Longines Legend Diver "Tropical" - 12.000€

In the late 1950s, diving watches were gaining popularity, partly due to the growing demand from professional and amateur divers for watches capable of withstanding underwater depths.

Longines, already renowned for its expertise in chronometry and its ties to aviation and competitive sports, began developing diving watches to meet the needs of this clientele. In 1959, Longines introduced a watch that was water-resistant up to 300 meters with an internal rotating bezel, an uncommon feature for diving watches of the time, designed to protect the bezel from external impacts and marine elements.

The Legend Diver was the evolution of Longines' first diving watch, the Skin Diver "Nautilus," which featured an external Bakelite dive bezel that proved to be brittle with time. This is why the bezel was moved to the inside of the case on the Legend Diver. The second crown allows the bezel to rotate and determine the immersion time.

The model we have here is the essence of Longines' historic dive watches, with a black dial that has beautifully patinated to a chocolate brown, displaying stunning gradients. Its overall condition is splendid, as is that of its Longines steel bracelet with wavy patterns. It comes with its Longines Extract from the Archives, certifying its delivery in 1964 to the Bessire company, then a Belgian agent.