Hamilton Boulton L - Small Seconds Quartz - Six month review
So I’m coming up on six months of owning this watch and figured I’d do a little review. This version is the “middle” sized version, the “L,” between the smaller quartz version and the much larger mechanical. It’s about 27mm wide by around 41mm lug to lug. A bit of an unusual choice for a man these days, both in terms of size and style, but I’ve found that I still enjoy it even though the honeymoon has worn off. If it were an automatic it would be the perfect dress watch, but alas.
A few things of note:
1) It’s feather weight light. I don’t know how many grams it is, but I can assure you it’s not many. This actually took quite a bit to get used to. You honestly can’t even feel it’s on at times. I’m used to it now, but if you’re accustomed to more heft, it does feel unusual at first.
2) The dial has a bit of a silver sparkle to it in the right light. It’s subtle, but it’s a nice touch.
3) The crown is signed, the hands are blued, and the Roman numerals are quite thickly painted on. This all adds for a bit of a more premium feel.
4) There are virtually no straight lines on the case. It’s totally sinuous - even the sapphire glass is curved. This makes it hug quite nice on the curve of the top of your wrist. But some would say this makes it a touch feminine.
5) The leather strap is not bad. Not the greatest. But the blue version that mine came with brings out the blued hands. Personally I prefer it on black leather.
All and all I can recommend this watch for someone that’s looking for a more traditionally sized watch that has its own heritage and treads a fine line between tank and full blown tonneau. At $695 retail it’s not cheap, but if you’re the type that dresses up quite frequently, I’d wholeheartedly recommend it. In fact, I’m finding myself even wearing it with more and more casual clothes these days and it doesn’t seem out of place. 4 out of 5 stars.
Hamilton Boulton L - Small Seconds Quartz - Six month review
Yes
No
- Dressy
- Roman Numerals
- Blued hands
- Classically sized
- Sapphire glass
- No date
- A bit too curvy
- Very light weight
Good review. I would have said prior to reading its very much not my thing but actually now I think it's quite attractive!
Looks great…have always loved Hamilton’s non-round cases and seeing this is great.
Good review! I am enjoying mine as well. I put it on this textured black leather strap and I find that it dresses it down a little for more casual wear, as opposed to the glossy croc leather strap which looks more classically formal to my eyes..
Good review! I am enjoying mine as well. I put it on this textured black leather strap and I find that it dresses it down a little for more casual wear, as opposed to the glossy croc leather strap which looks more classically formal to my eyes..
Looks good. I have a matte black faux crocodile strap. Thinking of getting a black cordovan.
Thanks for this review - very helpful as I don't see much on YT about them. This range of Hamiltons is important because if you're going to have a Tank you want it to be a quality brand and for most of us a Cartier is too expensive. I wear a lot of affordable and Chinese watches but if I was going to go the Tank route (and I'm getting the feeling after years of ignoring them) then it would be the Hamilton.