Hamilton Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical H76419931 - A Re-craft of the Classic W10, A Review (plus Video)

One of Hamilton's enduring legacy is its connection to military watches. No, I am not taking about "wannabes" military style watches but actual watches endorsed and pressed into actual military service. In the 1960s and 1970s, Hamilton became one of the manufacturers of watches for the British Army. These pieces are very easy to recognise thanks to their “broad arrow” markings on their dials. Hamilton's more famous design was the W10. This went into production between 1973 and 1976. It was made specifically for the Royal British Air Force.

In 2019, the brand announced a re-craft of the original W10. In the press release, Hamilton used the term “exact remake of the W10” which I believe only refers to the dimensions. This in itself is very good as a lot of 'remakes' nowadays do not strictly follow the original dimensions, just the basic shape.

The Hamilton Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical came at the heels of the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical. In Hamilton's website, the expected release date was September 2019. Imagine my suprise to see a few examples already on display in a Hamilton AD in Kuala Lumpur by early November 2019. I had to get it and I chose the nylon NATO strap version.




The Watch

The tonneau shaped watch casing is sized relatively smaller than current contemporary watches of the same type. It is important to note that the dimensions highlighted on Hamilton's website is slightly misleading. The 33 mm wide measurement is in relation to the vertical (or North-South/12 to 6) alignment where the width along the 10 to 4 alignment is 36 mm. Lug-to-lug is 42 mm and the thickness is approximately 10 mm. Made out of stainless steel with brush surface, couple with the nylon NATO strap, the watch weighs in at approximately 60 gm.

The Dial

Hamilton have kept it as close to the original W10 as possible minus a few items for the newest iteration. What is obviously missing are the "Broad Arrow" and the circle-and-"T" symbols which I believe are markings that signify ownership by the military. Since this will be civilian version, such markings would be unnecessary (or perhaps Hamilton does not have the right to use them - if anyone knows the actual reason, please feel free to comment in the feedback section below).   

 

The dial has a grainy and textured treatment to give it the necessary seasoning for a vintage design.

Even the italicized font used in the 1970s is employed on this re-creation. Generally, the watch follows a simple design following the traditions of pilot’s watches for the past century. Arabic numbers in white font are used for all hours except for the 12 o'clock where a triangle is used as a marker. The sword hands are similar to the original and filled with beige Super-LumiNova luminous paint to give that patina-feel to the hands. Similarly, the hour markers on the white train-track are also painted with the same beige Super-LumiNova luminous paint to generate the same patina feel to the rest of the dial.

Texts are kept to a minimum like the original. There is the brand name, the word "MECHANICAL" as well as the all-important "SWISS MADE" in small font.

Protecting the dial is a boxed hardened mineral crystal with double AR coating to minimise reflection. Although the original sported a boxed plexiglass, I am fine with the change to mineral crystal. Nevertheless, why not go all the way by using sapphire crystal instead?

The signed crown is typical of the 1970s styling - small and petite. Using a simple push-in & pull-out system, one can easily adjust the hands. Manual winding is very therapeutic as it gives and audible feedback as you turn the gears.

The lugs are short and curves into the wrist. For those of you with extremely small wrist (if you are a kid or you want to gift this watch to one), it would fit such wrists like a glove. In this day and age, some may find the size too small relative to contemporary watches. However, despite the size, the dial is legible. At 18 mm wide, there are a lot of strap options available. The only comment I have is the lack of pass-through lug holes to make it easier for disengaging the spring-bars.



Like the shape of the watch casing, the case-back is also tonneau shaped. It attaches to the back via four screws. On it are stamped the brand, the product reference number, the country of origin and the water resistance level. For a watch with screws and a push-in & pull-out crown system, having a 100 meter water resistance rating is impressive.

Underneath the case-back is the hand-wound Calibre H-50 engine. This is a modernised version of the hand-wound ETA 2801-2 with a slower frequency of 21,600 BPH or 3 Hz for the former compared to the 28,800 BPH or 4 Hz for the latter. By slowing down the frequency of operation, Hamilton was able to improved the power reserve to 80 hours. For historical buffs: the old W10 was powered by an ETA 2750, the ancestor of the ETA 2801.

