Longines Legend Diver Black PVD and New Movement

For Baselworld 2018, Longines brings a few updates to one of its most iconic modern watches, the Legend Diver. Not only is now comes with a new and more performant movement, but mainly, it now available in full black – case, dial, strap. And while, here at MONOCHROME, we’re usually not huge fans of full black watches, this new Longines Legend Diver Black PVD has quite some appeal.

The basics are still the same: a vintage-inspired dive watch with compressor-style case, designed after a legendary 1960s watch, with internal rotating bezel and two crowns on the right side of the case. The watch retains its lacquered black dial, its signature indexes and hands, its 300m water resistance and its overall very cool look.

What’s new then? First and foremost, the 42mm case of the Longines Legend Diver is now coated in Black PVD. But that’s not all. One of the things I never really liked about the LLD was the full polished finishing of the case – slightly too precious for a diver’s watch. Combined with the black treatment is a now fully brushed case, giving the watch a more utilitarian and tool-is look.

The new Longines Legend Diver Black PVD also features a new movement. Previously powered by a standard ETA 2824-2, it now receives the calibre L888.2, based on the ETA A31.L01. This movement, exclusive to Longines, offers a longer power reserve of 64h and an increased precision.

The dial remains equal to the steel version, with its appealing glossy black surface – even though it also creates a lot of reflections – and a highly domed sapphire crystal. This Longines Legend Diver Black PVD is delivered with a black rubber strap with Milanese-like texture and a black-PVD coated folding clasp and integrated diving extension.

Availability and price to be confirmed – expect around EUR 2,000. More on longines.com.