Seventy years since the release of the original Conquest model, Swiss luxury watchmaker Longines is charting a bold new course. The celebrated maison has reimagined the iconic range, introducing a bevy of new diameter sizes and dial colours, offering a more personalised experience than ever before. Robust, diverse and intricately adorned, the expanded Conquest Collection is arguably Longines’ most accessible to date, but make no mistake, beneath the dazzling new colourways lies the beating heart of a high-precision icon.
Engineering the Everyday
Engineered to empower the everyday, the new Conquest lineup is a tale of triumph and an ode to the elemental. Where previous iterations of the Conquest range have focused on heritage style codes, the latest releases feel decidedly more sporty and modern, furthering the brand’s recent push into unisex design languages. The 2024 revival now sees the three-hand model offered in 30mm, 34mm and 38mm options, with the chronograph timepieces available in a robust 42mm.
All models come in a stainless steel or bi-material case with alternating polished and satin-finished surfaces, which only adds to the sleek new package. Throw in a water resistance of 10 bar (100 metres) and a transparent screw-on case back, and you have got a modern classic fit for all situations. Perhaps the new Conquest lineup’s most versatile component, however, is the dial.
Dialling Up the Colour
As Longines Ambassadors of Elegance Zhao Liying, Suzy and Barbara Palvin proved in the dynamic new ‘A Life in a Day’ campaign, the Conquest lineup is staking its claim on colour. The 34mm three-hand versions now sport green, pink or blue dials, contrasting against the monochromatic stainless steel finishes that surround them. What’s more, Longines has also added the same external snailing to the dial that we saw on the Longines Conquest Central Power Reserve, however, in this instance, the heritage-inspired design choice works to highlight the vibrancy of the new colourways.
The 30mm, 34mm and 38mm models feature 11 applied silvered hour markers and a date aperture at 6 o’clock, while the polished rhodium-plated hour and minute hands are coated with Super-LumiNova for added legibility.
If there is one thing to be said about Longines’ release catalogue over the past few years, it’s that the brand has leaned heavily (and wisely) into chronographs. Releases such as the Longines Spirit Flyback and HydroConquest have proved the watchmaker’s multi-function credentials, and the new Conquest is no exception.
The 42mm Conquest Chronograph has copped a silvered matte dial upgrade, with the highlight being the stunning Champagne dial ref. L3.835.4.32.9. The latest editions see the sub-second dial at 3 o’clock and the counters at 6 and 9 o’clock matched to the ceramic tachymetric bezel, giving the piece a fluent design language that harks back to the lineup’s illustrious origins.
Even the colourful new Swiss-made rubber straps follow suit, arriving complete with an hourglass pattern that references the iconic Longines logo. Matching the colours of the various dials in the line, they are fitted with a double safety folding clasp with micro-adjustment and are entirely developed and manufactured in Switzerland.
Legacy Reimagined
Since it was reintroduced in 2023, the Conquest collection has served as one of the Saint-Imier legend’s most popular, marking a refined fusion of heritage and innovation. The former comes by way of Longines’ impressive archival pedigree, with the original Conquest ref.9001 famously serving as the first timepiece in the collection to have its name protected by the Swiss Federal Institute of Intellectual Property way back in 1954. The latter, however, is explored through the introduction of an exclusive Longines mechanical movement that is equipped with a silicon balance spring and new components made of non-magnetic material.
While legacy releases, such as the Longines Conquest Heritage Central Power Reserve have helped to affirm the model’s legacy in timekeeping circles, the new watches bring a level of modernity to the range. With a size to suit all wrists and a colour palate as diverse as the terrain for which it is destined to traverse, the new Conquest Collection proves, once and for all, that Longines is the thinking person’s timepiece.
Longines Conquest Chronograph
- Brand: Longines
- Model: Conquest Chronograph
- Diameter: 42mm
- Movement: Calibre L898.5 self-winding movement
- Water-Resistance: 100m
- Power Reserve: 59 hours
- Price: AUD$6,300 on stainless steel bracelet / $6,125 on rubber strap.
Longines Conquest Collection
- Brand: Longines
- Model: Conquest
- Diameter: 30mm / 34mm / 38mm
- Movement: Calibre L888.5 self-winding movement
- Water-Resistance: 100m
- Power Reserve: 72 hours
- Price: From AUD$3,425 on stainless steel bracelet / $3,250 on rubber strap.
