One watch collection competition. All under 400. Episode 7. Sweet 16. 2/8.
Today is a beautiful day and, of course, I cannot leave you all without a poll. The second pair of sweet 16 is ready to clash is severe and ruthless fight. I will freeze the results of the poll in a week, so if you haven’t voted for the previous pair of sweet 16, then you still can do that. And now it’s time (pun intended) to meet our contestants. The red corner and red seconds hand tip… named the best value watch under a thousand by many men, beware and behold – Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic 38
1. Hamilton Khaki Field Automatic 38
Sizes: 38mm case diameter, 47mm lug-to-lug, 10,8mm thick, 20mm lug width.
Movement: H-10 (automatic, hacks, handwinds, day, 21600 bph, bi-directional rotor, 80 hour power reserve).
Materials: 316L steel brushed and polished
Crystal: Domed sapphire crystal with no AR coating
Lume: Green SuperLuminova
Band: Metal bracelet, solid links, solid endlinks, milled deployant clasp with double-pushers 2 holes of micro adjustment
WR: 100m
Price: 400$ (Grey market)
What to love: Big brand, H-10 movement with 80 hours of power reserve, great size
Grain of salt: Have to be lucky to find at the price, lack of AR coating, «15» placement at the dial.
In the blue corner – an unexpected candidate forged in WildCard battles, carrier of Swiss army heritage – Victorinox Alliace Mechanical
1. Victorinox Alliance Mechanical
Sizes: 40mm case diameter, 50mm lug-to-lug, 9mm thick, 20mm lug width.
Movement: ETA 2892 (automatic, hacks, handwinds, Date, 28800 bph, bi-directional rotor, 48 hour power reserve).
Materials: 316L steel polished and brushed (mostly polished).
Crystal: Sapphire with underside AR coating
Lume: SuperLuminova
Band: Metal bracelet with solid links and male end-links, butterfly deployant clasp.
WR: 100m
Price: 400$ (Grey market)
What to love: Great movement, interesting dial
Grain of salt: Side profile looks very slabby, 50mm lug-to-lug could be a problem for some. Butterfly clasp.
Battle of grey market prices, battle of movements, battle of Swiss brands. Let the winner advance with flying colours and the looser collect the remains of dignity and leave. Let’s vote!
11 comments
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Aleksandr
Relatively inexperienced and humble watch wearer. Not much of a collector. Enjoy the design, engineering and history. 6.7 inch (17 cm) wrist. Love to look for hidden gems, especially in affordable pri...
Kaliningrad, Russia
Member since
Last active: 1 year ago
I guess this is going to be a clear one 😎
I guess this is going to be a clear one 😎
Seems like that!
You have pictured the 42mm, not the 38mm. The 38mm has a much more pleasing date and numeral placement. The position of the date is a function of the movement, so the 42mm is a bit of a kludge.
You have pictured the 42mm, not the 38mm. The 38mm has a much more pleasing date and numeral placement. The position of the date is a function of the movement, so the 42mm is a bit of a kludge.
That might be true. But in your picture 15 is still misplaced and still is a grain of salt.
But thank you very much for pointing that out. Will fix in the next round. Hamilton seems to have no problem advancing
Hamilton all day long and twice on Sundays!
I voted for the Hamilton because it's obvious what the watch is trying to be. The Victorinox seems to be trying to be a tool/dress/casual watch all at once, and therefore fails to be any of them.
I voted for the Hamilton because it's obvious what the watch is trying to be. The Victorinox seems to be trying to be a tool/dress/casual watch all at once, and therefore fails to be any of them.
To me a field watch should be all about the business of today, which is mostly war and stuff. So the date window always ruins this watch for me. Not "ruins" like it's not still great, but I just can't totally appreciate it with that date window.
There's a couple victorinox watches I want to try and I'm sure quality wise they're on par with Hamilton but until recently my kfa was my favorite watch of the collection. Despite a couple annoyances it really is a hard to beat watch.
I voted for the Hamilton because it's obvious what the watch is trying to be. The Victorinox seems to be trying to be a tool/dress/casual watch all at once, and therefore fails to be any of them.
If it didn't fail to be all of those it would fit perfectly into the category of the competition. I like the dial and movement. The case shape is something the bothers me
To me a field watch should be all about the business of today, which is mostly war and stuff. So the date window always ruins this watch for me. Not "ruins" like it's not still great, but I just can't totally appreciate it with that date window.
To me a field watch without a date is useless. When you're three weeks into a FOB the days all run into one another. A date helps mark the passage of time.
Also, there is a lot of paperwork, and all of it requires a date.
The results of the voting are fixed. Hamilton KFA advances and Victorinox Alliance is eliminated