Watch Review: Affordable Mechanicals: sub-$300 Range: Hamilton Field Khaki Hand Wind H69419363 Officer Handwinding

With the entry point of Swiss-made mechanical watches approaching - and often well exceeding - the $1000, many newcomers to realm of the watch enthusiasts must limit themselves to Asian-made or vintage Swiss models if their budget only goes as high as a few hundred dollars.  For those individuals, the entry-level brands of the Swatch Group, such as Tissot and Hamilton, offer some of the best value propositions on the market today.

The watch on review today is perhaps the finest and least expensive example in Hamilton's present collection:  the Field Khaki Hand Wind (currently listed as the Officer Handwinding on Hamilton's website), reference number H69419363.  Its simple three-hand design reflects a functionalist and spartan outlook that meshes well with its military aesthetic.  At 38mm in diameter, it is well positioned as an understated timepiece that could be easily dressed up with a leather strap or matching bracelet (more on the latter below).  Its 20mm lug width ensures that it is compatible with a wide range of aftermarket straps, and the drilled lug holes are an increasingly rarefied feature that makes strap changes a breeze and further cements the watch's function-first aesthetic.  The watch comes in a black dial and an olive drab dial, the latter of which can appear black or grey depending on the light and surroundings.  

Notable at this price point is the watch's domed sapphire crystal, whose charming lack of anti-reflective coating makes it evoke the vintage charm of actual military watches that used plastic or plexiglass crystals, while offering the modern scratch resistance of sapphire.  Its movement is an ETA 2804-2, which is the most recent manual-wind version of ETA's workhorse 28XX lines of movements.  For those looking to understand the anachronistic appeal of a mechanical watch in a world where every cellphone can tell you the time, the combination of sweeping seconds hand and daily ritual of winding the watch to maintain its 38-hour power reserve offers the full experience at perhaps the lowest price attainable for a Swiss mechanical watch.

As pictured above, I opted to dress up the watch with its matching bracelet (reference number H605.694.101, available direct from Hamilton for $114 plus shipping at the time of writing).  I found that the solid-end-link bracelet really completes the watch by matching seamlessly with its satin metal finish, and as versatile as the watch is with a wide range of straps, uniting the watch with its bracelet makes it feel suddenly whole.

The Hamilton Field Khaki Hand Wind H69419363 (aka Officer Handwinding) is available on Amazon for less than $300.

Specifications:

Diameter: 38mm

Lug Width: 20mm

Dial Color: Olive Drab

Crystal: Sapphire

Movement: ETA 2804-2 (manual wind, approximately 38-hour power reserve)

Bracelet: H605.694.101 ($114 + shipping direct from Hamilton)

Recommendation:  If you're a fan of minimalism, military aesthetics, handwound movements, and perhaps the best bang-for-buck current production Swiss timepiece on the market today, do yourself a favor and pick up the H69419363.

Accessory Review: Pocket Watch Glass Display Dome with Walnut Base & Silver hook (It's On Amazon)

After choosing the Marathon TSAR as the latest occupant of my watch box, I went searching for a storage solution for the pocket watches that I've been handed down and the one modern example - an Orient CDD00001W, one of the only modern pocket watches I know of that features a sapphire crystal - I keep on hand for occasions where a wrist-bound watch simply won't do.  Most boxes designed to store pocket watches have capacities far too large for my needs - usually in the 10 to 12 pocket watch range - so I went with a couple of single-watch glass cases from Amazon.

At just under $30, they're a reasonable storage and display option.  I keep the aforementioned Orient in one, and my great-grandfather's vintage Omega pocket watch in another.  It's a solid choice that keeps the watch well protected and nicely displayed, though getting the watch on the hook can be a little fidgety.  I highly recommend it to anyone who has a pocket watch or two and wants a good place to keep them safe.

Watch Accessory Review: Wolf Designs 4583029 5 Piece Watch Storage Box

Watch boxes occupy an interesting spot in the realm of watch accessories.  At some point (usually after collecting more than 2-3 watches), they become something of a necessity for those looking to keep their collection in some semblance of order.  But many such boxes tend to either occupy stratospheric price points (when the box costs more than most of the watches it houses, something is amiss), or pair reasonable pricing with dubious construction or materials (in particular, an anonymous model I picked up from eBay for about $40 had lining and watch pillows that started to disintegrate the moment I touched them).  The sweet spot that couples reasonable price with reasonable quality can be elusive.

After paring down my watch collection from well over the ten slots allocated in my previous watch box (a now-discontinued Fossil model), and confirming that Fossil's current watch box offerings 1) cost over $100 each (straying into costing-more-than-the-watches territory where Fossil is concerned) and 2) featuring no less than eight slots, I decided to venture onto Amazon and see if I could find another brand that would hit the reasonable-price, reasonable-quality sweet spot.

I'd heard of Wolf Designs before, but their "retail" price point positions them squarely outside reasonable price territory.  Fortunately, most retailers that carry them offer the boxes at substantial discounts, Amazon included, making them a stronger value proposition and worth looking into.  With a slim collection in mind, I chose their 5-watch offering, available on Amazon for roughly $50.  (Not cheap, but not quite exorbitant, either.)

The quality of materials is more than adequate, on par if not slightly better than those used in the now-discontinued Fossil box.  The slots feature a slight incline that allows the watches to rest naturally at an attractive angle when nestled within.  The display window is glass rather than plastic, giving it a more solid feel.  I prefer watch boxes with transparent lids as they allow solar-powered watches (such as the Citizen Eco-Drive line and many higher-end Casios) to take on light even while the box is closed.

The locking mechanism is simple and functional, but ultimately of limited protective value; any determined thief need only shatter the glass lid to gain access to the watches within, or simply take the entire box.  I tend to leave mine unlocked by default.

All in all, this is about as nice a watch box as can be had at around the $50 price point - which is hardly a steal, but an acceptable value given the watch box market.  For those looking to maintain a smaller (by WIS standards) collection, the Wolf Designs 4583029 5 Piece Watch Storage Box is probably the box to get.