The American origin watchmaker Hamilton was the guest of our Hands On corner with its X-Wind Day Date model from the highly acclaimed Khaki Collection.
Hamilton is undoubtedly one of the indispensable watch brands of Hollywood productions. The brand, which has been living together with the silver screen, has seen in more than 450 motion pictures so far. Some of the films in which the brand, especially in science-fiction and action films, have taken place until now are as follows; Interstellar, The Martian, Men In Black, Independence Day, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Spider-Man 2.
We have seen the stainless steel chronograph version of the timepiece we have here for review in the movie Independence Day Resurgence worn by the famous actor Liam Hemsworth.
Hamilton is a brand with a great history. Supplying the watch used in the first postal service between Washington and New York and being an authorized watch supplier of the US Army are just a couple samples from that strong heritage. When it got to postal service and being a military spec watch supplier, it became inevitable for the brand get involved in aviation.
Thanks to its brand partnership with the Red Bull Air Race Team, Hamilton is still active in aviation. The brand keeps manufacturing great timepieces in line with this concept. Hamilton Khaki’s X-Wind Day Date model, which is the guest of our review today, is one of the best examples of its kind.
I mentioned that we saw a similar version of the model we selected for review in the movie Independence Day Resurgence. I did not know what the production team thought and got the stainless steel version, but I chose the black PVD coated one with the tactical look which I think fits better with the tool-watch concept.
The model comes in a black PVD coated stainless steel case measuring 45mm in diameter. The case, which is water resistant to 100 meters, sports scratch resistant sapphire crystals (double AR coated on front) on both sides. The case provides a professional look with its black PVD coating a three winding crowns which I will talk about later.
The model’s dial looks pretty busy which ends up being a tad weaker in terms of legibility. However, this downside was minimized with the use of contrasting colors and a double AR coated sapphire crystal. The day and date display is located at 9 o’clock with a white background black font date wheel. I am not a big fan of plain white date disks with black fonts which look like a Xerox paper. However, that color combo helps the legibility of the function.
There is a special feature hidden between the bezel and the dial: The”Drift Angle Calculator” function which is used in a wrist watch for the first time. The function allows the wearer to calculate (and record if required) the cross winds which are possible to meet on a planned route.
We have seen these types of functions before in different brands’ models. Although they have no actual use today, the fact that these features, which are needed in years when technology is not so developed, are still being used is very important in terms of marketing.
Hamilton Khaki X-Wind Day Date is powered with the Caliber H-30. Self-winding movement features day and date functions and offers an impressive power reserve of 80 hours when fully wound.
The model comes on a black calfskin strap that is secured with a black PVD buckle. The strap features the aviation classic double staples on each part.
The model retails at 1075, 00 CHF and expected to hit the sales points by autumn.
