(This page features affiliate links, for more information click here.)

As a watch enthusiast, I’ve probably come across hundreds of examples of interesting and well-built everyday field watches. Most people with more than a dozen watches know that a decent field watch is an essential grab-and-go piece for any collection. However, the everyday field watch is probably the category that has the most buying choices, aside from maybe dive watches. So how does one start their search for a reliable, everyday field watch? Being that the term “every day” is one of the most important factors, often it needs to fit the bill for being someone’s only watch. When you only have a single watch it needs to perform accurately, be comfortable 24/7, and not clash with a range of attire. When the perfect watch is found that will serve its owner year after year, it behooves one to spend well for a “one and done” piece.

One such example we found is the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical. This piece comes in a few configurations and colorways, but this review will cover the white-dialed version with a 38mm case diameter, hand-winding mechanical movement, and the supplied leather nato strap (Hamilton reference # H69439511). A similar build from Hamilton also comes in a 42mm case diameter. This example may seem like an overly-simplistic timepiece for the money, but after wearing it for several weeks, I’m glad I gave it a fair chance as I was pleasantly surprised in many ways. Hamilton has kept the simple purity of the field watch intact with this piece. In the style of the original field watches, it functions as a reliable and legible timepiece and that’s it.

During the years of World War II, many American watchmakers held enormous contracts to produce reliable watches following the A-11 specifications put forth by the U.S. military. Hamilton, then based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, halted all civilian watch production and focused solely on the production of over a million wristwatches and chronometers. Hamilton also earned the Army-Navy E award, for excellence, due to their superb quality of manufacturing. Several other watchmakers such as Elgin, Bulova, and Waltham also ramped up A-11 watch production during the war years.

Some classics in design for many industries will always be revered and desired and this watch is no exception. When it comes to perfectly executed field watches, the Hamilton name will always be on the shortlist.

packaging

First impressions count when spending this amount on a field watch. The Khaki Mechanical typically ships in an imposing faux-wooden box with a grey leatherette lining that does feel more premium than many lower-tier brands. In a sea of plain, black boxes, this stands out somewhat, enhancing its giftability.

CONSTRUCTION

The entire case on this piece is of bead-blasted stainless steel construction. The screw-down case back is also stainless steel but with a circular brushing and etched informational details. Being a relatively standardized field watch, the finishing is not too flashy or polished, but unassuming and neutral. All the bead blasting is very fine in texture and smooth to the touch, so it has a subtle sheen but isn’t too shiny in sunlight.

Furthermore, I believe one of the biggest selling points of this watch is the weight and sizing. The case is exactly 38mm in diameter, 47mm from lug tip to lug tip, and just under 10mm in height (crystal included). So many field watches I’ve tried over the years have seemed wrong in at least one of these dimensions, but Hamilton hit the sweet spot with this design, especially for those of us with wrists under 7 inches in circumference.

Harmoniously paired with the perfect dimensions is the weight of this piece at a very agreeable 47 grams (watch head alone). The leather nato adds a few grams, but if you have a few other 20mm natos in your collection, you'll find yourself trying them all on this piece. There is a model of the same watch, both with white and black dials, on a steel oyster-style bracelet which is not covered in this article simply because we haven't had the chance to try one yet.

The screw-down case back is consistent in quality of finishing as the rest of the case. It has a very low profile and sits completely flat on the wrist while extending almost to the edge of the case. Information is etched along the edges as “Water Resistant 5 bar/72.5 psi, H694390, Swiss Made, 19Z 6SJ 4U5”, with the Hamilton logo and name largely etched in the center.

Even though the case is screwed down, the 6.5mm bead blasted crown is not, meaning this piece only offers a meager water resistance rating of 5 Bar, or 50 meters. In my opinion, this water resistance is poor, considering the price of the piece and the construction quality of the case. No feedback is given to the movement from the counterclockwise turning of the crown, so Hamilton could have easily given the piece a WR rating of 100m with a screw-down crown. They really should have, since the crown is unguarded and vulnerable to knocks and bangs.

I know, many purists would say that the original A-11 designs did not have screw-down crowns, thus this feature was omitted. But I think that for what you’re paying for this piece, it ought to have better resistance to moisture intrusion from normal activities, such as showering or swimming. I don’t believe adding a screw-down feature would ruin the historical integrity of the piece. Even many of Hamilton’s more robust field and dive style watches only exhibit 100m WR. I’m not sure if this is a cost-saving measure or a decision by the design team, but it IS a feature that matters to most buyers. Water resistance aside, the crown has an excellent and robust grip, with smooth input for manipulating the movement. The Hamilton logo is also embossed on the end of the crown.

MSRP for this piece, according to Hamilton is $615, however, you can find this piece to be widely available from various reputable online dealers for $430-$470.

