Photo: Joseph Anthony
Hamilton Khaki Field H69439931 Review & Complete Guide
Among watch enthusiasts, Hamilton is considered one of the best brands of affordable/entry-level brands in the world. Hamilton and its watches have everything you may ask for from a brand. It has a long and interesting history, use Swiss movements, and most importantly, make well-finished, durable, and high-quality watches. All at reasonable prices.
One of the most appreciated and praised timepieces from Hamilton is the Khaki Field Mechanical Watch H69439931. And to understand what makes it so popular, we will review and look at this watch up close.
Hamilton Khaki Field H69439931 Review
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The Hamilton Khaki Field H69439931 is a military field watch that very evidently has a design that is very reminiscent of military watches. It’s sporty, has large white numerals, and a matte black dial.
What makes it particularly popular with watch enthusiasts is the fact that it has a mechanical movement.
If you are looking for a stylish, vintage-inspired military field watch built to high quality, powered by a robust mechanical movement, and affordably priced at around 400 USD, this watch may be the watch for you.
Hamilton Khaki Field H69439931 case
Starting off with the case, the H69439931 has a small 38mm case whose design is very much made to look like military watches at the time.
Yes, 38mm and a thickness of 9.5mm is quite small, but for this watch, it is completely justified and relevant. A watch that has only taken the design as inspiration is not completed until it also stays true to the size of the original. And that is exactly what this Hamilton has done.
The case has a lug width of 20mm.
A nice feature of this case is the fact that it is completely sandblasted, and made of stainless steel. The sandblasted case really adds to the tool-like rugged design but is also very practical since it practically hides and conceals scratches very well. The case design is very clean and simple. No unnecessary quirks or features. Just simply a no-bullshit watch. It has squared-off lugs and a slightly stepped bezel. The lug-to-lug measurement is 47mm.
Photo: Watchgecko
Sitting on top of the case is a scratch-resistant sapphire crystal. One critique people have about this watch is that the slightly concaved crystal does not have an anti-reflective coating, which means it can create glare.
It has a water resistance of 50 meters which means it is not suitable for swimming or diving, but it can handle water splashes. Sitting at 3 o’clock is a relatively large crown with a raised ”H” on its side. The primary reason this watch does not have better water resistance is the fact that it does not have a screw-down crown. At the same time, it is not a watch made to go diving with anyways.
If you turn the watch over, you see a very simple solid metal case back.
With all of this said, this is the purpose of a military watch. To be robust and reliable, to offer great reliability, and not feature any other unnecessary elements. The H69439931 has really succeeded in doing this, featuring no superfluous design elements or functions.
A popular feature of the case of this watch is that it has drilled lugs. This is also a suitable feature for a military watch like this, but it is also very practical as it makes strap changes a breeze.
Hamilton Khaki Field H69439931 Movement
The Hamilton H69439931 is equipped with the reliable and durable ETA 2801.2. It has great accuracy but most importantly goes very well with the ethos of this watch as a rigid tool watch built to handle beatings.
Hamilton calls this movement the caliber H-50 due to the numerous modifications the company has done to the movement. In a true military watch style, it is manual winding.
The movement has an increased power reserve of 80 hours which is really impressive. It is an improvement from 42 hours which the ETA normally has. The winding function is designed in such a way that you can’t wind it when it is fully wound in order to prevent the mainspring from snapping.
Hamilton Khaki Field H69439931 Movement Dial
Moving on to the most important part of this watch is the dial.
Everyone who loves military watches will love this one. It has a matte rich textured dial with large white-painted Arabic numerals and large painted minute markings. On each five-minute marking, we have triangles with a painted luminous mass on them for legibility in the dark.
The hands have military-inspired hands (of course), painted in white to create a contrast against the black background. The hands have luminova applied to them. The luminosity is slightly aged/brownish to continue on the vintage-inspired theme.
Overall, the whole dial design is very vintage inspired and is a real success for a watch like this. To keep the dial clean, and to keep it as close to the original as possible, it has no date function.
The lume on this watch is quite good. It glows brightly and lasts for several hours after having been charged (for example by a lamp or the sunlight).
Strap
The watch comes presented on a NATO strap which is appropriate for this military watch (bear in mind that it was during the second world war that the NATO straps were issued for soldiers).
The strap is olive-colored and has dark brown leather accents, including the strap holes as well as the insertion end where wear is more common. The strap is a perfect fit for this watch and it is also comfortable to wear.
But if you don’t like this strap, you can easily change it.
Specifications
- Diameter: 38mm
- Thickness:
- Lug width: 20mm
- Lug-to-lug:
- Movement: ETA 2801.2 (Modified by Hamilton to H-50)
- Power reserve: 80 hours
- Crystal: Sapphire
Conclusion
The goal of the Hamilton Khaki Field H69439931 is to create a robust, reliable, and accurate military watch that stays true to the original, and with that, Hamilton has succeeded extremely well.
At a price of around 400 USD, it is truly a watch that offers great value for money. There is nothing to complain about when it comes to build quality, and its movement accuracy is impressive as well. The watch truly punches above its own weight making it a watch that offers great value for money.
The Hamilton Khaki Field H69439931 is available to order on Amazon.
