Case in point, the watch my wife bought me last year for my birthday was something that completely smacked me from way out in left field.  I had never looked at Hamilton watches before, but when I slapped the Khaki King Automatic on my wrist for the very first time it was as though a surge of electricity had come over me.

God that was a good birthday:

Hamilton H64455533 Men’s Khaki King Automatic Black Dial Strap, Free Shipping

Last year I fell completely in love with the Tag Heuer Monaco, and it just came out of left field.  Thinking square watches unbalanced somehow I was really taken aback and how much that watch had affected me.  Seeing as how my Seiko Diver had just recently broke, my zen-like state with watches has been shattered.  Where I was at peace with my small but passionate watch collection, I am now at an a crucial moment in which there is no true sports watch at all within my small collection.  That is, until now…

Well ladies and gentlemen, I fell in love again, and this one is a shocker!!!

Recently I had been looking at various watch shops looking for a watch that will fill the void in my heart without much success.  Thinking feelings of ‘been there and done that’ with Omega and Rolex, my search had led me to other brands, but nothing really sparked my interest.  Thinking Breitling too large, Chopard to ornate, IWC too angular, and every other “luxury” sport watch just, “eh…” I oftentimes returned with feelings of big disappointment.

That is until one day I just happened to need some electrical tape and went down to a local mall.  This mall, not really known for being a hot spot of watch activity, I just happened upon a small jewelry store with a small watch selection that was just limited to Rado and Tissot.  Killing time during the work day I saw a very interesting watch and tried it on, and it… was… magic!!!

It was the Tissot PRC200 Chronograph:

Tissot T17158642 Men’s T-Sport PRC200 Chronograph Blue Dial, Free Shipping, Free Sizing

I’m still debating if I should get the black dial or the blue dial version, but this watch has many of the features that I appreciate about watches.  It is simple, clean, and functional.  I love the yellow hands for the chronograph features and I love how clean and simple the bracelet and the bezel are.  Yes it is a quartz, but it’s chronograph function is so not quartz-like that I just love it.  The fact that the seconds are on the 6 o’clock subdial means that the tick…tick…tick of the quartz can easily be overlooked.  Yes it also has a tacky-meter, but that can be overlooked as well.

To offer an example, the back of my own Khaki King Automatic makes a claim of water resistance to 50M:

Hamilton H64455533 Men’s Khaki King Automatic Black Dial Strap, Free Shipping

Now what does this actually mean? Does it mean that this watch can go 50 meters underwater?

The short answer is, NO!

If you think about it, what does “water resistant” really mean? I mean would you buy body armor that is simply “bullet resistance” rather than “bullet proof?” I mean I can claim that my car is elephant resistant, but if an elephant hurls its mass toward the side of my car, I doubt it would fare very well.

The truth is that the advertised water resistance of most watches is an outright lie, and that any watch that claims any degree of water resistant is not capable of going to the depths it advertises. If a watch claims 50-100 meters of water resistant it may be suitable for wading in the kiddie pool and things like water skiing, but I would be wary to take it even to 1/10th of its advertised depth. And while I may concede that 200 meters of water resistance can maybe handle some light dives, it can’t go anywhere near 200 meters of depth.

I know that this doesn’t apply to the vast majority of you desk jockeys out there, but if you seriously want to go to great depths you have to get a watch that can handle it.

So how do you know?

It’s simple, all you have to do is look for the “DIVERS” mark on the watch:

Seiko Diver’s Automatic 200M – Black Dial – Stainless Bracelet

If you are having trouble reading it, reads:

SEIKO

AUTOMATIC

DIVER’S 200m

Watches that make the bold “DIVERS,” or “DIVER’S” claim means that it has met a certain set of standards and is actually suitable for diving to depths that you may never go and then some. These watches can take the punishment so have at it.

Hamilton H64455533 Men’s Khaki King Automatic Black Dial Strap, Free Shipping

I’m not going to beat around the bush, this watch is absolutely fantastic; And having it for just about a month now I have to concede that this watch is utterly flawless. I love how the dial has millisecond markers, I love the day/date display, I love how the numerals light up at night, I love the stitching on the leather strap, and above all I love how the accuracy of the watch is the same as the accuracy I got out of my much-higher priced Rolex.

I have always seen Hamilton watches at stores though and have always wondered where within the watch the “catch” lies. They are so affordable that I thought there had to be some cracks, but after having for just about a month now I’m pleased to say that I have not found a single chink in its armor.

I even took it down to the southwest with me on a recent business trip and I have to say that with that watch and with my beautiful fiancee at my side, everything felt just right. Here is a shot of this beautiful watch looking down from the top of the Hoover Dam:

Hamilton H64455533 Men’s Khaki King Automatic Black Dial Strap, Free Shipping

And even at breakfast it is just absolutely brilliant:

Hamilton H64455533 Men’s Khaki King Automatic Black Dial Strap, Free Shipping

I love this watch! And I can tell you right now that it will be a watch I will pass down to my future grandchildren should I ever have any.

Now for a little brand history, I will tell you that if you have not heard of Hamilton watches, than that’s fine, but whether or not you are aware of it, Hamilton watches are all around you. They may receive publicity by being peppered on the wrists of famous actors in countless Hollywood films, but what I’m interested in is how they helped build 20th century America. Hamilton may now belong to the Swatch Group, but make no doubts about it, Hamilton is an AMERICAN watch.

Along with Ball and other American watch manufacturer’s of the time, Hamilton watches were designed to be railroad grade watches, and that meant ACCURACY through and through. When a man or woman in 19th and early 20th century wanted to know the time, they asked a train conductor because he knew the score (or in this case, the time), and one of the watches they tended to carry was a Hamilton. Later on in the 20th century, however, they tended to be become more known more as military watches than anything else. Being slapped on the wrists of one million soldiers during World War II meant that the Hamilton watches were as instrumental to winning the war as the M-1 Garand rifle. Chances are that your grandfather or grandfather’s father has probably once owned a Hamilton. Chances are that in your granny’s house you may find one lying around. I have always equated Hamilton watches as being as American as apple pie. When I think America, one of the things I think of are Hamilton watches.

Furthermore, I have always thought that Hamilton watches represented watches that belonged in a different time. Their design and styling isn’t classy or sophisticated, it is just a style that is unique to Hamilton, and I’ve never known a style like it, and what’s more is that they are affordable and can be bought by anyone. Hamilton watches are worn when you want to escape your world somehow. Say you are sitting at your office (as I’m doing right now) and want an excursion. You can just look at your Hamilton watch and somehow transcend yourself to a different America, an America where things are simpler and where values were more true. Maybe I’m getting a little carried away here, but they are truly a magnificent watch, and I respect it hugely.