New Material, Same Grit: Introducing the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Bronze
Hamilton is not a watch brand you often think of when it comes to using alternative or luxurious case materials. Best known for producing hardy steel sports watches and field watches, Hamilton has garnered a reputation for its utilitarian design codes and manufacturing, usually eschewing gold and even gold tones for its most popular collections. Last week, the brand chose to walk the line between the utilitarian and novel by introducing its first timepiece in bronze, the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical Bronze.
The watch follows in the footsteps of Hamilton’s ever-popular Khaki Field Mechanical (below), itself based upon a U.S. military-commissioned timepiece produced from 1969 to the 1980s best known as the FAPD 5101, the Type 1 Navigator, or simply as the ?GI.? In that sense, the new Khaki Field Mechanical Bronze is straightforwardly a bronze cased version of that original vintage-inspired timekeeper, with Hamilton revisiting its popular historically-inspired design in a modern styling. Hamilton follows up several other brands that have done the same ? most notably Oris, with the many bronze editions of its Diver Sixty-Five and Big Crown; and Tudor, with the various bronze versions of the Black Bay.
The watch’s 38-mm bronze case features matte finishing throughout its straightforward silhouette, from its simple lugs to its relatively large crown. The only flourish, if one can call it that, on the case is its solid titanium caseback, which represen...
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