The classic military field watch is one of those styles that’s hard to resist. The simple and easy-to-read dial, the rugged styling, and the rich history make it a perfect casual watch. Hamilton’s Khaki Field watch is the original American military watch, making it deserving of an in-depth look.
History Of Hamilton Khaki Field Watches
The Hamilton Watch Company was an old American watchmaker based in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Now the company makes its watches in Switzerland, but its ties to its American history are strong, as they celebrate their influential role in providing timepieces to the railroads, to Hollywood productions, and, probably most famously, to the American military.
In 1914, Hamilton became a military contractor to provide timepieces to the US military for WWI. These “trench watches” marked their shift from the popular pocket watches that were almost exclusively worn before the war to the more convenient wrist watch.
This 1917 Officer’s Trench Watch is an example of the classic field-watch style we know today. With its big, easy-to-read numbers and luminous hands, a soldier could tell the time easily and quickly, a must for coordinating timed missions and operations.
In the years between WWI and WWII, Hamilton became the expert in developing timepieces for aviation. During these years, their watches timed important flights in exploration and became the favorite watches of professional pilots. This expertise would become invaluable as American entered WWII.
In 1942, Hamilton became the official watchmaker for the US military and actually stopped manufacturing timepieces for sale to the public to devote all of its attention to the war effort. Their production of over a million timepieces and precision instruments to the military earned them an Army-Navy E Award for Excellence in War Production. It was during these years that their iconic Field watch got the style and function we know today. Even more importantly, the marine chronometers produced for the Navy were an essential technology for navigating the oceans; in a world before GPS, these precise tools were everything to naval navigation because if a marine clock was even a second slow or fast, it could lead to a false position report of several miles. The Allies needed precise tools to win, and Hamilton proved the only watchmaker capable of making timepieces and technological tools that passed the military’s exacting standards to take down the Axis.
Since WWII, Hamilton has continued its close relationship to the military, issuing watches for the Korean and Vietnam Wars, and the Khaki Field has yet to fail in the eyes of the American military or the public.
Iconic Style, Original Design
The Hamilton Khaki Field watch is immediately recognizable. It’s been copied numerous times, from cheap disposable versions to high-end luxury brand lookalikes. When you want a classic, nothing is better than the original. Hamilton’s Khaki Field is the original American Army watch, and that legacy means everything.
Hamilton makes several variations of the Khaki Field, in 38mm, 40mm, and 42mm, (and even a few larger special pieces) in manual, automatic, and quartz, and with dial designs from both the 1940s and the 1960s, in several colors and with steel bracelets, leather straps, canvas straps, and nylon NATO bands, with or without day and date.
The unifying force of the design comes down to the details. Most are available in a brushed or partially-brushed steel case. All sport bold Arabic numerals in high contrast to the dial color (white on black, green, or brown, and black on white, silver, or parchment). Lumed syringe hands point in high visibility to the time. Sturdy lugs that gently taper from the case.
It’s a no-fuss design that has a timelessness that transcends age and style. There are few items which possess this type of iconic style– at once a statement of a bigger history and still uniform enough to work seamlessly with other style perspectives. It’s like the iconic Levi’s 501 jeans– it looks good on everyone, and it’s such a classic statement of American style that it doesn’t matter if you’re a teenager or a senior citizen, whether you love it for the history and function or if you’re trying to make fashion statement, it works with everything for everyone. Maybe it is because it was designed literally as part of a uniform. The Khaki Field is paradoxical like that. Uniquely uniform.
Function
Hamilton is well known for the quality of their watch movements. Every automatic Hamilton watch boasts an 80 hour power reserve (most luxury automatic watches have only 36-48 hours of power reserve), due to the in-house modifications on their movements to pack a huge punch of power in their mainsprings. Within the last two years, Hamilton has also extended the power reserve of their hand-wound watches, with new mechanical movements that also offer 80 hours. This massive power reserve is great for the casual styling of a Khaki Field– it’s probably not the watch you wear to work every day with a suit and tie, but once every three days? Absolutely. No winder required.
With a two year warranty and exceptional service centers conveniently located in many countries around the world, should you experience any issue, you don’t need to ship it to Switzerland and wait months for a quote. The US service center in New Jersey is efficient, convenient, and courteous for any needed repair.
Another note about Hamilton watch functionality is their commitment to make replacement parts available. Admittedly, it’s not the first thing on most people’s minds as they buy a new watch, but it will matter a few years from now when a leather strap wears out that you will easily be able to replace it. It will matter when you want a routine service fifteen years from now that the little screw the watchmaker wants to replace has not been discontinued. Hamilton wants you to be able to wear your watch for a lifetime, to pass it down as an heirloom. While many companies operate on a model of planned obsolescence, you’ll never have that problem with Hamilton.
Finding your Khaki Field
One of the greatest boasting points of the Hamilton Khaki Field line is its affordability. The new Khaki Field Mechanical is under $500, and it’s had all the big watch bloggers drooling since its debut. The Khaki King is an automatic day-date for $545– dollar for dollar, you can’t beat it. Other models in the line range from under $400 for a quartz model to just under $1800 for a few automatic chronographs, but most of the models fall between $500 and $900. That’s a nice price point for most shoppers, and when you consider the history, style, and mechanics, and that it’s ruggedly built to last, it’s really amazing.
Stop by Secrete Fine Jewelry in DuPont Circle, Washington, DC, to check out our Hamilton Khaki Field collection. It’s one of our favorite watches because there’s so much to love about it. We love the patriotic history, we love that it’s the original, we love the utilitarian design, and we love providing our clientele with a watch that they’ll never stop loving.