MOVEMENT

Personally, I think the movement is the heart of the piece and the single most defining element I consider when choosing a watch. A watch could look absolutely stunning, but if it has a cheap or sub-standard movement, I pass. The Hamilton-exclusive H-50 17-jewel mechanical, hand-winding movement in this piece is based on an ETA caliber C07.701 architecture and fitted with the Swatch group’s Nivashock anti-shock feature. Thus, the movement is well respected in any watch enthusiast circle. This is a true workhorse movement with an excellent degree of accuracy and ease of serviceability. It also sports a seconds hand hacking capacity, for setting the time to the exact second, should one feel the need.

I’ll be the first to admit that the hand-winding feature of this movement gave me pause, much like an electric car would give a new owner “range anxiety”. However, Hamilton gave this movement a beat rate of 3 Hz or 21,600 beats per hour (bph). The real party trick of this movement is that Hamilton had taken the beat rate down slightly from 4 Hz to give the power reserve a more long-lived 80 hours, rather than a standard 40-50 hours in most other mechanical and automatic pieces. Yes, the seconds hand “ticks” are more pronounced and not as smooth as other pieces, but that’s not the point of this movement. So, after you get used to the hand-winding requirement you’ll find the movement will more than hold its own in the longevity department. I found that I gave the movement a good 10 winds for the day and that was plenty to keep her going without incident. Another excellent feature of using this movement is that, at 3.35mm thick, it allows the case to be thin like the original A-11 pieces, being that it is not fitted with an automatic, winding rotor. Though I am a fan of movements with a date, this movement is more than appropriate for this piece.

CRYSTAL & BEZEL

Hamilton chose wisely with the crystal for this piece. The edge sits flush on the edge of the blank bezel and has a very minor dome. Not only is the shape of the crystal correct, but the type of crystal being sapphire gives the owner a sense of security in knowing the most scratch-resistant material has been used.

There is absolutely no distortion of the dial or indices under this crystal, as the dial and crystal are set very close together with a thin rehaut ring between them. So without any fuss, the wearer looks onto the dial, not into it. The anti-reflective coating also does its job impeccably, since glare is never an issue.

DIAL, HANDS & INDICES

The simplicity and symmetry of this dial are true to the original designs as well as the needs of a standard field watch. The piece exhibits a plain, matte white dial with black painted markings throughout. In true field watch fashion, Hamilton didn’t add any printing that wasn’t needed, or try to “market” the piece by adding in frivolous information. “Hamilton” is printed at the 12’o clock position just above the pinion; that’s it. The black numbers are printed at the appropriate positions as well as the obligatory continuation of military hours indicated but set smaller (13, 14, etc). Swiss Made is printed very small and in matching black at the 6’o clock edge on the dial.

Cream-colored, triangular, luminous markers are printed at each hour position. There is no chapter ring with minute ticks, but rather all the indicative information is printed directly on the dial. As you may have gathered by now, the whole purpose of a field watch dial is to tell the time without any confusion or distraction and this dial does that perfectly. The use of a matte finish on the dial also lends to nearly no glare being gathered or reflected. The only drawback I found, but is a matter of personal preference, is the absence of a date window. But I understand many field watches omit it, as vintage pieces often lack them.

In a matching cream color, you’ll find vintage syringe-style hands. They are black-bordered to match the printing on the dial and filled with lume. The minute hand tip reaches nearly to the minute ticks at the edge of the dial. I find a longer minute hand allows a quicker read of the time. The length of the hour hand is just right as well, nearly touching the primary hourly numerals. In short, the design of the hands are perfectly sized and executed. The seconds hand also leaves no guesswork for the wearer. It is long and thin with a small counterbalance and all black. The narrow arrow tip is also lumed in the same fashion as the other hands. Much like the minute hand, the seconds hand also reaches all the way to the minute ticks, leaving no guesswork. So although this may look like a simple field watch, you eventually realize the piece is built for precision settings and observation.

The application of luminous paint on the dial and matching lumed hands is standard fare. It’s not going to glow all night as many dive watches will, but it glows for the expected amount of time (~30 minutes) for a decent field watch.

STRAP

The model we obtained is the H69439511, which has the aforementioned leather, 20mm nato strap reference of H6006941061. So you can take this weight as is, plus the few grams worth of weight in a nato. I say this because this piece is one where I found myself swapping out nato straps frequently since the white dial goes with pretty much any color.

In terms of woven natos, I found a dark blue perlon nato strap was the most comfortable pairing. Ordinary cranberry and khaki natos were other favorites as well. Even though the supplied leather nato is of very good quality and supple enough for any wrist, it just didn’t do it for me. It just seemed too plain for some unidentifiable reason, plus I found it to be a little too bulky for this thin case size. At least Hamilton kept the strap sizing at 20mm, which is a very common size for aftermarket straps, leaving the owner with nearly endless strap choices.

WARRANTY

Hamilton offers a 2-year international warranty for most of their pieces, this one included. You may be able to get an extended warranty depending on what dealer you buy from. Whatever your situation, you can be certain any unlikely defects or issues can be dealt with with promptly.