reward a 9/10 for my Longines Hydroconquest review.