WCU #51: Podcast: The Hamilton Watch Problem 

Lewis Hamilton 's lawsuit - the judge said I don't have the TIME for this.

No no no, Hamilton makes fabulous watches with unique design and history, that’s why I own several Hamilton watches and love each one of them: intramatic, murph, Cooper, navy pioneer, pilot pioneers, jazzmaster power reserve, jazzmaster chrono, this is wonderful American design, bold and classy, daring and innovative! And affordable with wonderful eta movements or even improved 80 hours power reserve, aluminium cases, a gyro gimble like a ship chronometer, the frogman, titanium cases, field watches, aviation watches...it’s so wonderful to have a manufacturer with so a great design heritage at that price point! Hamilton and Longines are soo important for my watch collection and will always be! ❤️

The Khaki King and the PSR are really nice watches.

The lack of attention is because people who review watches, yes, you, only focus on the khaki line. They mine a rich vein of history that are uniformly ignored. They are smart, stylish and uniquely rooted in the space between the 1930’s to the 1960’s. I have three which are simply elegant and very well put together watches.

Thanks for the hamilton Podcast dear presentator!

Very informative and honest breakdown!

I have a Khaki Field Auto Chrono that I absolutely love. My first real watch IMHO. Loved the podcast

They’re a Swiss brand with us heritage. Swiss ownership and manufacturing of American styles.

Fair take, Identity Crisis. Other brands suffer this same / marketing fate / Glycine, Tissot , Certina , Zodiac.

I like them, just wish they gave their Khaki field watches higher water resistance. Good value. Cheers 👍🏻

I own a fair number of Hamilton watches ... Khaki Field Mechanical (3 variants), Khaki Field Navy GMT, Intra-matic chronograph, both watches from Interstellar (and probably a few more that I cannot recall right now). While I truly love these watches, and receive so many compliments on them from non-watch enthusiasts at work, I agree completely with you Armand .. they are a confusing brand with a blurred identity. Maybe that is their branding? Enigmatic 😀. Thanks for another excellent video.

One thing that cannot be argued is the excellent value for money that many Hamilton models provide (e.g. Intra Matic, Jazzmaster). In the case of the Intra Matic, you have a beautifully designed, vintage-inspired dress watch with a 2892-A2 movement and domed sapphire crystal for $845 USD. I can think of few dress watches that present as much of a value proposition. (That said, I realize it is only the resources of the Swatch Group that make this possible.)

Great episode! Looking forward to your live stream with Bruce on Sunday

Agreed. The jazzmaster is a stunner.

As an overview , you nailed 2ww having caused a cessation of watch over munitions etc. Here and around the world, "hay mister, you got the time."

Really really interesting. What is for sure is that there are watches in their catalogue that you will almost never see, leading to the idea that maybe there are too many? Or possibly that in other markets (Asia, Middle East) there are models that are more popular. For sure their movie models are certainly iconic, I think it actually ends up being more popular than their Khaki series. The Sub Zero. I agree completely. But. As with the majority of "dive watches" that are never used for diving and never used by divers, the Sub Zero is about design. Design goal: Badass. I think it is one the most unusual divers out there. And even though it was on camera for literally two seconds, and making a beeping noise that is actually impossible, it immediately catches your eye. I have a goal of starting a movie watch collection and this is definitely on the list!

I love Hamilton watches and I thought you were spot on!

Marketing can take care of the American Origins and re-rooting in Switzerland. Hamilton definitely needs to thin the herd.Keep the popular Timepieces while simplifying the offerings. Push some of the more sexier looking ones in the entertainment industry while committing to make limited runs in proprietary tarnish resistant solid silver(lead the industry in giving back silver it’s due as a luxury precious metal) cases and dials and bracelets were possible. Prevent any timepieces from falling into the hands of TK Maxx and the like. Identify which lines would benefit from chronometer certification along with improved finishing on the applicable movements. Invest into a high-quality existing watchstrap maker and offer more exotic straps with timepieces that would justify the upgrade. Over six fiscal quarters fade the brand out of its murky waters and position it above Tissot yet nipping at the heels of Longines but with far fewer offerings overall in comparison. This will build credibility and allow steady production of two or three new modern pieces aimed at the younger generation. A bull by the horns and family jewels approach is needed quietly behind the scenes. Pop-up marketing at outdoor events along with high-quality low-budget RU-vid et cetera adverts asserting 21st Century values rooted in a adventurous classical past.

Excellent

Interesting content. Regards.

The new intra-matic chrono is superb as of quality and price...for me better panda then the new tudor panda

You’re correct I was initially attracted to Hamilton because of their American heritage especially in there Jazzmaster collection I don’t know what their trying to do with their Swiss connection

Yes, I agree with you. Hamilton's range of products is too expansive. But what do you keep?

