Among modern day design enthusiasts, there is something bordering on an obsession with the idea of items having a retro or vintage appeal. This is wholly understandable, especially in the world of watches. There’s something nice about design being purely functional the way it had to be decades ago, long before we all walked around with phones that could easily perform almost any task a watch could, albeit without any of the charm.
The thing about the Hamilton Watch Company, which has been producing high-quality timepieces for well over a century, is that its designers fully recognize the importance and appeal of those traditional looks, but they also realize there’s still more work to be done: there are more problems to solve, more needs to be met, in terms of both style and situation. Hamilton does a better job than any other brand in the industry of balancing all of those seemingly disparate elements.
Take, for instance, the brand new Khaki Pilot Day Date Auto. Priced attractively at $995, the Day Date is a pitch-perfect modern interpretation of the kind of watch a pilot would be wearing at the dawn of the twentieth century. It features off-white hands and hour markers, along with big, legible numerals that would be easily seen if you were to sneak a quick peek while flying an actual plane rather than just walking back to your office after your lunch break. The 42mm case is made of brushed stainless steel, and the leather strap is embossed with the old-school Hamilton logo. It’s unmistakably informed by the past, but it comes packed with just enough modern touches for it to be relevant today.
To get a glimpse of the brand’s more daring design work, look no further than their Khaki X-Wind collection. The X-Wind Day Date boasts a substantial wrist presence, coming in at 45mm in diameter and just about 13mm in height, and it comes in two styles — one with a blue dial on a stainless steel case and bracelet, the other a blacked-out version with orange accents on a sleek leather strap.
And really these are just the tip of the iceberg. Across the entire Hamilton lineup, there are myriad examples of this obvious respect for history combined with an insistence on continuing to make history all over again.
Timepiece images courtesy of Hamilton Watches
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