Hugely positive. It was my first "real" watch after rocking a quartz Ripcurl for years (which was also an awesome watch). I got a hydroconquest for my 21st birthday, and it didn't leave my wrist for five years. Looked great, kept great time, I abused the shit out of it and it never gave me issues, etc. Only retired it due to sentimental value. Longines is also consistently considered one of the best values in Swiss watches, as they have excellent movements, tons of options, great finish quality, and a rich and innovative history. I would recommend them to anyone, new enthusiast or old collector alike.
bayouburner
joined 1 year ago
I hate the term too, hence putting it in quotes, but I feel like a lot of people who get into watches start with them as a functional thing and then go down the rabbit hole of movements and prestige and all that, so there's a substantive difference between buying a watch because you want something useful on your wrist that tells time and buying a watch because of all the other stuff that watch nerds like to geek out about. And Longines is a brand that serves as that gateway for a lot of people. Believe me, I'm not shitting on any watches or any style of watch collecting (I'm wearing a G-Shock right now, and I love microbrand quartzes in my rotation), I'm just saying that a lot of people see a difference between a watch as a tool and a watch as a hobby, and for me, my Longines was the watch that got me into the hobby.