One Week With My New Longines Hydroconquest 39 Tudor Better Take Notice

Good people, YouTube, I'm the Watch Idiot, and I've now owned the new 39 millimeter Longines Hydra Conquest for a week, and what a watch this has been. And there's just so much to talk about. But in short, there's just no more excuses. There's no, it's just great for the price, or it's great, but it's missing X, Y, or Z. Longines pretty much wiped out every single concern. I haven't seen this level of value in ages. I mean, Tudor and Seiko used to be super value-driven, but Longines has officially taken that spot. And if the Spirit Pilot and the Hydra Conquest are signs of what's to come, then, I mean, bring it on. So in this video, I'm gonna get into all the details about how this watch has been in real life for the past week by getting into all the dimensions, what it's like on the wrist, dial case, bezel, bracelet, all that good stuff. And I'll be bringing in some other watches in for reference as well. But there are a couple little issues that have come up that I still can't quite tell if it's just like a me being weird problem, or if this is gonna be a bigger, more general issue that other people are gonna see as well. So yeah, I'm gonna need all of you to chime in on that. Oh, and I forgot to mention that this thing obviously is an absolute strap monster. So I'm gonna be showing it on a bunch of different straps throughout the video, so keep an eye out for that. First up, as always, are the dimensions, just so we know what we're dealing with here. We've got ourselves a 40-millimeter case with a 39.9-millimeter bezel, a 48.2-millimeter lug-to-lug, a thickness of 11.7 millimeters, and a lug width of 20 millimeters. Yes, not 19 or 21, it is 20 millimeters. Logines, just remember that lug widths can actually be even, which is, I'm grateful for. And yes, I know that I said that the Hydroconcus 39 actually has a 40-millimeter case, and that's because that's what I measured it as. It actually makes sense because the case is just barely asymmetrical. The bezel overhangs on the left and is barely inboard on the crown side, but it's 39 millimeters effectively, I suppose. And these dimensions on paper line up with the real-life experience, so no visual tricks. And as a result, it looks perfectly sized, and it feels thin as well. I mean, the Hydroconcus GMT was a bit thick and chunky. And because of these dimensions, we've pretty much got a perfect balance on the wrist as well, because the entire watch now is 157 grams, which is fairly average for a watch of this size, which is good, whereas the Hydroconcus GMT was 174 grams, which is definitely on the heavier side. And the movement is a solid one. It's the L888. It's got an anti-magnetic silicon hairspring and 72 hours of power reserve, which I will always appreciate. But the accuracy here has been incredible. Over the past week, it's on average has gained less than two seconds a day. Yeah, that's Rolex standards. And that's one thing that I can say confidently. The Longines watches that aren't technically cost-certified are still regulated to be very, very accurate. The Hydroconcus GMT that I had, which was not cost-certified, was also about plus a second a day, and the same thing with the Levijan Diver that I reviewed, and even all three of my cost-certified Spirit Line watches that I've had have been way more accurate than cost-certified watches. So yeah, I'm all for it. So then that begs the question, are Black Bays worth, well, now after the latest price hike of a couple days ago, $2,650 more for the MEDOS movement and other refinements? And then is the new Seiko HBF-001 worth it for $1,400? $2 more for a movement that's rated plus 10 seconds to minus five seconds a day. I mean, yeah, I mean, it's kind of hard to justify spending that much extra, despite my soft spot for both of those brands. So the awesome movement and everything else that we've been talking about really make this $2,200 price tag feel like a genuinely good deal, and that feeling doesn't really come around very often nowadays. The first time I saw this watch, I had to reread all the specs because I was going through it thinking like, okay, this is probably gonna be priced right around $3,000, but I just could not believe what I read, and design-wise, it's also spot on, as we'll get into. And now onto the dial. It's an overall very clean look. It's fully monochrome, so only black and white and silver, but what got me super excited is that it's got a polished black lacquer dial, and I absolutely love polished black dials because they just look pure jet black. Matte black dials end up being kind of dark gray, especially when it's next to a black ceramic bezel. I mean, just look at all this contrast here, and having a flat crystal means that you can experience all that jet blackness without having to constantly deal with reflections like on my BlackBerry 54 and Speedmaster. I was initially worried that everything would be perfect, but then it would just have a domed crystal since everyone is obsessed with them, but nope, a big box checked off right here, and on top of the fact that it's got AR coatings on the inside and outside, which I know people don't like, but my God, it really makes the dial pop and the crystal disappear. Yeah, Omega and Longines has absolutely perfected their AR coatings, and the proportions of everything on the dial is great. I love the size of all the indices, and the same thing goes for the minute track and handset. Also, the proportions of the bezel are great too. The numerals are just the right size, and the overall size of the bezel versus the dial is just perfect as well, and I mentioned the indices, and that is, of course, where the controversy is. Some folks just don't like the two circles at the six and nine, which is fair enough. I understand why, but for me, it's never really bothered me from my Hydra Conquest GMT days and very much less so now, and I actually like it, and having rectangles all around really makes it feel much less Submariner-y, and while we're on the dial, the lume is great, but it's not full blue like on the Hydra Conquest GMT, which is a bit of a shame, but of course, not the end of the world since it is smooth and bright, but the lume pip and the minute hand are blue, so that's, I guess, just to differentiate what's needed for timing, and I'm personally not a huge fan of brands doing this, but again, not the end of the world. I can't tell you just how much I've been enjoying seeing this clean, truly monochrome design, jet black dial, stark white indices, same combo for the bezel, and all in the right size, and this actually feels different within my collection, so it's almost like a breath of fresh air, and that's despite this being