I just happened to see this video today. In June of 2018, I reached the milestone of 45 years of employment with CNH Agriculture. The Khaki King was my choice of 45 year service awards. Mine is the black dial bracelet version. I love the watch, and wear it almost daily now that I am retired. By the way, the birthplace of Hamilton watches, Lancaster, Pa., is only 20 minutes from my home. Great video!
I brought one for 30 years of service with British Telecom with 365 pounds of the 500 which I was given. I chose the leather strap which looks classy. I would never have brought that watch if I had to use my own money. Maybe I'm cheap, but I never regretted buying it. Needless to say, it's my best watch. Btw, 72 hours between windings!!!
I own several Hammys and the king is my favorite. The band that comes with it really breaks in nicely. During work I wear the 38mm Khaki field mechanical with the green canvas/leather band. The King is just as comfortable on the wrist.
You are the first to mention the hacking second hand. I just purchased this for my son for Christmas after considering the Luminox Atacama 1940 series (quartz). My son said he preferred a smaller case size due to his smaller wrist. Also, positive reviews like yours are what won me over also. There are little things, like the day of the week, and how quickly it snaps over to change at midnight, the strap and how it tapers to form one uniform thickness during overlap, and the length of the hands and how they extend all the way into the chapter area. There is a feel of utility and quality to this watch as well.
Informative video, thank you! But I must say, don't turn your nose up at the Khaki King's bracelet. At this price range, it's probably the only bracelet you'll find with both solid end links and a milled clasp. It's quite a good bracelet, and doesn't pull out my arm hair!
Just picked one up at the AD Special one day sale 35% off $400 ZERO Complaints at that price!!!!!!!!!!! ZERO! HOLY Smokes is this thing Accurate! 48 Hours +2 Seconds! More accurate than some of my more Expensive Pieces!
I had this watch before I moved on to Breitling. Have had Omegas etc in my time, but this Hamilton is still the best watch I have ever owned! Might get another one some day just for nostalgia!
Absolutely. I know people tend to get offended when Hamiltons get referred to as "beaters" in higher end collections but I see it as a compliment. Weather its your cheapest watch or your nicest, its just an awesome watch.
The strap that comes with the watch is amazing. Yes, it’s very stiff when new however it’s made to last and takes a couple weeks to break in. It softens up and gets more flexible as you wear it
I find that many high quality leather straps have the flexibility and texture of cast iron when new. The solution is so easy, no blacksmith's forge is required. 😂Instead of suffering for a couple of weeks while the strap breaks in, work in some high quality, neutral colour leather conditioner. It's works wonders and does it quickly. Leather straps need routine maintenance to keep them in tip top condition. This is especially true after getting them wet. I always have some leather conditioner as part of my watch cleaning kit.
@@AndyinMokumTotally agree, and have been doing this for years. Congratulations, as I’ve hardly ever heard anyone else mention this simple solution to a stiff strap. I guess most folks don’t understand leather. 🥂
I'm waiting for delivery of the black dial version. It's a watch I've admired/desired for some time. I came across an excellent price and couldn't resist treating myself with one for an upcoming millstone (sic) birthday. I'm fairly new to watch collecting and this will be my second Swiss automatic. Given it's looks, specs and consistently good reviews I expect to like it very much. Thank you for your informative review, Sir. Best to you, Glenn.
I bought this watch recently except with the beige face. I wear it with a beige canvas strap. I've got a small, budding collection, and the Hamilton is easily my favorite of the bunch. It's quickly becoming a part of my wrist. I may never wear the other ones. lol
Regulation to be is an issue for those who maintain their watches, if this needs service it's probably best to change out the movement after considering the service charges
I still love mine after over 5 years, but you're correct, the LUME was never very good, and now I can barely see the glow.. And hey, if the watch was good enough for 'House', then it's good enough for me! ;)
@@kavashaman7555 Never had the back removed. However the watch is still as accurate as it ever was, so I never felt the need to pay to have it 'serviced'...
