Throwback Thursday: 1st Mechanical Watch

It’s a boring watch, most of those videos are paid sponsorships with Hamilton unless they openly tell you it is not

It’s not a bad watch, but it’s just not great either. I’m a fan of the Hamilton Pilot Day/Date that was in Interstellar. That’s about it.

Great piece of advice. Unlike you, it took me absolutely ages to understand this properly and a lot of sleepless nights, money thrown away. Total respect for you to understand this simple yet hard to fully grasp concept so early in your collecting journey.

It probably didn’t have enough water resistance for where you live anyway! The Hamilton field watches didn’t work for me until the no date variants were released.

You’re actually not far off the mark! I really hated the leather strap because I couldn’t expose it to water. At the time, I was a new father and did nightly baths for my son, so it was super annoying to have to take the watch on/off throughout the day

I also love the look of their light green dial on the titanium model, but almost all of their portfolio is oversized IMO

What did you pickup instead?

I totally agree with the philosophy buy what you like. We all have different tastes. And, for example, I love boring watches 😄 (by boring, I mean black/white dial and overall clean look). And this particular watch, and other with black dials I have in my collection, make me happy. For example, I have a couple of watches with colors and when I bought them I was really happy, but as time was going by, my taste has changed and at the moment - I wear them less and less... It is one of the things in watches that make me happy - there is a watch for everyone! 😄

I considered the Hami KFA for my first watch too because of several recommendations and videos on yt. In the end (yesterday) i bought my first watch, longines hydroconquest. I love it and i know i would have reget the buy of the khaki. #buywhatyoulove

100% agree. Took me a few years to stop caring about the numbers/specs and buy based on the feeling you get when you wear a piece. My collection has changed since then I've made a few aquisitions this year that may not be perfect on paper but they've got that "X" factor that you cannot quantify.

Oris Divers 65. I’ll have to do a post on that one

I own the KFM in bronze because while the watch is inherently boring the ever changing bronze case isn’t.

But it is very good at being boring and my pick for all kinds of handy and dirty work.

The KF Auto on the other hand is a boring “dress watch” (at least kinda dressy) and that doesn’t make too much sense to me 🤷🏻‍♂️

The only 42mm watch I regret buying.

Lugs are too long, glasses are terrible without proper coating. Quality of leather strap is poor.

My teenage daughter was buying a lot of quartz fashion watches, often 2-3 at a time since she taught Red Cross Swim courses as well as lifeguarding at a local community centre and instructing beginners swim classes, she had some disposable income. I decided to buy a Hamilton Khaki for her from a shop that was being shuttered due to ambitious renovations by the mall owners, eventually also ordered an OEM

bracelet for her watch. She is a young professional working in finance that involves a great deal of travel within Canada living out of a suitcase often for months at a time. She owns more expensive watches but her Khaki from her high school days remains her beater watch. Obviously it is a basic timepiece but never a poor choice.

I went with the Bulova auto that was recommended by Ben’s Watch Club as an alternative to the KFM. It was a great value at around $200, although it runs a little fast.

Yeah, I quickly learned that this hobby is way more fun collecting the watches I like, and not the ones the forums say I need.

I made the field watch mistake too, only with a bulova hack. Which is why I think people new to watch collecting should stick to cheaper watches at first, until they learn what they really like.

I can very much relate to this. I bought this watch as my first Swiss. I think it’s a nice watch albeit a bit boring imo, but I never connected with it.

After I got my Aquascaphe, I realized what it felt like to really like a watch. After not wearing the Hamilton for half a year I sold it, and I haven’t regretted it one bit.

I think a lot of the people on social media hyping this watch is just following the opinions of others. There’s not doubt a lot of people who honestly really like the watch, but I think it’s overrated.

I'd been collecting for about 2yrs before I bought this watch. I didn't like the leather strap, and tried in on a few straps before buying the bracelet. On bracelet, it is one of my favorite watches.

Exactly this. The amazing thing about watches is that we can all have different experiences and interpretations of these wonderful timepieces

I’ll buy it off you 😂

I 100% agree with the idea of “buying what you like” rather than “mazimizing your budget by picking up this watch that checks all the boxes” mindset that some reviewers suggest.

I personally like the Hamilton Khaki Field and actually went to the store ready to pick up the quartz version of this watch but unfortunately their online store was not updated so they didn’t actually have it on stock anymore 😢. I think the Hammy is a fine looking watch - especially on the bracelet for the exact reason you mentioned as leather just isn’t as convenient although it may look classier at times. But just like most Hammy’s, you either love the field watch look (I do) or it’s a little too simple and plain haha.