BY DHANANJAY PATHAK
The Commonwealth Games Foundation recently announced Longines as the official timekeeper for the next three Commonwealth games events, the first of which is scheduled to be held in 2022 in Birmingham in the United Kingdom. To commemorate this partnership, Longines has revealed a new colorful variation of its popular dive watch, the HydroConquest.
The HydroConquest is the staple dive watch in the brand’s catalog and is offered in a variety of case and dial variations. For this special edition, Longines has gone with the modestly sized 41mm HydroConquest with a black dial. The dial gets a nice sunburst treatment and has a familiar layout that comprises applied lume filled circular hours markers and oversized applied numerals at 6, 9, and 12, along with a date window at 3. What makes this dial special though is the burst of color that can be seen throughout the dial, starting from the yellow-tipped lollipop style seconds hand to the yellow border on the date window, and finally, and most heavily, on the multicolored printed track inspired by the colors of the 2022 Commonwealth Games logo.
The case as mentioned above measures 41mm in diameter, which is a nice size for a modern dive watch and should cater easily to a wide variety of wrists. Like the dial, the case maintains the signature design DNA of the HydroConquest family.
You get a nice round profile with nice chunky downwards curving lugs and a threaded crown protected by crown guards to ensure that this watch remains water-resistant to a healthy 300 meters. Sitting on top of the case is a bezel with a ceramic insert which features been given the commonwealth flavor through the vivid diving scale.
Beating inside this watch is the Longines calibre L888.5. This is an automatic movement that operates at 3.5Hz and offers an impressive autonomy of around 72 hours. There are some nice technical chops on offer such as the antimagnetic silicon balance spring. The movement is hidden underneath a closed case back that has been decorated using the Commonwealth 2022 logo.
The new Longines HydroConquest XXII Commonwealth Games watch is limited to 2022 pieces. The watch comes mated to a steel bracelet and retails for GBP 1,600.
Visit Longines here.
