Which Longines Master Collection to buy: three-hand, moonphase or chronograph (2026)

The best Longines Master Collection for most people is the 40mm with an olive green dial and Roman numerals: Longines' L888 automatic movement with a 72-hour power reserve, in steel on a matching bracelet. For the collection's signature textured dial, the 39mm light blue "barleycorn"; for something more complicated, the moonphase chronograph or the hand-wound Monopusher.

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 Master Collection watch Goldsmiths sells and compared the sizes, movements and dials from Goldsmiths' own product pages. Where a listing contradicted itself (a different size or water resistance in different places), 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.

The Master Collection, in short

Longines launched the Master Collection in 2005, and Goldsmiths describes it as "inspired by the brand's vintage timepieces". It's a classic dress watch: polished steel, traditional dials, often the textured pattern Longines calls barleycorn, and blued or polished hands. The models in this guide are automatic apart from the hand-wound Monopusher, and water resistant to 30 metres.

Three-hand, moonphase or chronograph?

This is the main choice, and it's mostly about how much you want the watch to do.

• Three-hand with date (from about £2,100): the purest Master Collection. Slim, easy to wear every day, and the cheapest way in.
• Moonphase chronograph (about £3,350): the full traditional dial, with a stopwatch, day, month, date and the phase of the moon. More to look at, and more to set.
• Chronograph (about £3,350): the Monopusher is a stopwatch worked by a single button, wound by hand rather than self-winding: a watch for someone who enjoys the mechanics.

The best Master Collection overall: 40mm olive green

An olive green sunray dial with applied Roman numerals, in a 40mm stainless steel case on a matching bracelet, powered by Longines' L888 automatic movement with a 72-hour power reserve, according to Goldsmiths. Seventy-two hours means it keeps running from Friday evening to Monday morning off the wrist. The green dial is less expected than blue or silver, without being loud.

Best overallLongines Master Collection L27934096 · 40mm · Automatic · 30 m water resistant £2,100Price at Goldsmiths, 31 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The best barleycorn dial: 39mm light blue

The textured "barleycorn" dial is the Master Collection's signature, and this 39mm version has it in light blue. Goldsmiths lists a self-winding movement with a silicon balance spring (which resists magnetism) and a power reserve of up to 72 hours, a date, a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating on both sides, and a steel bracelet with a fine-adjustment clasp. At 39mm it's a touch smaller than the 40mm, for a slimmer wrist or a more classic look.

Best barleycorn dialLongines Master Collection L29494996 · 39mm · Automatic · 30 m water resistant £2,250Price at Goldsmiths, 31 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The two three-hand models side by side:

The best moonphase: 40mm chronograph with moonphase

The most complicated Master Collection in this guide: a stopwatch, the day and month in windows, the date on a central hand with a half-moon tip, and the moonphase at 6 o'clock, on a silver barleycorn dial with blued steel hands. It's a 40mm steel case on a brown alligator strap with the collection's contrasting stitching, powered by Longines' L687 automatic movement with 66 hours of power reserve, according to Goldsmiths.

Best moonphaseLongines Master Collection L26734783 · 40mm · Automatic · 30 m water resistant £3,350Price at Goldsmiths, 31 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The best chronograph: Chrono Monopusher

A chronograph worked by a single button: one press starts it, the next stops it, the next sets it back to zero. Goldsmiths lists a 41mm steel case, a frosted blue barleycorn dial and a hand-wound mechanical movement with a power reserve of about 68 hours, on an alligator strap. Winding it by hand every couple of days is part of the appeal: it's the most traditional watch in the collection.

Best chronographLongines Master Collection Chrono Monopusher L29604932 · 41mm · Manual Winding · 30 m water resistant £3,350Price at Goldsmiths, 31 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

The best Master Collection for her: 34mm blue with diamonds

A blue sunray dial with 12 diamond hour markers, in a 34mm stainless steel case on a matching bracelet, powered by the same L888 automatic movement as the men's 40mm, with a 72-hour power reserve, according to Goldsmiths. 34mm is large enough to read easily and small enough to sit neatly on a slim wrist.

Best for herLongines Master Collection L23574976 · 34mm · Automatic · 30 m water resistant £2,350Price at Goldsmiths, 31 October 2026 Full specsSee it at Goldsmiths

For a smaller watch, Goldsmiths also sells the Master Collection in 30mm and 25.5mm, including a 25.5mm with a silver barleycorn dial at £1,800, the least expensive Master Collection when we checked.

Is the Master Collection worth it?

If you want a classic automatic dress watch from a major Swiss brand, yes: for about £2,100 you get a Longines movement with a 72-hour power reserve, in a traditional design that the collection has kept since 2005. If you want a watch to swim in, it isn't the one: look at the HydroConquest instead. And if you'd rather a slimmer quartz dress watch for a woman, see which La Grande Classique to buy.