Five years ago, I had the privilege of reviewing the previous generation of the Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba. It was a memorable review, for it was tied to a week in northern Canada where I made fast friends of then strangers. The watch accompanied us on hikes, where we ran from hungry black flies the size of a Japanese Kei car. We shared meals and beverages, laughing afterward at how our delicate urban builds were not made for such environments – no matter how many hours we spent at the gym. I also went on extensive dives with my new friends while wearing the watch, and it was a genuinely illuminating review for me. Unfounded rhetoric was shattered that week, fueled by vacuous yet strict interpretations of the ISO standards used to define a proper dive watch. Many, including Hamilton themselves, did not recommend their watch for diving – even if it had “scuba” in its name.
Most saw two features that held the previous generation back from diving duty. First, it fell short of the 200-meter water resistance; second, it did not have a luminous pip on the bezel. This is true of the current release, which still has a 100-meter depth rating, with a sturdy screw-down crown and a reflective aluminum unidirectional dive bezel.
Nevertheless, I took the older model on several dives, and it performed wonderfully throughout the week. With this in mind, I was filled with glee when I received the new model for reviewing purposes. As you’ll soon read, my enthusiasm was well-founded.
On The Wrist
More than any other watch I have ever worn, this watch hides its size in surprising ways. Even though Hamilton states that this watch is a 40mm watch, it wears much smaller. This was even more surprising when I measured the watch carefully. I measured the watch case at 41.5mm and 43mm with the crown. Curious.
In the subsequent sections, we’ll explain why this watch is incredibly compact, but what matters now is how the incredible build and quality of the overall fit and finish feel.
Unlike other watches in its immediate price range, this Hamilton feels purposeful in its density. When you put it on for the first time, you would think that the watch is top-heavy. Once the extremely well-machined buckle is fastened, the watch becomes an extension of your arm’s skeletal structure. I asked a friend with a meatier wrist to try on the watch, and he said that he felt the same way. This feeling of solidity is extended to the visual feast that waits for you whenever you need to tell the time.
Hamilton decided to release this timepiece in three colors – the orange you see here, a hot yellow, and an even hotter pink. Colorful dive watches are nothing new to the marketplace, but the implementation here is what counts. Released just in time for the summer, such colorful dive watches are deemed acceptable with most of one’s wardrobe save for the most formal. For regions with four definable seasons, summer represents adventure, leisure, and joy. Levity and a true sense of exuberance are what Hamilton brings to the table, and he goes to great lengths to pull this off.
Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Specs | |
Case Width 40mm | Lug-to-Lug 50mm |
Case Thickness 13.5mm | Lug Width 20mm |
Water Resistance 100m | Strap Rubber Strap |
Crystal Sapphire | Lume Yes |
Movement Hamilton H-10 | Price $845 |
The Dial
This starts with the dial, which is the star of the show. The outer chapter ring, accented in orange, shrink-wraps the 31mm dial and, in turn, visually draws you in. This section carefully houses a hashed seconds track and indices, which are beautifully applied and lumed. The character of this timepiece is that of always being on alert and of youthful jubilance. While most would leave the creativity and design flare there and maybe add the applied “H” logo, Hamilton’s treatment of the inner portion of the dial is arguably this watch’s most impactful design element.
In my review of the previous generation, Khaki Navy Scuba, I mentioned how it resembled its Swatch Group’s stablemate Planet Ocean by Omega. The textured treatment of the black dial here reassembles the other dive watches from Omega such as the Seamaster 300 with its sandblasted ceramic dial. From experience, the delightful consequence of such dials is that you will never tire of them. These little details are what I would advise consumers to look for when trying to pick out their next watch. Such specific attributes may be overlooked at first, but in time, they safeguard the watch from either being left in the drawer, never to be worn, or sadly to be sold.
This textured effect gives the watch a lot of visual interest. In almost every environment, its shade of black changes. The textures bounce light in various directions, and the material is not uniform.
Elsewhere, the Hamilton steps out of its Planet Ocean shadow with a perfectly polished handset. A half-decade onward, these hands are now instantly recognizable as belonging to the Khaki Navy model line. This is especially true of the oversized seconds hand. As a working diver, I appreciate highly legible seconds hands. They come in handy when timing exercises with students and accurately measuring one’s ascent on technical dives. For the layperson, they add character and dive watches are all about character when worn by those who will never reach for a set of regulators.
