Such a great everyday watch. The only flaw is its lack of a screw down crown. Mine got a foggy crystal after going into a hot tub. I'll definitely be rebuying it soon.
2834-2a. They removed the regulator pins and slowed the beat to increase the power reserve to 80hrs. The regulator is preset to factory specs. Just like the powermatic 80. Hamilton named that movement the H-40. The other power king with the Etachron regulator is only 38 hours of power reserve. ( None H-40).
This watch is stellar! Design amazing, love the profile of the side and top. Nice thickness, and finishes. The !H40! movement is perfect, a very accurate, durable, long lasting power reserve. Ideal size (I even have big wrist 8.25). I love the display back with the two blue screws, red jewels, brass components, and cool rotor. I actually enjoy that gap between the clasp to the bracelet(weird I know). The only two downsides for me is I wish it were 10 bar, and the crown is a bit over polished on the sides and I would rather it be more confidence inspiring to wind. I do like the crown guards and crown size, it just needs some sharpness on the diameter. Very underrated timepiece, if they come out with another dial color I'll probably buy that one also.
Just got a Hamilton KK from Japan. Still in a great condition. Bought it @ $350 without the original box & paperwork. ETA-2834, +2 s/d. No sign of fogging/water damage under the crystal.
I'm waiting for delivery of the black dial version. It's a watch I've admired/desired for some time. I came across a good 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 and keep up the good work, Sir. Best to you, Glenn.
Congratulations. Seems like a great bang-for-bucks watch. The day and date shift is impressive. Keep that nice Seiko wound up, though. You don't want the oil to get thick. It would then need servicing. I wind mine everyday, whether I wear it or not.
The Khaki King is legendary for its price:quality ratio. I tried one one a few times at the AD. very nice watch, very refined in design and proportions. Im just suprised youll fall for something like that. its a completely different animal to ur monsters. I didnt know you could get it on a Oyster style bracelet. very nice Tony
Love the Hamilton Khaki!! Hamilton over all is such a great brand. Alot of history there brother. It takes like 3am till my Seiko flips d&d. lol Still love it.
I prefer the 38mm version with no crown guards and the red tipped seconds hand. My main complaint with this watch is that it needs a screw-down crown and I preferred the older ETA 2824 movement with 28,800 bps.
The new rotor (with the H cut out) is the new movement. On my regular Khaki (no day)it's called the H10. The sweep is not as smooth which I'm ok with but you get an 80 hr. power reserve. I love mine!
Just bought a hamilton khaki king. But I really regret that I didn't follow your suggestion to buy a bracelet one. Haha, actually I really enjoy my watch and it only loses one sec per day. Excellent review, happy Thanksgiving!
This is the same movement in my Tissot PRC -200 I'm pretty sure. Laser regulated, no adjustment. My most accurate watch by far. Supposedly all are within cosc.
Nice watches you have, from what I hear they are setting them up with a laser now, no need for adjustment they have them within a few seconds off each day well respected.
Hamilton makes a great watch for the money. Nothing more to say really. Reducing the bps gives them the ability to have an 80 hrs PR. I'm more of a Tudor guy but for $400, can't beat a Hamilton.
Thanks for the review. I like mine. I think it is rated to 50mm WR. The only issue is it desperately needs AR coating. I have mine on a black croc strap. Great for everyday office work. Quite accurate, too. A keeper!
Thanks for a great review! On Wednesday, June 6th, I achieved my 45 year anniversary at my employer, CNH Industrial. I chose this watch as my award, and I love it, too! I need to get the band adjusted, then I'm ready to wear it, probably as an everyday watch. One question I have, is that Hamilton suggests maintenance every 3 - 5 years. Is that just a general cleaning? By the way, I live about 8 miles away from Lancaster, Pa. where Hamilton first started.
45 years that’s great. I wouldn’t worry much about the service interval, wear it and see how it goes. Even if it needs little help every 5 years the cost will be pretty low for service. Living in that area should give you many options for finding good Watch guy.
With the announcement of some new Tissot models Swatch has said that they are using more technology to regulate their movements in the manufacturing process. They have learned from the Systim51 process.