I bought this model from an official Hamilton brick and mortar shop in Ch**a back in 2014. It seemed to have a fault with the position of the pin hole in one of the lugs, as though it was drilled out of place. The bracelet would fall out. Had to put enormous pressure on the pin to get it in, and is kinda bent when finally in. Returned it under warranty. Cut a long story short, I got downright abusive customer service from the store, to say the least. Complained directly to customer service in Switzerland, they must have chewed someone out because Shang**i customer service got in touch and were very polite. Sent it to them under warranty. However, I left the country and didn't see the watch again for a long time until I got my stuff shipped home. They had replaced the bracelet and solid end links, but that hadn't fixed the problem. The hole is in the wrong place, I guess they didn't want to give me a new watch. So now I am stuck with a faulty watch. I can only really use it on leather or NATO straps, or risk the pin eventually failing under constant pressure. The domed sapphire is very reflective and hard to read under many lighting conditions. The crown is a bit small and made of a very slippery material. Lume is not bright enough. Those are the bad points. The movement is good, very accurate. Mine gains at the most about 2-3 seconds per day out of the box. It looks great on a black leather strap with white stitching to match the dial. But for the money I had to spend to get one in that country, with import duties, I wouldn't do it again. I'd be interested to know if anyone else has come across that lug pin hole problem, or if I just got unlucky.
Ordered one today, I work in a very hot terrain in outback Australia, heat and dust killed my Garmin smart watch, it says field watch so going to give it a try , costed me around AUD$ 800 online ,let's see how long it lasts
Yep! And I believe it was also Hugh Laurie's PERSONAL watch that he would wear all the time In Real Life as well. He only switched to a digital watch (Casio Pathfinder?) on the show, because in the show narrative the Casio was a gift from one of his 'employees' (actor Kal Penn) who committed suicide on the show. However, In Real Life, Kal asked to be written out so he could take a new job as a SCRIPT WRITER for BARACK OBAMA during his Presidency!
50 meters of water resistance should be absolutely fine for nearly all water sports apart from deep sea diving ! . No ? . Great watch , love the alternative strap.
Awesome watch!!! Mine only loses a second a day. That would put it in chronometer territory I think. I guess Hamilton doesn't bother with that certification because of the expense involved?
Great watch but a little too low key. I would hope the dial is a bit larger. I would recommend trying it on in a store before buying it online. Thanks for the review.
Thanks bud. You can always go with the 42 that doesnt have lug guards but that eliminates the date feature which doesnt help make the dial anymore interesting. You try their pilots? Im a big fan of the khaki pilot 42 auto. They also do a 42mm field in green that has a lot more flavor.
Nice watch, I’ve the Khaki Field 38mm auto and I would like to put on a new leather strap. In this video wichone strap is on the watch? Colareb Venezia? Thanks
Nice review, I have a used one coming soon. My only two gripes about the watch are the polished bezel, would have liked for it to be brushed so it doesn't show as much wear and the crown, would prefer screw down just for that added protection... Other than that I think it's a winner.
Agreed on the crown. My buddy has the 38mm khaki (no crown guards) and it has 100m water resistance which seems more appropriate for field watch, even with his being push/pull too. If this was 150m water resistant with a screw down crown i'd pay another $100 for it no question. The quartz version is all brushed and while it looks more like a military watch it just feels like its missing something.
Thanks for review! Hamilton are very nice watches and I am intetested in this model. I just think you gave wrong information about the lug to lug: I read that it's 49,7mm and not 46,5mm.
That might be tip to tip length, but I measured the effective lug to lug which is springbar to springbar (with watches on straps). Using the point of articulation is more indicative of how the watch will wear IMO. When on bracelet, I measure watches endlink to endlink (if it sticks out a bit) for the same reason.
@@hammondwatch2808 Ok, I understand. I think both are worth to take in consider because in some cases I am unsure how to measure lug to lug distance on a watch. Different lugs can have different shape.
