Page 39 - The Book For Men Fall/Winter 2023

Hidden Depths
LONGINES HYDROCONQUEST GMT L3.790.4.96.6
LONGINES & SHARP
Longines’ latest HydroConquest model features innovative components and, for the first time, a GMT movement
A GOOD DIVER IS A WELL-TRAVELLED DIVER. ACROSS THE GLOBE, FROM
Iceland’s Silfra fissure to Indonesia’s spectacular Cape Kri, there are hundreds of lagoons, reefs, and ridges worthy of adventurers’ attention — spots that span almost every time zone. Mercifully, the latest release from Longines has even the most jet-setting scuba divers and snorkelers covered; introducing, for the first time, an exclusive, extremely precise GMT into its newly redesigned HydroConquest collection.
It’s a globe-trotter’s, deep-diver’s dream — a watch able to display the time of day in two zones simultaneously and which combines the classic sports watch’s established technical excellence with a newfound elegance. It was almost a century ago, in 1925, that the Swiss brand first featured a GMT movement in one of its wristwatches, though its celebrated, sporty HydroConquest line splashed down much later, in 2007. But this is the first time the two have come crashing together — integrating exciting, up-to-date technological touches with the collection’s traditional, retro-inspired design.
The new model features a 41 mm diameter, screw-down, stainless steel caseback, and a GMT caliber (L844) equipped with a silicon balance spring and components cast in non-magnetic materials. As as result, the movement is ten times more resistant to magnetic fields than the benchmark standard (ISO 764)
and has a power reserve of up to 72 hours. It’s also well-protected: the case that surrounds the caliber is water-resistant to the fathom-thrashing 300 metres. There are also several new diver-friendly features. A unidirectional, notched ceramic bezel, fitted with a luminescent capsule, screw-down crown, and alternating polished and satin-finished surfaces has been added. On the dial (which is available in four colour variations: green, brown, black, and blue sunray designs), you won’t find the large numbers that have come to typify the HydroConquest line. Rather, to make way for a sleek, two-toned 24-hour scale, they have been replaced with simple hour markers, and these indices (along with the watch’s hands) are either gilt or silvered, highly polished, and coated in Super-LumiNova to match the arrow-shaped GMT indicator.
The new HydroConquest can be fitted on either a stainless-steel bracelet (also updated, with redesigned H-shaped links and, in a first for the brand, a micro-adjusting clasp), a rubber strap, or a NATO bracelet. So, whether you’re exploring Ecuador’s Galapagos or floating down to Fiji, the combination of GMT movement and dive-conquering credentials make this a watch ready to take even the farthest-flung plunges.
Shop the Longines HydroConquest GMT timepieces (starting at $3,600 CAD) online at Longines.ca
HIDDEN DEPTHS TEXT BY JONATHAN WELLS
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