Hamilton Ventura Elvis80 Automatic Reference H24585331 - Unique and Practical , A Review (plus Video)

I love weird shaped watches. I had my eyes on the Ventura for many years but only now have I taken the opportunity to get one for the collection. Currently, some of the oddly shaped watches in the collection are Hamilton Face to Face II and the Seiko Prospex Giugiaro Diver.

 

The only beef I have against the watch which stopped me from getting one earlier was the proprietary strap design. Although there is one option for a bracelet, all the models available at the shops uses rubber straps. Unfortunately, such straps will deteriorate over time and the only option for replacement is getting back to Hamilton. 

Over the years, I have come to a conclusion that such risk is something that I must bear. Having noted that the strap is a silicone compound (which should last much longer than pure rubber), I finally decided to get one.

Having looked at the various options available, I have decided to go for the Elvis80, a model slightly smaller than the biggest Ventura model current available, the "XXL" series but bigger than the "S" series. The model I chose is the Reference H24585331.

The Series

Historically, the Ventura was introduced in 3 January 1957 with a technological twist. Designer Richard Arbib created the Ventura to be the first mechanical watch to be fueled by battery. Hamilton invested ten years of research into developing the H500 movement as well as a battery specifically for the Ventura with the help of the National Carbon Company. It was presented to the world in the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York. Over 120 journalists from all over the world was invited to the event.

 

The Hamilton Ventura 4K Yellow Gold launched on 3 January 1957

Do note that the Ventura is not a quartz watch but a mechanical watch with electrical winding. It was also promoted as an 'electric watch' as part of its marketing pitch. It will take another 4,739 days or nearly 13 years before the age of the quartz watch took hold on 25 December 1969 with the launch of the Seiko Quartz Astron 35SQ. Below is a photo of the H500 movement.

 

The Hamilton H500 movement

 

When compared to the first quartz watch by Seiko, the Astron 35SQ, you can immediately see the difference. 

Seiko Quartz Astron 35SQ and the first quartz caliber the 35A

There are currently three models under the Elvis80 series. These are as follows:

The Reference H24555331; MSRP RM7,250
Black dial, black rubber strap, polished stainless steel

 

The Reference H24505311; MSRP RM6,900
White dial, white rubber strap, polished stainless steel

The Reference H24585331; MSRP RM7,350
Black dial, black rubber strap, PVD black stainless steel

Effective 1 March 2024, Hamilton repriced the watches with new MSRP of RM7,600, RM7,250 and RM7,750 respectively.

 

 

The Watch

The casing is made out of stainless steel with PVD black coating. Measuring 44.6 mm (left to right) and 42.5 mm (top to bottom), the iconic triangular Ventura design has been reworked to be more in-tuned to current taste. Although the proportion is different compared to the original - wider instead of taller - the Ventura DNA remains. 

The left side of the case is angular with flat surfaces and hard edges, while the right side is rounded.  Moreover, the casing is not flat. The sapphire exhibition case-back is curved to conform to the wrist, while the front sapphire crystal slopes downward on the right side. These contrasts work so well on the Ventura.

The large crown uses a simple pull-out-push-in system to engage the gears to readjust the time and date as well as manually wind the mainspring.

 

The matte black dial has multiple levels and textures. The triangular centre portion has a smooth finish, surrounded by a ridged chapter ring with applied indices of varying sizes and angles. An outermost grey minutes track has a detailed 15-minute scale in orange, matching the orange seconds hand. The polished silver hour and minute hands have Super-LumiNova inserts along with the indices at 12:00, 6:00 and 9:00. A date aperture is cut into the dial surface, replacing the hour marker at 3:00. Framed in polished steel, the date complication placement looks very symmetrical, primarily due to unique triangular shape of the casing.

One needs to appreciate the way the hands move. Due to the dial’s triangular shape, the hands seems to point haphazardly as they rotate. For example, the seconds hand sweeps over the outer track at 7:00 and 11:00 but is far from it at 5:00 and 9:00. Nonetheless, the hands are legible against the black dial.

There are only three lines of texts on the dial. The brand is on the upper quadrant while the words "VENTURA" and "AUTOMATIC" are on the bottom quadrant. All texts are printed white on the dial.

The watch casing for this model under review is a black rubber with a stainless steel signed PVD buckle. Due to the uniqueness of the lugs on the Ventura, the strap cannot be replaced with third party options. The strap measures 20 mm at the lugs and tapers down to 18 mm at the buckle. As a design feature, the watch has a stylized “shields” over part of the lugs, creating an illusion the lugs is standard and the strap is conventional in design. In the photo below one can see how the strap attaches itself to the casing.

If the front is impressive, the back of the watch is even more spectacular. The curvature of the case-back is obvious to see and adds to the comfortable fit. The case-back plate is connected to the casing via four screws. Through the sapphire display window, you can see Hamilton’s H-10 automatic movement. Based on the ETA C07.111, the 25 jewels H-10 operates at 21,600 BPH or 3 Hertz with an 80-hour power reserve. Due to the triangular shape of the casing, the round H-10 movement sits within the triangular case with empty space s surrounding it. The vacant area is black with a silver “V” pattern, contrasting well against the movement. The H-10 is decorated with perlage and a customized, skeleton rotor.

The construction of the watch gives it a water rating of 50 meters.

Below is a photo of the watch taken in the dark.

 
The Wearing Experience

The triangular shape casing is eye-catching yet stylish. Due to the curvature of the watch casing, the watch sits snugly on the wrist. Despite the triangular shape of the casing, it does not snag on shirt cuffs (in my case). The size fits nicely on my 6.75 inch wrist. Below is a video of the watch on my wrist.

 

I generally do not recommend getting a watch with a PVD coating. Overtime, scratches will become more obvious. Nonetheless, in this case I will recommend the PVD coated model as it has the effect of tempering the 'loudness' of the design. In my view, a watch is supposed to be discrete. A polished casing is a effectively a visual 'shout-out' to the world.

I do want to recommend that instead of the black rubber strap, a black racing leather strap with orange stitching be considered instead. This combination will fit perfectly with the colour scheme on the dial.

 

Specifications

Reference: H24585331
Caliber: H-10
Movement: Automatic
Jewels: 25

Power reserve: 80 hour
Case size: 42.50 mm (top to bottom) x 44.60 mm (left to right)
Thickness: 11.38 mm
Dial color: Black
Case material: Stainless steel with PVD black coating
Crystal: Sapphire with AR protection
Lug width: 20 mm (however, it has a proprietary attachment point)
Water Resistance: 5 bar (50 meters)
Open Case Back: Yes
Strap reference: H6002451051
Strap type: Rubber with pin buckle
Buckle Width: 18.00 mm

MSRP: RM7,350

Purchase Date: 27 February 2024

Purchase Price: RM5,880

Vendor: AWG, Mid Valley

Warranty: Two (2) years

Serial Number: Y1HTQYV4A

Photo Gallery

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