All these years, I have been into the Jap giants, namely, Seiko, Citizen and Orient. Now any watch enthusiast might get surprised that I haven’t ventured into the Swiss domain but there is a valid reason behind that. The price factor, to be precise and not being a millionaire, I have politely shunned aside allures so far from Zenith, Patek and Breitling. However, not owning them doesn’t stand a bound to inquiries; I’m fascinated with and offer them my respects and stand awestruck in front of Piguet, Breguet and JlC. Another personal favorite is Bremont; despite its British origins (HQ in Henley-on-Thames, England), it is exquisitely Swiss craftsmanship that gives it its form.
But as you know, any watch collection is incomplete without a couple of Swiss marvels adorning it; so whether you call it out of shame or out of an admiration for the American spirit in Swiss embodiment, I finally thought going for the Hamilton Khaki X-Wind Automatic Chronograph . Hamiltons, IMHO, are the least that Swiss can cost, without cutting down all that adding value to the Swiss/Suisse/Geneve mark.
The legendary pocket-watch maker once served for railroad and the ocean-ways; their railroad and marine chronometer expertise later flourished enough to craft some serious wristwatches for the WWII GI-s.
Now, a lot of you will also say Hamilton is under the Swiss behemoth Swatch but American in its heritage, so it’s not Swiss enough. But can you deny it’s an affordable entry to higher-end timepieces? Hamilton does offer some fine models; one which I like a lot is the Hamilton American Classic Jazzmaster Auto Chrono. Spending a quarter million dollars on a watch (maybe two) stares stark back if you are below 50, but that doesn’t mean you got to make it with quartz and a lot of bling till that point. That’s what most does.
Talking about the JazzMasters, this part of Hamilton’s American Classic line is all about classic styling in the Miles Davis era. Men wore expensive hats and striking, elegant wristwatches. The Jazzmasters are given the Valjoux 7750 movement (kind of a standard in high-end chronographs) and many other Swiss have the JazzMaster Maestro features available for a higher price.
Now, Hamilton is not about ground-breaking styles; it is the formulated path either towards dressy or strictly business. Even their chronographs follow the traditional layout in traditional shapes, but all of them do a lot more for so little. Again, IMHO, a Hamilton may well compete with a Breitling, a TAG Carrera or even an IWC; its reputation for durability surpasses all three.
