Hillcrest
October 31st, 2009, 17:38
Model #H64455533
This is my first automatic watch and so I can't really offer much of a comparative review. Instead I will just offer my impressions and any additional information I've come across in my acquiring process so as to help anyone else who might be interested in picking one of these up for themselves. I personally found Hamilton's website and catalogue to be lacking in information which left me questioning many things. If that has been your experience then perhaps you'll find some answers here.
Have you ever had this problem? You see a watch online that you think you might like but none of the AD's around you have it in stock so that you can try it on. This was my issue; I had to buy it so that the AD would order it from the company first. I thought my wife was going to commit me when she saw me meticulously cutting out watches from the catalogue and taping them to my wrist just to get an idea of the size! I gather this is the reason Hamilton prints their watches in actual size. Anyway, I thought it would be helpful to others to show a wrist shot and mention my wrist size (7 inch) to gain perspective of how this might look for you.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss126/hillrob/KhakiKing013.jpg
Initially I was quite attracted to the cream coloured dial version of this watch. But if you compare various online pics to the one displayed on Hamilton's website you will notice a difference in the colour that was to me a deciding factor in choosing the black dial. Photography and lighting can really alter how something looks and you can't always trust that something is being displayed in it's most common setting unfortunately. I am quite pleased with the black dial however. It comes with silver hands that are coated with white lume and there are Arabic numerals and markers which are also white and lumed, and due to the black/white contrast everything stands out quite clearly making this watch an easy read. Another pleasing thing about the hands of this watch is that the minute and second hand extend completely to their markers.
At the top of this dial the day and date are displayed in a black on white display which partially cuts into the eleven and one numerals. I've had this watch just over a week now and I've only had the opportunity to view the day/date change once. At precicely 23:57 the new day and date quickly snapped into place. I was quite impressed with this as I was expecting the process to take several hours from what I had heard of other watches. To some having a day of week display is a bit of a waste I know but for someone like me who has to work various shifts including nights and weekends I find it extremely helpful. Often after working over the weekend I feel as if it should be Saturday when it is really Monday and a handy reminder is just what I need to keep focused.
Another useful attribute of this watch in relation to my line of work is the 24 hour display. The numbers 13-24 are inscribed in a smaller font than the regular numbers and follow accordingly around on the interior side of them. On the exterior side of the regular numbers are minute/second markings with numbers in fine font in increments of five. There are also small indicators that divide each minute/second up into five more increments. I'm not sure if there is much purpose in this further division as it's not as if this watch has stop watch capabilities although I suppose if you really wanted to you could stop the second hand will a pull of the crown and decide a footrace or something down to the split second!
And yes, as you just read, this watch does indeed hack. This is a handy feature to have when one wants to syncronise their time down to the second. I've been doing this every evening since having the watch and I've found that I gain 6 seconds every 24 hours so far. Apparantly this is quite good for an ETA 2834 as it is within COSC parameters (-4/+6 secs a day) although this is not a claim for this watch or movement and hardly even expected. Edit: After a few months I've checked my accuracy and found I am now gaining only 3 seconds in 24 hours. So apparently there has been some improvement as it has "broken in".
The strap is a good quality thick leather with finished sides rather than cut. The brown colour is dark however more on the reddish side than the chocolate side of brown. I think it is a fitting and pleasing combo. The band thickness is 20mm at the lugs and about 18 at the buckle.
The watch's case diametre is 40mm and in my opinion it's not too big and not too small. It is matte finish with a polished bezel which adds a bit of contrast and character. At first I was turned off by the crown protection on this watch and was leaning more towards getting the more basic Field Auto instead. But then I got to think how large the crown appeared on that model and I returned to this one with a different appreciation. Now I wouldn't want to be without it. Funny how things grow on you like that.
The crown is a basic 3 position model. Twisting it one direction moves the date and the other direction moves the day. I hear this is easier than having to have a dedicated position for each function as when that is the case the divisions become more minute and one often changes the wrong function. Anyway, there are several ways to get the job done; to each their own.
I don't know what else I can tell you that isn't easily found on the website. I guess I should mention that Hamilton's are Swiss made. This model has a domed sapphire crystal as well as a see-thru case back. And it is water resistant to 50m. Not that I plan to take it into the water on a leather strap anyway! The lume is decent but not great. The hands and numbers are visible clearly for about 30 minutes and then the fading begins. I woke up one night and was still able to tell the time after about six hours though so it definitely does the job.