Hamilton is the Seiko of Swiss watches - they offer something for everyone. This is how they are pitching themselves to the market - and I don't see that as a bad thing. Hamilton is a lower- mid range brand and this is also the problem with brands like Tissot, Mido and Certina, not just Hamilton. Lower mid-range brands are too expensive to attract the average quartz buyer who just wants a watch that tells the time, but they are also too cheap and ordinary to attract the watch snobs, or just......the snobs in general. Upper mid-range brands like Longines, Rado, Oris and Tag Heuer tend to have a similar problem, but they are better positioned, because they are just one notch higher in quality and they often do attract the sort of buyer who would normally buy an Omega or Rolex but also wants a couple of cheaper models as 'back-up' watches. They also have a more focused market position, e.g. Longines appealing more to the traditionalists, Rado the fashion conscious modernists and Tag or Oris attracting the sports watch fans. I think Hamilton should cut some of its range, e.g. the dive watches which don't really inspire me, and focus more on the military and casual ranges of watches. Finally, your point about grey market discounts applies to most brands that are not in the prestige range populated by Rolex, Patek, Audemars Piguet, Jaeger Le Coultre, Breguet, etc. It's unavoidable simply because the market for mid range watches is not big enough to accommodate all the watches in production. I think we'll eventually move to a cheap market and a luxury market, with a small middle market.

I've been saying the same thing for years now. Hamilton have too many models, ( and sub models ) in their lineup. They would do well to scale back the vast line up, and focus on making higher quality watches, rather than focusing on volume sales. There was a time when Hamilton was highly regarded. Sadly, they're not the same company they used to be.

The spring in my Manual wind Hamilton watch has broken twice in fifteen months. Is this a common fault or am i just unlucky? I have lost faith in the brand i'm afraid.

I have a few Hamilton watches in my collection. I am particularly fond of my Ventura. But they really need a couple of modern tank watches.

At this point, I have several Hamilton watches. My father and grandfather had Hamilton watches, and traditionally they have been good quality products. The company has been good to me regarding service. I agree that their collection is overly expansive and unfocused.

I agree that their catalogue is very big and sometimes some real gems are hidden in the pzges and pages of watches. I have no issues with their American-Swiss identity as I think it makes them stand out from the many other Swiss brands. I am also fine with them having many styles of watches. I don't care if one line of their products has a European connection and the other an American one. I think Tissot is a bit more expensive and boring and has less variety and fewer great watches. Hamilton for me is a bargain. I have a KF and will likely buy at least one or two other models.

I love the interstellar watch

Xlnt commentary!

Without underlying Podcasts with pictures you will lose interest quickly, imho.

I’d like to see Hamilton focus their collection a bit more. I’d also like them to focus on reducing their odd sizing. They’re known for long lugs which expands the presence of smaller diameters on wrist, yet their case diameters tend to be 1-4mm larger than necessary for each particular style of watch. This results in a lot of large cases with long lugs that are oversized, even on an average 7 inch wrist. Look at the Murph. Its an instant classic at 38-40mm. Yet it’s 42mm and 52mm LTL. What? Who cares about the size in the film when you can’t wear it in real life? Disregarding the mashup of American and Swiss influences, Hamilton would do well to appeal less to the waning flashy big watch market, and more to the market for understated classics, which they are known for.

Jazz has deep roots in America, as do the military memorabilia. Honestly think they'd be fine if they just dropped the dive watches. My 2¢

WOW great info. AAAAAAAAAAA++++++++++++ again great video I liked it a lot keep up the great work

I think a big problem of Hamilton is that Hamilton does not seem to have a brand price identity. The watches are in a huge price bracket. You have the watches that are about 300€ but they also have watches that cost far more. With a Rolex you know they are expensive. With a Seiko you know they are somewhat midfield while Oriend is more on the affordable end. Seiko has Grad Seiko to not loose its identity within pricing and Orient has Orient Star. I think if Hamilton splits into two subbrands it will help their image. Or maybe even focus on one side of the spectrum and drop the other. *Hamilton seems to be the jack of all trades but master of none.* The biggest problem is that Hamilton can not keep up with the quality of finishing of Longines and in the 250€-500€ price range microbrands have much better value for money. Therefore Hamilton also needs to focus on heritage and brand reputation and advertising.

Love Hammie....but too many watches....

Focus on military, outdoors where they are doing good

Hamilton is part of Americana (culture), regardless of where now made. My pet peeve with modern Hamilton is their dull finish (lack of polished surfaces). Somewhat in league with most homely German watches. People don't by Hamilton for the movements, lol.

Man, regardless your bias against Hamilton, I can feel the anti-american message here. Not European enough for you uh!