Hands-on: Pause your purity and enjoy two new colors of Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto was a gateway watch for many veteran collectors. It is also one of the rare watches that serve the role without the owner not “growing”. You will find yourself sitting proudly between a Rolex and an Omega, having a collection of so many enthusiasts. Today we got two new colorways, and that made me wonder: Are these also for purists?

I was able to practice the new Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm in green and blue. Let’s take a closer look!

Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm Specifications

First thing first. Here’s a quick summary just in case you don’t remember the specifications of the Hamilton Khaki Field Auto anymore. As the name suggests, you get a 38mm automatic field watch. You didn’t need me for that, did you? Raise the sapphire crystal up and place the display case back in. Hamilton rated the khaki field water resistance at 100 meters. It must be sufficient as fields submerged by 100 meters of water will likely count as the seabed, demanding a completely different kind of clock. If you’re afraid that 38mm is too small, Hamilton also offers a 42mm option.

Peaking out through the display caseback is the Calibre H-10, a version of Hamilton’s Powermatic 80. The names have already handed out power reserves. Based on the reliable ETA 2824 layout, the beat rate has been reduced to 21,600VPH to achieve this power reserve. It is characterized by date complications where Hamilton is located at 3 o’clock in Khaki Field Auto.

Green or Blue Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm spends a CHF 650 or a CHF 730 on a bracelet on a leather strap. This is a very defensible price for a watch of this quality and pedigree.

New Green Dial

So, what’s new here? It’s just the color of the dial. Let’s start with green and take a closer look. Just as we all learned in elementary school, you mix blue and yellow and turn green. The new Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm features a relatively large amount of yellow green tones. The result is warm and military-like greenery.

You’d think this greenery would blend perfectly with the military theme. In fact, it turns out that it’s not for two reasons. Firstly, true Army green is grayer and more subdued. Secondly, the dial has concentric grains with the sunburst finish, making it quite flashy. Military units require flat dials for optimal readability and minimal reflection.

Blue alternative

So, what about the blue dial? For starters, it features the same finish, resulting in a slightly flashy look. Neither of the colors are very bright, but these dials are not suppressed in real life. It is difficult to secure the blue, moving between denim blue and slightly purple in certain lighting.

Again, don’t look for the reason for the theme behind the colour. This is not an Army/Navy crossover, inspiration from a particular Army unit, or anything like that. Hamilton only made an attractive blue dial for his field watch.

Pause your purity and enjoy the green or blue Hamilton khaki field auto 38mm

As you might have gathered, I found the new colours a bit confusing when I wear the new Hamilton Khaki Field Auto model. As a watch enthusiast, I hope that the theme of field watches will be approached rational and feature-first. Frankly, there’s none here.

It took me a while to realize I had to suspend my purism. If you want something historically accurate, get the Black Dial Khaki Field Mechanical. These two new models are rather attractive watches for everyday use. Hamilton foresees the owner, potentially wearing these in the office over the weekend, as the only watch.

From that angle, these make a lot of sense. You can get a sporty, versatile and solid watch at a reasonable price. What’s wrong? The downside of having a rich lineage is that we tend to see everything through that lens. To understand these new colorways, I think we have to remove the lens and simply rate a very good, basic and attractive watch.

What do you think about the new blue and green Hamilton Khaki Field Auto 38mm? Let us know in the comments section below!

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