simple and not my quote-unquote most unique design, but in a collection where everything is different, something that's generally kind of not different can be unique in its own way. Okay, so we have to talk about the bezel first because my God, I mean, what an improvement over the Hydra Conquest GMT. The bezel action on that was just good. I mean, I didn't mind it, but it could've been better, and I actually didn't maybe particularly enjoy turning it, so you know what? Let's just listen to them. First up is the Hydra Conquest GMT, and now is the new Hydra Conquest. Oh yeah, I'm sure you can hear the difference, but the feeling also, just night and day. This is just so much more refined, and I'm really surprised that they specifically changed and improved the bezel action on this one because now it's genuinely one of the best 120-click bezels out there, and there's a bit of back play that I'm not too worried about. If any of you own this watch in any of these versions, let me know what your back play situation is, and just in terms of bezel action, I like this one much more than my Seamaster bezel action, and it's all subjective, of course, but this is right near the Tudor bezel action, which is huge praise. Tudor still is better, but it obviously costs more than double the price, so you get some refinement somewhere. The bezel itself has a black ceramic insert. It's all nice and crispy contrast, and the bezel grip is, I guess, a chunky coin edge grip, which works well. I'm just glad that they didn't make the bezel design close to the Submariner because that just would've been a bit much. And now onto the case. It's fairly simple. It's fully brushed with no contrasting bevels. It would've been nice to see some of that here, but no complaints, and I've talked about Omega's and LeGene's spicy brushed finish, and this one is spicy, but I don't know. It just doesn't seem quite as spicy, I guess, but no worries, once again, since it's well done and still very slim. However, there are a couple of subtle things that are not so perfect. The first thing is that the underside of the middle of the case, not by the lugs, it's just a bit too sharp. I haven't felt it on my wrist, so it's not too much of a problem, but it's something to note if you are sensitive to this. And something that's been bothering me quite a bit is that all the embossed, in-relief decoration on the case back is just prominent enough to feel not smooth. It's still smoother than the edges of my Bybit 54, but as a result, we've got ourselves another wrist shaver, and it's surprisingly potent. My Spirit Pilot shaved some hair off, but not nearly as much and not nearly as quick. Is this gonna be a problem long-term for me? I don't know. I guess it just depends on whether or not this can still feel comfortable regardless of that, but maybe I'll be able to look past the patch on my wrist since the watch basically will always be there. So I'll see how that goes in the long-term review. Considering that I'm generally more sensitive to case backs in general, maybe things will be different for you, but I do have a feeling that some others might notice a random bald patch showing up on your wrist. So yeah, if you own this watch, let me know what your wrist hair situation is. So now on to the awesome bracelet. Longines can make great bracelets, for sure. I'm so happy that it's an H-link bracelet instead of it being just like an oyster-style bracelet because then, of course, this watch would be definitely much more Submariner-y. And I also love that it's got the modern, angular H-link design versus the more traditional rounded design that you see on Zen watches and other watches. It definitely suits the modern aesthetic of the Hydra Conquest. And the clasp is fantastic. It's got the on-the-fly adjustment. The entire thing is solidly built. There's no wiggling, and also there are no sharp edges, which is very critical for something that's really touching your wrist. And a small but important detail is how the clasp closes because sometimes there's flex or tolerances that just aren't that great, or it kind of just rattles a bit and just feels cheap. But here, absolutely none of that. This is just high quality. Just listen to this close, and all the buttons feel solid and smooth, and they don't have any squeaks. I mean, this is easily one of the best feeling clasps that I've owned. This is where a lot of otherwise great watches can fall through a bit since it's a touch point, and it'll be noticed consciously or subconsciously. I mean, old Seiko clasps just have always suffered here, even new ones. And the one thing that I want to improve and that I've said in every single video with this clasp is that I wish that the on-the-fly adjustment had just a little bit more range like on the T-Fit clasp, just enough wiggle room. Because basically, if someone has to use about one or two spots just for their perfect baseline adjustment, it would be nice to have another two to three more spots to use when your wrist expands. Right now, I'm technically okay at one, but it's better at two, but I've then only got one more spot for when my wrist expands in the summer, and it can expand a lot. And zooming back out to the bracelet, it's got a four millimeter taper, which for me is a sweet spot. It's 16 millimeters at the clasp, which means that we've got a 20 millimeter lug width. I just had to do a double take and double check that I actually read that correctly, because I mean, Logitech just always loves their odd 19 or 21 millimeter lug widths. The Hydroconquest GMT and the 42 millimeter version has 21 millimeter lugs, which is definitely irritating, and someone will definitely comment saying that there's like a bunch of 21 millimeter straps, which is true, but some, if not most of my favorite strap options don't have 21 millimeter options, and I don't want to rebuy a bunch of straps just for one watch, and especially if it's not gonna potentially work for me, it'll just be a waste of money. I already have a bunch of straps and bracelets for 20 millimeters, so there's no risk in me just trying out one of those straps or bracelets on this watch just because I've already got it. So even if I use it once, it doesn't really matter. And another advantage of going from 21 to 20 millimeters in the lug width is the balance of the watch has massively improved over the Hydroconquest GMT, which had just more metal up top. I mean, it's bigger and thicker, and it's got an extra millimeter bracelet throughout all on the same 16 millimeter clasp just to even it out, so it did feel quite top-heavy. Here, it's just perfectly balanced. I absolutely love it. So there you have it. Let me know down in the comments what you all think, and until the next video, good day.