Drawing further inwards into the dial, we are presented with a case study of how to make a successful watch with many elements. The addition of the 24-hour scale perfectly climatizes your eye to the date window. This quickly results in the date complication only being noticed when called upon. The window itself is beautifully faceted when viewed through a high-powered loupe. Some would quickly request a black-colored date wheel. I would prefer a date wheel that matches the dial’s color and texture. This would go a long way in making the watch’s design seamless and premium. Examples of such date wheels with various colors and textures have been seen in microbrands over the last couple of years, and I am sure that Hamilton will implement them in good time. Lastly, the benefit of the window’s positioning at 4:30 is that the symmetry of the applied indices would remain intact, which is highly appreciated.
Case, Bezel & Movement
Dive watch enthusiasts may be the most demanding group of consumers. They demand tactile bezels. They must have powerful lume. They also started demanding longer power reserves recently since their dive watches may only be worn during leisure hours.
The Khaki Navy Scuba succeeds on all these fronts, with the bezel leading the way. The bezel can be challenging to grip if not worn, but once on your wrist, any issues should subside. Where this 60-click bezel shines is in its reflective numerals. This negates the need for a lumed pip in every environment save for the pitch dark. Those of you who have gone on any night dives know that the light generated from one (or, in the case of most, many) torch provides more than ample lighting for the bezel and dial to be read. The need for an incredibly strong lume is always overstated when at depth. In practice, you can always recharge the luminous portions of your watch with your torch as the dive continues. However, on one’s bedside, the lume of a watch comes in handy. With eyes adjusted to a dark bedroom, you should have no issues making out the time on this watch six hours into your slumber.
Where the dial is a perfect balancing act between several elements, the uniformly brushed case also grounds the watch into its tool-watch roots. The brushing is perfectly uniform, but the transitions deserve much praise. Every chamfer is incredibly soft and subtle while still being finely defined. The case simply melts into the background, allowing the bezel and dial to shine.
The polished and signed crown stands out when viewed from the side, and it is a joy to operate. Unlike crowns from other dive watches at this price point, there is almost no wobble experienced when used. This is key to the user experience, for the crown is a mechanical watch’s most important touch point. This is especially true for consumers not versed with watches to the point where they would recognize different crown mechanisms. The crown is the one point of connection that the end-user has with the watch’s mechanical movement. Hamilton does an excellent job of ensuring this experience is of high quality.
The H10 movement offers 80 hours of power reserve, making it the perfect companion for those who would also like to wear another timepiece on occasion – a dressier option or a smartwatch. The antimagnetic Nivachron balance spring will also give you peace of mind when handling modern devices that use strong magnets, such as covers for tablets and e-readers.
While winding the watch is an absolute joy, so is the satisfyingly crisp change of the date every morning at midnight. The rotor is refined and never calls attention to itself through sound or vibrations. The stout and dense case and tight tolerances of the movement are further differences between this watch and others that consumers may cross-shop.
The Strap
The rubber strap provided with this watch is so impressive that we highly recommend you also buy it in black (product code: H6008231031) for a more understated and formal look.
The top side of the supplied strap features the text “KHAKI” and various surfacing details. These help your hand’s purchase while putting it on. These surfaces are so intricate that I subconsciously ran my fingers over them while in meetings. Functional and attractive, this theme and ornate attentiveness are mirrored on the underside. Here, the relief is offered with small “H” logos. The keepers are flexible yet strong and recall the very best of hardcore dive straps from recent decades.
The definite highlight is the buckle, which continues the brand’s mindful and artful machining strides. I have not seen other publications covering these advancements from Hamilton, which is a shame. The edges of the surfaces are smooth yet well-defined to the touch. The added elongated “H” logo and split tang will simply make any future owners of this watch smile.
Final Thoughts
The new Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba drives home. Why do we buy and wear mechanical watches over smartwatches? Their level of design and artful expressions cannot be matched by the rectangular or circular black plastic pieces that have become so ubiquitous.
There is no doubt that Hamilton released these new colorful Scubas for the summertime, but these colorful watches have a place on your wrist every season.
Having intimately known this model lineup for more than half a decade, I am proud of Hamilton’s improvements. I am so impressed with this watch that I implore Hamilton to release it in more vibrant colors. We here at the Watch Clicker have no reservations about recommending it to those looking for a bold and intelligently designed dive watch.
To everyone at Hamilton who contributed to the launch of this watch, you deserve a promotion. Bravo.
Check out more Hamilton reviews at The Watch Clicker here
Check out the Hamilton website here
