The Breitling Watch Source Forums

So today I walk into a mall feeling a bit awkward... The reason is simple. My wrist was empty... The place where for the better part of the last year and a half names like Breitling, Rolex or Panerai used to be stenciled across magnificently crafted dials was void... Deserted.

In other words, as I'm preparing for a journey abroad, I had tucked away the metal and was now looking for replacement. I was thinking cheap and cheerful, along the lines of a swatch or an Ice Watch or the like. In the rare instance of wearing a purple polo, I even played with the idea for a while to buy a matching piece.

After being greeted by a somewhat chatty but otherwise quite friendly saleswoman, we went through the options... All the plastic was dismissed and so were the Casios (did you know they make watches for 19.95 CHF?)... The initial budget was extended twice until we dropped quartz altogether. And this brought me to what's now happily orning my wrist.

The Hamilton Khaki Auto. I must say, it is a remarkable watch this. Domed sapphire cristal, display back, Eta 2824 with perfectly acceptable finish and then some...

The craziest thing about it is the dial though. It is amazingly well made. The fine details are perfect in a rolex kind of way, the appliqué digits have that slight metally reluisance around the white inner bits and the classic hands pop well against the matt black dial. I've looked hard all afternoon but I have to admit, however hard I try I cannot fault it.

Best of all, it fits like a dream on the brown JLC croc (which is almost more expensive than the watch itself) I still had in my office drawer (got a bit of a collection of random stuff ther... After all, you never know).

All in all then, I can hardly believe that one can get for far under a thousand quid, what one would easily pay 10x the price for if the dial said IWC. You'd have to think of this thing as the best bang for buck piece ever... Plain amazing.

I love thins thing so much already that I'm thinking of putting it somewhere safe and buying something cheap and cheerful for my trip... Hang on... That sounds familiar...

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Cheers from Switzerland,

Fred

Congrats. With a brown, black and/or rubber strap you can suit any attire or occasion with that. Hamilton has been quietly moving upscale for a little while now.

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Scott

AP Royal Oak 15400, silver
Zenith Chronomaster El Primero Classic Cars
Vintage gold Corum
Rolex DJ 36 TT, oyster dial, oyster/smooth
Baume & Mercier Riviera 200m, silver dial/aquamarine bezel
Breitling Superocean 57, rose/stainless

Congrats on the pickup. On more than one occasion, I've considered the models in the Field line. Your review just renewed my interest. They seem like great "working" watches - no fuss, no muss, just function in an understated but attractive package. I didn't realize the 44mm model (I'm guessing that's the one you've got) has applied numerals with metal surrounds. Do any of the other Field models have them?

I'm sorry, I wouldn't know. I didn't go too deep into the range and just went for what appealed to me. There was a smaller one though without the surrounds.

This watch is a bit like the Dacia Sendero some of you Europeans will know (essentially the cheapest car on the market, made in Romania). It is reduced to the essence of what it is supposed to be and therefore rather appealing. Aside from that though and quite crucially it has what I struggle to find in many of its much more expensive counterparts: visual harmony. The date dial, albight white, goes well with the equally white font on the dial (you listening Breitling?), there are only two fonts on the dial. There is just nothing to clash among the design cues, and that's in my view both rare and precious in a piece (among the Hamiltons I saw today just as much as in comparison to any other manufacturer's range).

The second thing I can hardly get my head around is that it feels valuable. The other day, I came across a very good moon watch fake a friend of mine was bragging with. Though upon first look it did the trick, holding it for one second gave it all away, no further scrutiny needed. With the Hamilton, that's different. Yes, granted, the shapes are quite primary and the bezel does not exactly compare to the similar shaped one on the Panerai. But all in all, it has that healthy weight, it has that tightness, it has that crown response... It's all there to tell, this thing's well made.

What's more, it has, unlike comparable offerings which tend to be quite generic, a nice whip of character to it. It draws its styling from its very own history and one can tell. It looks reasonably different from anything else to claim originality and it is probably one of the most affordable mechanical watches you'd be able to say that about.

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Cheers from Switzerland,

Fred

I really like everything about that except perhaps the hands, which I'd prefer to be a bit more conventional, as it were; but I still like it a lot. I've always liked watches with the 12/24 hour numerals (like the Colt Quartz). It's good to see Hamilton getting this sort of write-up.

Can't go wrong with that one. IMHO Hamilton (along with Victorinox) is just about the best value brand out there.

i think that i would have saved the dough and bought a gshock

That's a matter of taste, but no chance of me doing that... I need hands to tell the time. And what's more, a GShock is not that much less expensive...

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Cheers from Switzerland,

Fred

I haven't yet had one on my wrist but I'm impressed with the look of some of the Hamiltons. They certainly seem like very good value. Congrats on the pickup.

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David
Je suis désole pour mon mauvais français.

Zenith Pilot Big Date; IWC Vintage Collection Aquatimer; IWC Portuguese 7-day

Congrats, nice pick up.

Pretty neat, it reminds me of the first models of Swatch when they were made available back in 1983. Only better. May I ask what was the final price you got on it ?

My local AD had this orange VOTEC 221 mock up on its roof that sure caught the eye. It is an one to one replica of the acrobatic bird flown by Nicolas Ivanoff.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

I didn't know there were palm trees in Switzerland.

Actually, you can find various tropical plants in the Montreux area because of its micro-climate. Palm trees is one but you can also find banana trees for example.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

We have micro-climates in Portland, too. They're called greenhouses.

That's a good one Jackson.

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- This is Ghost Rider requesting a fly-by. - Negative Ghost Rider. The pattern is full.

We had some in the garden when I lived on lake Geneva... Now in Zurich it's a different story, although it is quite warm these days.

As to your question Tomcat, it ran me about 750.- I bought it in Zurich in a mall, no negotiating.

Not sure I fully understand what a 1983 swatch looked like... I was yet to be born back then...

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Cheers from Switzerland,

Fred