Sponsored Post written for aBlogtoWatch by Rob Caplan of Topper Jewelers

Since its announcement back in November of 2017, the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical watch quickly found a strong following in the watch community, thanks to its classic good looks and faithful adherence to its source material: a legendary American military-issue field watch from the 1960s. It’s not uncommon to hear this reference called “one of the best values in Swiss-made watchmaking,” and we’d be hard-pressed to disagree, especially considering that it has remained one of Topper Jewelers’ best-selling Swiss watches since it first hit our shelves last year. I’m a particularly big fan of this reference, as it is one of those rare watches that appeals to both hardcore collectors and new watch fans aspiring to own their first-quality Swiss-made watch.

Photo by OT (@ranxoren)

Identifying references that represent unique value and credibility amongst the watch community has long been one of my favorite aspects of being a watch retailer. It has also led to a number of creative and collaborative projects with some of my favorite brands, including Nomos, Oris, Zodiac, and most recently, Seiko. Last summer, we worked with Hamilton on designing a white-dialed field watch, using the Khaki Field Mechanical as the inspiration for a product we’d hope to one day carry. We are thrilled to announce that Hamilton took our design input and added it to their 2019 collection. This new white-dialed Khaki Field Mechanical can be pre-ordered now at Topper Jewelers in three configurations: on a leather NATO, a green-textile NATO, or in a special box with both NATOs and a strap-changing tool, which we expect to begin delivering in May (more details below).

Like the many classic white-dialed field watches that inspired it, the white-dialed Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical is all about maximizing legibility in low-light situations. Though the crisp white dial maintains the same vintage-inspired ecru luminous paint on the hands and hour markers that is found on the current olive- and black-dial variants, it is equipped with a new black handset to better contrast with the dial beneath. Not only does this dial offer the best dial contrast (and therefore, legibility) in the series, enthusiasts will soon find that this color scheme is also a veritable “strap monster” that will look great on the two different stock NATO straps, as well as textured leather, different colors of canvas, and even rubber in the hot summer months.

The white-dialed Khaki Field Mechanical is built around a 38mm, bead-blasted 316L stainless steel case. However, it’s worth noting that this edition gets an upgrade on the internals, differentiating them from the 2018 global launch. This watch features Hamilton’s new H-50 caliber and a hand-wound mechanical movement with 80 hours of power reserve. The generous reserve wouldn’t be possible without a slight reduction to the watch’s beat rate, but it’s a worthy tradeoff, particularly for a manually wound watch that can now run without interaction for nearly four full days. This has been done without compromising the core component that has made the Khaki Field Mechanical such a popular option in the community: its sub-$500 price-point.

Photo by OT (@ranxoren)

Within the white-dialed variant, you’ll have three strap options to choose from: a leather NATO strap that’s neatly color-matched to the lume plots on the dial; a rugged contrasting NATO green-canvas strap befitting its field watch heritage; or both straps in a special combination package that also includes a strap-changing tool.

We’ll be celebrating the partnership with a Hamilton History “Field Day” event at Topper Jewelers on March 16 with the Bay Area enthusiast group “Watch The Bay Meetups.” At the event, we’ll have a series of amazing vintage field watches on loan from Hamilton’s Pennsylvania museum here in our Burlingame store. You can RSVP to the event here and secure your watch reservation by pre-ordering here. We’re currently anticipating a delivery date in May for these pre-orders. You can also learn more about the Hamilton Khaki Field watch collection at hamiltonwatch.com.