Hamilton

Buying guide

About Hamilton

Hamilton was founded in 1892 in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and supplied watches to American railroads and the U.S. military. It is now Swiss-made, based in Biel and part of the Swatch Group, but it keeps its American heritage.

Hamilton is also a film brand: its watches have appeared in many Hollywood productions. In 1957 its Ventura was introduced as one of the first battery-powered wristwatches, with a shield-shaped case that is still made today.

Signature models

Khaki Field

A military-inspired field watch, simple and legible, in mechanical and automatic versions.

Jazzmaster

Dressier automatics, including open-heart and chronograph models.

Ventura

The asymmetric 1957 design, now in quartz and automatic versions.

Khaki Aviation

Pilot's watches, including the Pilot Day Date and the Converter.

What to know before you buy

• Hamilton's H-10 automatic movement has about 80 hours of power reserve.
• The Khaki Field Mechanical is hand-wound: wind it every day or two.