Introducing the New Hamilton American Classic Intra-Matic Chronograph H

It’s funny how things can change from one moment to the next and when yesterday I had just finished writing the article on the new green variant of the Hamilton American Classic Intra-Matic Auto Chrono, in an enthusiastic way, I found myself faced with the new Hamilton American Classic Intra-Matic Chronograph H and I am not going to say that I immediately changed my mind about wanting to have the green variant of the Auto Chrono, but I must say that at this point the certainties have just flown away.

But let’s go to what matters to the new Intra-Matic Chronograph H, at first glance it may even look similar to its brother Auto Chrono but there are some news that in my personal opinion makes this new model even more interesting than the previous one (after all it is possible), starting with the movement that is its most evident characteristic, it comes with the Caliber H-51 manual mechanical movement and this in addition to being its main signature is also perhaps its most debatable “detail”, since there are those who love the manual movement and those who do not like and prefer the automatic movement and in that there is nothing to do because each will have their arguments, the good news is that Hamilton solves this problem as it starts offering the new manual movement H-51 that joins the previous automatic movement H-31, but since we are talking about preferences I confess that I belong to those who prefer manual movements, I am one that I love every morning when I wake up winding up my mechanical watches, and by the way out of curiosity and because we are talking about chronographs, the only one I currently have has mechanical movement and it is really impressive to look at its movement at work.

Continuing, another novelty that we can still find at the level of the movement, is that it does not contemplate the date complication as its older brother, that is, the date window at 6 o’clock ceases to exist, once again we return to the debate between the who like to see this complication added to the dial and those who don’t, and once again I belong to those who dispense with the existence of this complication, I personally like simple dials and therefore I think you start to understand the reason why my certainties regarding the Intra-Matic Auto Chrono green now seem less evident.

Now let’s move on to the news at the aesthetic level, in fact, they are not many, but they can make a difference, once again it depends on the taste of each one, but again it seems to me that Hamilton was very clever here because those who do not like the news of the new Intra-Matic Chronograph H can always turn to its brother Auto Chrono. This new model is offered in two variants, the panda variant with a white dial (beige) with black counters and the inverted panda variant with a black dial and white (beige) counters and here the novelty is in the colour of the inner ring tachymeter which in the automatic version comes in the colour of the counters and in this manual variant it comes in the same colour as the dial. The second novelty is the introduction of faux patina in the hour indexes and hour and minute hands and here are perhaps one of the biggest controversial points between those who like it and those who simply hate it, once again I belong to the group of those who like in that sense, I find this new model very interesting. The watch is offered just like the different variants of the automatic version with a mesh stainless steel bracelet or a leather strap and here we can also find a small detail since in the automatic model the leather strap comes with a more contemporary design and in this manual version it presents itself with a rugged leather strap that gives it a more vintage look, but that fits the package perfectly.

Final considerations, Hamilton extends its range of hand-wound movements to new complications since, until now, the only two models with these movements only provided the hour’s function. Regarding this specific model, Hamilton starts now offering what seems to us two different options between those who prefer a model with a more contemporary look and those who prefer a model with a more vintage look.

General Specifications:

Brand: Hamilton

Model: American Classic Intra-Matic Chronograph H

Reference: H38429110 (white dial + mesh bracelet), H38429130 (black dial + mesh bracelet), H38429710 (white dial + leather strap), H38429730 (black dial + leather strap)

Dial: White, black

Lume: Yes

Case Material: Stainless steel

Case Dimensions: 40 mm diameter, 14.35 mm thick

Crystal: Sapphire Glass

Case Back: Stainless steel

Water Resistance: 100 Meters

Strap: Mesh stainless steel bracelet, black leather strap

Caliber: H-51

Functions: Hours, minutes, small seconds, chronograph

Winding: Manual

Frequency: 4 Hz

Jewels: 25

Power Reserve: 60 hours

Price: CHF 2,075 (mesh bracelet), CHF 1,995 (leather strap)