I always see watch channels referring to watches as way cheaper than I can see online. You said “just over $300” but I bought this watch for about £400 from the hamilton website which is about $550. ? Where do you get these from?
@@jackrose9375 Grey market dealers often provide their own warranty as the factory one is voided when they take ownership. As brands push retailers to turn stock they have to find a way to unload older inventory. Grey market dealers typically buy large amounts of inventory so that the AD's aren't losing money with every new order.
I like jomashop for pricing although their customer service isnt great. Just make sure you check the watch out before you completely unpack it. Watchmaxx isnt bad either. Authentic Watches does a better job with customer service but the deals aren't always the best. Prestige Time has great deals on some higher end stuff.
Agreed. Only offering it on the black version sucks doesn't make much business sense. Ive been eyeballing the 38mm champagne dial myself, in general i like lighter dials.
Hammond Watch I have too many black dials as is and in this particular watch I like the champagne dial more because of its different layers of sunburst. And yeah, I looked around and the bracelet is 200 bucks. Just gonna buy a strap code
@@mariog7213 Did you find a bracelet? I got the Khaki King 1 and wanted a bracelet, but I can't anything but the one from Strapcode that fits a Seiko Alpinist/Hamilton Khaki Field.
Hey I’ve owned this watch for 5 months and never wound it. It started dying recently (I wear it around 4-5 days a week) that should be enough to never have to wind it correct? Is this normal for a automatic watch to start dying after 5 months?
It depends how active you are. If your wearing it sitting at a desk, the rotor that winds the movement wont really get a chance to "charge" the watch. Especially if it dies after a few days of not wearing it. It sounds like the power reserve may have just slowly dwindled down. Don't be afraid to wind it from time to time if it/you hasn't moved around a lot.
No, that's not normal. If you are wearing a watch for 4 - 5 days a week and it has an 80 hour power reserve then you shouldn't need to manually wind it. You should get the movement checked out as it could be faulty.
Considering buying one. What's a relatively more reliable grey market vendor in the US from where I could buy this? 'Coz it is retailing at $575, which seems like a lot.
@@hammondwatch2808 Thanks so much! This is going to be my first serious watch, so I am little concerned. I have had automatics before, but just Swatch and Favre Leuba.
I think its been too successful as is for them to invest in refresh it. That said, Id love it if they updated it with AR coating and a screw down crown.
Es un reloj demasiado discreto, que no llama la atención. Por un precio ligeramente inferior, me encanta el nuevo Seiko 5 Sports con caja en color oro rosa... que atrae la mirada.
Do you mean the rotor makes a clicking sound or winding by the crown? If winding by the crown, all watches make a slight clicking sound when crown winding. It's normal.
It's useless affectation. Any military or civilian who routinely used 24 time is well aware of the time by position, the same way others are. The watch I had in 1970 didn't have the inner 24 anyway.
To be honest with you, from articles and readings I can suggest you if you can read french, Hamilton seems to be the least Swiss made watch of the Automatic / Mechanical watches from the Swatch Group. A small footprint in Switzerland, to play with the limits of the permissive law that the " Swiss Made " is, counting working hours cost of a swiss employee as a percentage of the value of the watch,to keep that label while pretty much making almost everything in Asia. In other words, a swiss guy touched the watch at some point and that's enough for the Swiss Label according to the legal department. THAT being said, and knowing what you're buying, Hamilton holds a solid proposition. Tissot has more solid presence in Switzerland and arguably owns that Swiss label a bit more, and you can get one for about the same price. In my opinion Tissot watches have overall less character than Hamilton's, from a design perspective, so for the price range with swiss LABEL, both are worth checking.
Both lol. But seriously it depends. Back in the day when the sarb017 was the same price Id probably lean alpinist because its bit more capable but now there's a $200+ gap between them. I think at current costs I'd lean king.
If you’re talking current Alpinist the main question is do you want a cyclops. If you’re talking the SARB017 the question is do you want to may a premium. New ones are $900 - $1000 on the low end if you can find them.
