Which Longines La Grande Classique to buy: 24mm or 29mm, steel or gold-tone (2026)

The best Longines La Grande Classique for most people is the 24mm in steel with a mother-of-pearl dial and diamond hour markers: the size the watch is known for, with a little sparkle. For the best value, the 24mm in steel and gold PVD with Roman numerals; if you want something easier to read, the same design in 29mm costs the same.

Every watch here is sold new by Goldsmiths, a UK authorised retailer, at Goldsmiths' own price on the date shown.

How we chose

We went through every La Grande Classique Goldsmiths sells and compared the sizes, movements and finishes from Goldsmiths' own product pages. Where a listing's details contradicted each other, we left that watch out rather than guess. We earn a commission if you buy through our links, which never changes the price you pay.

La Grande Classique, in short

Longines first launched La Grande Classique in 1992, and Goldsmiths describes the latest generation as having "slim profiles" and "a wide palette of designs". Every model Goldsmiths sells is quartz, and the ones in this guide are water resistant to 30 metres. Most come on a matching bracelet; the 29mm diamond-bezel versions come on a leather strap.

24mm or 29mm?

This is the main choice, and it's mostly about your wrist and how you like a watch to look.

• 24mm is the size La Grande Classique is best known for: small, flat and delicate, like jewellery on the wrist. It suits a slim wrist and a dressy look.
• 29mm has more presence and is easier to read at a glance, while still small by today's standards. It suits a larger wrist, or anyone who finds 24mm too small to read.

Goldsmiths sells the same steel and gold PVD design, with Roman numerals on a white dial, in both sizes, so you can compare them directly:

The best La Grande Classique overall: 24mm diamond dot

A white mother-of-pearl dial with diamond hour markers, in a 24mm stainless steel case on a matching bracelet, with blackened hands and an engraved case back, driven by Longines' L209 quartz movement, according to Goldsmiths. The mother-of-pearl shimmers as it catches the light, and the diamonds are small enough to stay elegant rather than flashy.

Best overallLongines La Grande Classique L42094876 · 24mm · Quartz · 30 m water resistant £1,450Price at Goldsmiths, 29 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The best value: steel and gold PVD, Roman numerals

The 24mm in steel and yellow gold PVD, with black Roman numerals on a white dial and a triple safety clasp on its two-tone bracelet, according to Goldsmiths. It's the most traditional-looking La Grande Classique, and among the least expensive.

Best valueLongines La Grande Classique L42092117 · 24mm · Quartz · 30 m water resistant £1,300Price at Goldsmiths, 29 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The best 29mm: the same design, larger

The same steel and yellow gold PVD design in 29mm, with the L420 quartz movement, at the same price as the 24mm when we checked. Choose it if 24mm feels too small.

Best 29mmLongines La Grande Classique L45122117 · 29mm · Quartz · 30 m water resistant £1,300Price at Goldsmiths, 29 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

Steel, or gold-tone?

Steel is the most versatile: it goes with silver and white gold jewellery and with everything you wear. Gold-tone models have a stainless steel case and bracelet with a yellow or red gold PVD coating, a thin layer of gold-coloured finish; they aren't solid gold, which is part of why they cost so much less.

The best gold-tone: 24mm gold dial. A gold dial with 12 diamond hour markers, in a 24mm steel and yellow gold PVD case on a matching bracelet, according to Goldsmiths.

Best gold-toneLongines La Grande Classique De Longines L42092378 · 24mm · Quartz · 30 m water resistant £1,600Price at Goldsmiths, 29 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The same gold look in 29mm, and a warmer red gold PVD version in 24mm:

For steel with diamonds but no mother-of-pearl, the 24mm with a grey dial has 12 Top Wesselton diamond hour markers, according to Goldsmiths.

The luxury choice: a diamond-paved bezel

The 29mm with a diamond-paved bezel, a black lacquered dial and silvered polished hands, on a black leather strap, according to Goldsmiths. It costs more than twice the plain models, and the diamonds around the dial are what you pay for.

The luxury choiceLongines La Grande Classique L45230502 · 29mm · Quartz · 30 m water resistant £3,450Price at Goldsmiths, 29 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The same 29mm diamond-set design with a red or green lacquered dial and a matching leather strap (there's an orange one too), and a 24mm with a diamond-paved bezel around a mother-of-pearl dial:

La Grande Classique or something else?

La Grande Classique is a dress watch: thin, quartz and not for swimming. If you want a Longines to wear every day, including in water, the HydroConquest is water resistant to much more; see our which HydroConquest to buy. For more ideas, see our best Longines watches and watch gifts for her.