By design, Longines has been crippled by the Swatch Group, for far too long, though things appear to finally be changing.
In the wake of the latest annual Morgan Stanley “Swiss Watcher” Report, which showed the Swatch Group’s main cash cow, Omega, dropping significantly in sales revenue from 2025 to 2026 — to the point that the publicly traded group’s CEO, Nick Hayek Jr., has considered filing a lawsuit, in addition to Swatch issuing an open letter to Morgan Stanley — the group is clearly taking decisive action at its second biggest brand by revenue.
Allowing its number two (Longines) to make a product that consumers actually want, without directly taking away from its number one brand (Omega), has previously proven to be difficult at the large publicly traded watch conglomerate.
With the new HydroConquest, offered in 39 mm and 42 mm variants (both 11.7 mm thick), in a variety of colors, with ceramic dive bezel inserts and 300-meter depth ratings, starting at just $2,200 in stainless steel on a matching Oyster-style bracelet (or $2,400 on a Milanese mesh bracelet), Longines has boldy moved in the opposite direction of brands such as its sibling Omega, as well as IWC, Breitling, TAG Heuer, whose prices keep climbing.
A few details of the watches such as the round indices at 6 and 9 o’clock, have been widely criticized, and we agree with this criticism, as well as adding that the handset and crown design could still be improved, but overall the HydroConquest does enough to appeal, even to those that have been skeptical about Longines in the past.
Furthermore, the HydroConquest’s lack of in-house caliber (it’s an ETA derived movement), or chronometer certification (it’s not been chronometer certified), will certainly turn off some buyers, but considering it offers a generous 72-hour power reserve, 300 metes of water resistance, and has the archetypal good looks of dive watches such as the Black Bay, Aquaracer, Seamaster or Submariner, backed by a respected brand, for a fraction of the price — this is a Swiss dive watch worth considering.
Final Thoughts
Letting Longines, a Swiss brand associated with horse racing, fittingly, “take the reins,” could allow Swatch to maximize group revenue, by targeting a demographic that in many ways has been left to microbrands to contend for, as most desirable Swiss watch brands have drastically increased prices, and Swiss watch export quantities have continued on a downward trend.
By undercutting brand name rivals such as Tudor, which notably carries chronometer certification for its dive watches, and firing a shot across the bow of virtually all microbrands that sell dive watches above a thousand dollars, Longines signifies to watch buyers (and retailers) that it’s now willing to compete, on another level. No more crippled products, to protect Omega (they’ve moved up to an entirely different price bracket, with no overlap). Longines is now allowed to make watches consumers truly desire, not just products that are designed not to take anything away from Omega.
As summer approaches, Longines has not simply launched an appealing newly redesigned dive watch line (and said “buy this because we’re Longines,” as they have in the past), they’ve done so with careful consideration of what the consumer wants, what they will pay, and precisely at a time where inflation is high and consumer confidence levels are at historic lows. Yes, Swatch is finally letting Longines ball out.