When you wind it, it should have a smooth 'zipping' sound. When you start to hear, or possibly feel, intermittent clicks in the 'zipping' sound, that's the slipping clutch device kicking in to prevent you from overwinding. At that point you will know the watch is fully wound. You will have to listen quite closely to hear or feel the clicks.

I did a simple accuracy test on the movement using the Toolwatch app. I was very impressed with the results straight out of the box. Based on the application, the H-50 engine was perfect, scoring a +0.0 seconds per day error rate. Remarkable. 

Paired with this watch is a greying-green nylon NATO strap with square metal strap guides and signed buckle. Reinforced black leather strips for the tab-holes as well as the protective black leather covering for the strap end were added to minimise fraying of the nylon material. Unlike other NATO straps, it does not come with the extra length. The strap ends are kept nice and tidy within the strap guides without the need to fold over itself.



In the dark, you would expect to see the following illumination (see below). If you ask me to rank the brightness of the illumination on the dial, I would have to give it a poor scoring as Japanese watches are much better at this game of illumination. However, the patina has been replicated rather convincingly and the faux-patina nigh glow does fit into the styling.




The Wearing Experience

I have to say that this Hamilton Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical is the smallest man-size watch I have in the collection. Although it definitely fit my 6.75 inch wrist, relatively speaking, it looks tiny on me. Apart from that, it wears well and the simplistic dial is clean and uncluttered.



Since it is mechanical and not an automatic, one component that I would appreciate to be on this watch is a power reserve indicator. As it is now, there is no indication at all the level of power in the springs as you continue to wind the watch manually. Unfortunately, as this is a re-craft, I am sure my wish would be rejected outright. Having a power reserve would totally destroy the original design. Nevertheless, if Hamilton was to do something new using and modern design, I do recommend the power reserve to be one functionality that the brand should consider.



Overall, I am satisfied with the watch.


The Series Versus The Original

Hamilton's W10 specifically for the Royal British Air Force went into production between 1973 and 1976 (see an example below). Made under the MIL-W-3818B (and MIL-W-46374) military standard, such watches were designed to go into combat and survive relatively intact. To commemorate the classic timepiece, Hamilton introduced a re-crafted model with an option of two types of straps.

Original vintage Hamilton W10 with Broad Arrow dial photo credit: www.ukwatches.com

The re-crafted timepiece has a lot of similarities with the original but there are some differences. Starting with the case, Hamilton retains the case shape and given a matte finish and brushed polished. Protecting the dial is a hardened mineral crystal, box-shaped like the Plexiglas on the original. The case-back is held in place by four screws compared to the push-in case-back of the original.

Reference: H76419531 Leather NATO strap reference H600.764.104 MSRP: MYR3,400

Reference: H76419931 Nylon NATO strap reference H600.764.105 MSRP: MYR3,200

There is a MYR200 price difference between the leather and nylon NATO strap options.



Specifications

Case Material: Stainless steel
Case Shape: Tonneau shaped
Surface: Brushed
Dimensions: 33 mm (W - 12 to 6), 36 mm (W - 10 to 4), 42 mm (L), 9.95 mm (H)
Lug Width: 18 mm
Crystal: Box mineral glass with double AR coating
Strap: Grey nylon NATO
Illumination: Beige Super-LumiNova paint
Water Rating: 100 meters/145 psi/328 feet
Caliber: H-50 mechanical movement, 17 jewels
Operating Frequency: 21,600 BPH or 3 hertz
Power Reserve: 80 hours
Weight: Approximately 60 gm
MSRP: CHF795; MYR3,200; USD845
Warranty: Two (2) years
Availability: September 2019
Purchase Date: 10 November 2019
AD Shop: Hang Thai Watch, Bangsar Village
Purchase Price: MYR2,400


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