Hamilton is a Swiss brand that was founded in the US. It was bought by the Swiss giant – the Swatch group. Ever since then, its pieces have been made in the country. The Khaki King is one of its best field watches. Everything you need to know about it is discussed in our Hamilton Khaki king review below.
Running through its features will help you get to know it better.
The watch looks like a standard field piece. It has a wide dial, letting you read it easily. However, its case is not that big. It stretches 1.57 inches (40 mm) across.
We think it looks classic. This is mainly due to its colour palette – the brown and black on it go well together. This timepiece complements all kinds of outfits.
It comes with a leather strap. The material is not only high-quality, but it makes the watch look premium. The Khaki King costs over $500, so this was expected.
If we had a complaint, we’re not fans of its case thickness. It makes the watch look more rugged.
There is also an exposed back. You can see all its gears move, which is stunning.
Its case isn’t big, so your wrist won’t be swallowed up. The timepiece isn’t heavy either; it weighs a decent 5.29 ounces (149.9 grams). It would be lighter if it didn’t have that so much metal on it. They are testaments to how well-built it is.
As you know, the Hamilton Khaki King bracelet is leather. The band is narrow, making the watch comfortable. Wider straps tend to collect sweat. The leather is also hand-stitched, making the timepiece look expensive.
No surprise, it uses genuine calf-skin. It’s been embossed to look like crocodile skin. We think Hamilton did a really good job with this.
However, a lot of people have leather allergies. If this is you, you won’t be able to wear it. Something else you have to consider is how easily the material creases.
It has a tang buckle clasp. If you have wider wrists, you may not find a pin-hole suited for you.
We’re huge fans of its dial. To begin with, it has Arabic numerals that make it easy to read. As its backdrop is black, its white markers pop sharply. You’ll have no issues reading the watch when it’s dark out. This is especially true as there is luminous paint on its hands and markers. The Khaki king rocks some of the strongest lume we’ve ever seen.
It’s a field watch. If you didn’t know, field watches were made for the military. That’s why you’ll see an inner ring with the hours passed in military time.
Something that will catch your attention when you see its face is the calendar on top. It makes a statement, but we don’t think it does this in a good way.
What about its window? It’s synthetic sapphire, which is the toughest glass out there. The one on the Khaki King has some extra scratch resistance to it. Its display is not domed. This reduces its chances of collecting scratches.
As mentioned, the case is on the thicker side. It’s made from stainless steel. Due to this, there’s a bit of shock resistance to the watch.
The device’s bezel is made from the material as well.
You might have to look closely to notice its outer ring. It contains detailed markings of the minutes passed.
The Hamilton timepiece can handle 165 feet (50 meters) underwater. This is great as field watches are meant to be worn outdoors, and can handle all kinds of weather, including rain. If you’ve read our previous reviews, you’d know that we don’t like getting leather watches wet. The material not only is hard to dry but smells bad when damp.
Hamilton claims that you can swim with it on. As it comes with a luminous dial, reading it underwater is easy.
As its body is made from stainless steel, rusting and corrosion won’t happen.
The Hamilton Khaki movement is automatic. It uses a Swiss automatic mechanism. To be more specific, it has the ETA Caliber 2834-2 inside. It provides a 32-hour power reserve and 25 jewels in its gears.
Hopefully, you know what a power reserve is. This is how long you can have an automatic watch off before its gears stop moving.
Having 25 jewels is more than the standard amount. Most mechanical watches have 20. No, they’re not real jewels but are synthetic.
They make gears move smoother. Swiss watches are known to have the most.
We have some bad news for you – automatic watches aren’t the most accurate. Considering that the Hamilton Khaki King is a field watch, they’re supposed to be accurate. However, this is not always the case.
Hamilton is one of the most affordable swiss brands around. Their Khaki king pieces are field watches that perform well. Let’s compare it to the alternatives below.
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The SARB017 looks more interesting than its counterpart. For starters, it has an olive-green dial. You’d think that it wouldn’t work with its deep brown strap, but this isn’t the case.
There are large Arabic numerals on its display. There is no ring that shows the hours passed in military time, though. You’d notice that its numerals are in gold font. They make the watch look expensive. Considering that it’s more than $100 cheaper than the Khaki king, we think Seiko did a good job.
It comes with a leather strap too. It’s a calf-skin that’s embossed. Speaking of the strap, it isn’t that wide. The watch case isn’t big either. It stretches 1.57 inches (40 mm) across.
You’ll notice that the SARB can handle quite the dip underwater. It’s water-resistant up to 660 feet (200 meters). Seiko says that you can snorkel with it, but not dive. Remember that its strap is leather. You already know how we feel about getting it wet.
Its dial is luminous. However, there is no lume on its markers. The pigment is on its hands instead.
Like the Khaki King, the SARB017 is an automatic device. It’s not Swiss, though. Seiko’s a Japanese watch company. Swiss brands are the epitome of craftsmanship.
The mechanism inside of the watch is the 6R15. It comes with a massive 50-hour power reserve and 23 jewels inside its gears.
You’ll notice an outer ring on the device. It not only reads the minutes passed but provides a compass feature.
This timepiece from Hamilton has better water resistance than its alternative. It can last 330 feet (100 meters) underwater. However, it has a leather strap as well. Keep in mind what we said about getting the material wet.
The watch is larger than the Khaki King. Its case is 1.65 inches (42 mm) across. Its strap isn’t that wide. It’s calf-skin and is hand-stitched.
There is no embossing on it, though.
There’s a calendar on the device. It’s at the 3 o’clock position, so you’d think it would easy to read. But it’s rather small. You might catch yourself squinting trying to read it.
Of course, its dial is luminous. There is luminous pigment on its hands. Unfortunately, there isn’t any on its markers. Speaking of the markers, they’re huge. The Arabic numerals are bolded to help you read the time from a mile away.
We loved the Khaki king’s inner military time ring, which is why we’re glad that it’s back. We also like that the easy-to-read outer ring with the minutes passed is present.
The watch is a Swiss automatic. It contains the ETA 2824-2 movement. It provides a 38-hour power reserve and 25 jewels inside of its case, just like its brother.
The watch is unfortunately pretty heavy. It weighs over 15 ounces (425.2 grams).
To sum things up, the Hamilton brand is a Swiss delight. The brand produces masterpieces, which the Khaki King certainly is. This is a field watch, so it’s made for the outdoors. However, Hamilton did a good job making it stylish enough to elevate outfits. It’s arguably one of the best field watches around.
