Longines’ dive-watch history in the 1960s and ’70s is not a straight line from one model to the next: it branches into accessible skin divers, internal-bezel Super-Compressor tool watches, high-frequency timekeeping and chronographs, before reaching a military-oriented 300-meter watch. These six examples trace that progression. The Nautilus Skin Diver, introduced in 1958, appears as a brief prelude because it set the stage for the decades that followed.
A prelude: Nautilus Skin Diver (1958)
The Nautilus Skin Diver arrived just before the period covered here, but it helps explain the range of Longines diving watches that followed. Longines’ August 2024 press kit dates its introduction to 1958 and gives its water resistance as 12 bar (120 m). The watch came on a steel bracelet with fine adjustment intended to make it wearable over a diving suit.
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That combination of practical diving use and relatively accessible skin-diver styling provides a useful contrast with the more specialized designs of the 1960s and early ’70s.
Four branches of Longines diving-watch design
Super-Compressor ref. 7594 (1963/65): the internal-bezel tool watch
The Super-Compressor ref. 7594 is one of the best-documented Longines divers of the period. The Swatch Group archive dates it to 1963/65 and records a 42 mm case, automatic calibre 290 and an internal rotating bezel. The bezel sits beneath the crystal and is operated with a second crown, keeping it protected from direct knocks. Longines’ Legend Diver lineage is closely associated with this twin-crown, internal-bezel layout.
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The same archive gives the ref. 7594 an initial water resistance of 12 bar (120 m), later increased to 20 bar (200 m). That documented change offers a concrete example of the improvement in water resistance Longines describes across several generations of its 1960s and ’70s models.
Heritage Diver 1967: a chronograph remembered through a reissue
Longines’ 2015 release for the Heritage Diver 1967 says the reissue was inspired by a diver watch produced in 1967; it also notes that an original is held in the Longines museum in Saint-Imier. The release describes the reissue as having a graduated bordeaux bezel, black opaline dial, silver counters, chronograph and tachymeter. Those details characterize the modern Heritage Diver 1967, not necessarily the vintage original.
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- Automatic L888 movement, hours, minutes, seconds and date Screw-down case back
- Stainless steel with double safety folding clasp
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The vintage watch is a reminder that Longines’ dive-watch history was not limited to three-hand instruments. The release does not establish the original reference number, so the reissue’s name should not be treated as a confirmed vintage reference.
Ultra-Chron Diver (1968): high-frequency timekeeping
Longines says it launched the Ultra-Chron Diver in 1968 and calls it the first diving watch equipped with a high-frequency movement. The brand’s Ultra-Chron heritage page connects the diver to its earlier development of a high-frequency wristwatch movement in 1959. The historical point is the movement technology: the available Longines account does not identify the Diver’s reference number or caliber, so neither should be inferred here.
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- Automatic L888 movement, hours, minutes, seconds and date Screw-down case back
- Stainless steel with double safety folding clasp
- 5 Year International Warranty
Diver chronograph ref. 8224 (1968): a cautious identification
A Longines Media Center gallery image is captioned with the filename “ChronographeLonginesDiverrnf.82241968.jpg,” linking a diver chronograph to ref. 8224 and 1968. Because this identification comes from an official image caption rather than a detailed historical account, it is best treated as a tentative reference-and-year pairing. No technical specifications are established by that caption.
A more specialized early-1970s diver
Royal Australian Navy Super-Compressor (1971/72)
The Swatch Group archive dates this Super-Compressor to 1971/72 and says it was designed for Royal Australian Navy divers. It records 30 bar (300 m) water resistance, an automatic calibre 633.1 and an internal rotating bezel. Compared with the ref. 7594’s documented progression from 12 to 20 bar, this model shows the greater depth rating achieved in a later, military-oriented design.
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- Automatic L844 movement, hours, minutes, seconds and date. 24 hours hand with time zone mechanism
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Longines’ 2024 press kit describes a day-and-month display for the Royal Australian Navy watch, while the shorter archive entry calls it a date display. Since the calendar description is not consistent across those accounts, it is omitted here rather than assigned to a particular reference without confirmation.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What these six watches reveal
Together, the watches show several distinct directions rather than a single standardized Longines diver. The Nautilus Skin Diver supplies the accessible starting point; the ref. 7594 and Royal Australian Navy watch represent the internal-bezel Super-Compressor tradition; the Ultra-Chron Diver foregrounds high-frequency movement technology; and the Heritage Diver 1967 and tentative ref. 8224 identification point to the chronograph branch.
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Longines’ 2015 Heritage Diver announcement also describes three-hand and chronograph reissues based on diver watches produced in the 1970s, but does not name the original references in the release. Those reissues provide a broader family-level link to the decade, not a basis for assigning exact vintage specifications. The modern Legend Diver likewise belongs to the present-day collection inspired by historical Longines designs; it is not itself a 1960s or ’70s watch.
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