Great review, thanks. There seem to be a lot of scratches from close observation only in two weeks! Mine is a few weeks old and started to show some minor scratches too!!! That shiny edge is the real culprit, I have to get something on brass edge with nato strap next time. Hammy khaki king is a great watch though, keeps excellent time with 80 hours power reserve, love it.
One thing to consider is that the Hamilton Khaki "King" does not have as deep of a water resistance level than the regular Hamilton Khaki. In fact, the Khaki KIng, from the source I read is not 100m depth rating, it's only 160ish feet whereas the regular Khaki is 100m.
One thing I noticed: the buckle looks to be thin folded stamped metal. On the 38mm and 42mm khaki field bracelets the buckle is solid formed metal, very substantial. I don't know why they cheaped-out on this model.
Not sure if I prefer this over the khaki field. That full day display and date is always there obstructing the clear reading of the time at a glance. The khaki field has much cleaner dial, although I like the 40mm case size of the king. Decisions, decisions...grrr
I like the Khaki a lot better than the Monster. This is a very cool unit. Its "all of a piece", similar to the Sinn 104, which, as you know, I love. You did neglect a lume shot, which is de rigueur for watch vids on watches that have lume. And the adjustment piece is missing? That is very interesting. You should call the factory and let us know. This Hamilton is so well done that it is in contention with the Sinn as my next keeper.
Great review! Getting one within hours... Noticed you mentioned 100m depth however I could only find 50m in the market and back of your display watch it shows 5 bar. Review mistake? However, do you know if any 10 bar really exist on this model? Someone else stated that he had a 100m one but I could not find any... Thanks!
Too bad the second hand sweeps choppily with this new movement. Plus, I really don't see any benefits of having a longer power reserve. Those who wear this watch everyday simply won't need it, while those who have multiple auto watches can quickly re-adjust once it has stopped beating.
Nice video, Rob.. I've a question for you. How does the dial and case quality compare to a Seiko? On my Seiko Sumo the hands are cheap, stamped metal and it bugs the hell out of me.
This watch is great, especially its day display and eta 80 hour reserve movement. The only problem I found is it wears a little small on wrist. Feels like 38mm, a little bit small than one would expect for a field watch.
You do realize you just changed the time to advance the d&d wheels there no way you could determine its accuracy after doing that. You'd need a beat counter or check it in a few days
I'm thinking about getting this watch - couple of questions though for those who own it: 1. When I tried it on, the bracelet felt a bit wobbly. Like side to side... I later tried a Rolex for comparison and the Rolex (obviously) felt more stable. 2. Is there lume on the numbers themselves? Thanks!
John Ravioli yes! My only regret is that I didn’t buy mine with the bracelet! But I did put it on a really nice leather band! The one that came on it was a little stiff!
What I don't like about divers is: 1. I don't dive. 2. They make it extremely uncomfortable to wear any kind of long sleeve. You either tuck your sleeve under it or have it hang on the bulkiness of the watch. 3. Who needs that huge bezel? That thing tells me nothing about the time of day. 4. (OPINION) Most of them are just plain gawdy and ugly.
It's a great looking watch but it lacks one essential element, it doesn't have the 20 ATM (200m) water resistance. If it had it it would be the value competition for the Rolex Explorer.
Hamilton was originally an American company. The company is now part of the Swatch group, and is made in Switzerland. They use their American origin as part of their marketing, but they are pretty much a Swiss brand now.
A watch can either say Swiss Made or Swiss Movement. Swiss Movement means the movement was assembled in Switzerland, the movement was inspected by the manufacturer in Switzerland, and the components of Swiss manufacture accoutn for 60% of the total value of the movement. Swiss Made means the watch has a Swiss movement, the movement is installed in the case in Switzerland, and the manufacturer's final assembly happens in Switzerland.
It is very different look from the Orange Monster but I think it looks great. I love the machined clasp Hamilton puts on their bracelets and that gap is no big deal. The Khaki King is like a Hulked-out version of their standard field watches which are smaller. Maybe that is what Hamilton means by the Khaki King, it is the biggest, the best and the ultimate field watch.
