Introducing the Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer
There are brands that make us dream of complex timepieces, with bold materials and full of complications, and others that simply surprise us with the simplicity and elegance with which they produce some models and make us question whether it is even necessary to spend a lot of money to be able to use a beautiful watch in the wrist. There are many brands in this game, but some do it with greater skill than others and Hamilton has been improving over the last few years, in its favor two big factors compete, such as price and design, transforming many of its models to a true value proposition.
About two weeks ago Hodinkee exclusively announced the arrival at its store of the new Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer, but only last days Hamilton announced its arrival on the market, based on its pocketwatch Model 23 ancestor, which supplies the US forces with more than 27,000 units during the WWII.
Although the new Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer can be very deceiving at first sight due to its rotating bezel making us question whether it is rather a diver watch, as soon as we examine it better we discover some other characteristics of a pilot watch, displaying large numerals, a minute rail track, and onion shape crown. According to Hamilton, the new Pilot Pioneer found inspiration in the Model 23, but for us, it got the best of some other watches, such as the Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer Mechanical through the same textured black dial style and also for its minute rail track scale, and from the Khaki Field Murph Auto through its cathedral hands.
The Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer comes with a 38mm stainless steel case with a brushed finish, bidirectional black bezel with minute scale, sapphire glass, crown signed at 3 o’clock and offering up to 100m of water resistance. On the textured black dial, as mentioned above, there are minute rail track scale and Arabic hour markers, both in patina tones, the same tone that also extends to the lume of the silver cathedral hands and the scale of the bezel. The watch is powered by the automatic movement Caliber H10 based on the ETA C07.611 which offers up to 80 hours of power reserve and which can be observed through the open-through case back where the Spring balance with the brand’s signature stands out. The watch is offered with a brown leather strap for the price of CHF 945.
Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer 43 mm
The new Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer is also accompanied by two other variants but with manual movement, one in stainless steel and the other in bronze. Both models have the same design features as the automatic variant, but with some noticeable differences, such as the 43 mm case and the small seconds on the dial. Inside, as already mentioned, it comes with a manual movement ETA 6498-1 that offers up to 50 hours of power reserve. The watches are available in the brand’s official stores and retailers at the price of CHF 1,195 for the stainless steel version and CHF 1,450 for the bronze version.
Our Opinion
The automatic variant of the new Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer is a serious case of the best the brand can offer, its 38 mm combined with the textured dial in patina tones, without complications and an appreciable 80 hours of power reserve, it’s one of those rare cases that it can’t go wrong.
Read more at https://www.hamiltonwatch.com/
General Specifications:
Brand: Hamilton
Model: Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer, Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer Bronze, Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer 43mm
Reference: H76205530, H76709530, H76719530
Dial: Black
Case Material: Stainless steel (H76205530, H76719530), Bronze (H76709530)
Case Dimensions: 38 mm diameter (H76205530), 43 mm diameter (H76709530, H76719530)
Crystal: Sapphire Glass
Water Resistance: 100 Meters
Strap: Brown calf leather strap with pin buckle
Caliber: H-10 (H76205530), ETA 6498-1 (H76709530, H76719530)
Functions: Hours, minutes, seconds (H76205530), small seconds (H76709530, H76719530), bi-directional bezel
Winding: Automatic (H-10), Manual (ETA 6498-1)
Frequency: 21,600 Vph (H-10), 18,000 Vph (ETA 6498-1)
Jewels: 25 (H-10), 17 (ETA 6498-1)
Power Reserve: 80 Hours (H-10), 46 hours (ETA 6498-1)
Price: CHF 945 (H76205530), CHF 1,450 (H76709530), CHF 1,195 (H76719530)
Availability: Now