Recently, I?ve been reflecting upon some classic watches in the ?new vintage? trend that represent really good value for their relative intrigue. My mind was drawn to the Mido Multifort Datometer with its unusual triple calendar, and the Tissot Heritage Antimagnetique with its rejuvenated historical styling,  and to the Timex Marlin which at $200 is in a category all its own. I most of all considered the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical 38 mm, based on a standard military issued watch from the ?60s to 1980s, which I would argue is one of the coolest watches for the money on the market today.

As I considered this last Hamilton watch, I thought back on the many other watches the brand produced in mid-century, and how for so long these pieces adorned such a significant portion of American and global wrists. After all, it wasn?t only military-contracted timepieces and Caliber 11 chronographs the brand produced during its golden age, but also timepieces of elegance and class that were accessible to an entire generation of consumers. Possibly the most significant of these watches was the Intra-matic, a watch the brand produced in the late 1960s into the ?70s as a follow-up to the Thin-o-matic, at the time established as the primary dress watch offered in Hamilton?s collections (vintage picture above left, via The Watch Forum).
As it has with many other of its historical pieces, Hamilton has revived the vintage Intra-matic for the contemporary market as the Intra-matic Auto. The...