All and all I am really pleased with this purchase. It was a bit scary buying it without trying it on but it turned out to be all I expected and more. I can fully recommend this watch to anyone interested in a quality made military-styled automatic swiss watch.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss126/hillrob/Oct26-2009075.jpg
This is my first automatic watch and so I can't really offer much of a comparative review. Instead I will just offer my impressions and any additional information I've come across in my acquiring process so as to help anyone else who might be interested in picking one of these up for themselves. I personally found Hamilton's website and catalogue to be lacking in information which left me questioning many things. If that has been your experience then perhaps you'll find some answers here.
Have you ever had this problem? You see a watch online that you think you might like but none of the AD's around you have it in stock so that you can try it on. This was my issue; I had to buy it so that the AD would order it from the company first. I thought my wife was going to commit me when she saw me meticulously cutting out watches from the catalogue and taping them to my wrist just to get an idea of the size! I gather this is the reason Hamilton prints their watches in actual size. Anyway, I thought it would be helpful to others to show a wrist shot and mention my wrist size (7 inch) to gain perspective of how this might look for you.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss126/hillrob/KhakiKing013.jpg
Initially I was quite attracted to the cream coloured dial version of this watch. But if you compare various online pics to the one displayed on Hamilton's website you will notice a difference in the colour that was to me a deciding factor in choosing the black dial. Photography and lighting can really alter how something looks and you can't always trust that something is being displayed in it's most common setting unfortunately. I am quite pleased with the black dial however. It comes with silver hands that are coated with white lume and there are Arabic numerals and markers which are also white and lumed, and due to the black/white contrast everything stands out quite clearly making this watch an easy read. Another pleasing thing about the hands of this watch is that the minute and second hand extend completely to their markers.
At the top of this dial the day and date are displayed in a black on white display which partially cuts into the eleven and one numerals. I've had this watch just over a week now and I've only had the opportunity to view the day/date change once. At precicely 23:57 the new day and date quickly snapped into place. I was quite impressed with this as I was expecting the process to take several hours from what I had heard of other watches. To some having a day of week display is a bit of a waste I know but for someone like me who has to work various shifts including nights and weekends I find it extremely helpful. Often after working over the weekend I feel as if it should be Saturday when it is really Monday and a handy reminder is just what I need to keep focused.
Another useful attribute of this watch in relation to my line of work is the 24 hour display. The numbers 13-24 are inscribed in a smaller font than the regular numbers and follow accordingly around on the interior side of them. On the exterior side of the regular numbers are minute/second markings with numbers in fine font in increments of five. There are also small indicators that divide each minute/second up into five more increments. I'm not sure if there is much purpose in this further division as it's not as if this watch has stop watch capabilities although I suppose if you really wanted to you could stop the second hand will a pull of the crown and decide a footrace or something down to the split second!
And yes, as you just read, this watch does indeed hack. This is a handy feature to have when one wants to syncronise their time down to the second. I've been doing this every evening since having the watch and I've found that I gain 6 seconds every 24 hours so far. Apparantly this is quite good for an ETA 2834 as it is within COSC parameters (-4/+6 secs a day) although this is not a claim for this watch or movement and hardly even expected. Edit: After a few months I've checked my accuracy and found I am now gaining only 3 seconds in 24 hours. So apparently there has been some improvement as it has "broken in".
The strap is a good quality thick leather with finished sides rather than cut. The brown colour is dark however more on the reddish side than the chocolate side of brown. I think it is a fitting and pleasing combo. The band thickness is 20mm at the lugs and about 18 at the buckle.
The watch's case diametre is 40mm and in my opinion it's not too big and not too small. It is matte finish with a polished bezel which adds a bit of contrast and character. At first I was turned off by the crown protection on this watch and was leaning more towards getting the more basic Field Auto instead. But then I got to think how large the crown appeared on that model and I returned to this one with a different appreciation. Now I wouldn't want to be without it. Funny how things grow on you like that.
The crown is a basic 3 position model. Twisting it one direction moves the date and the other direction moves the day. I hear this is easier than having to have a dedicated position for each function as when that is the case the divisions become more minute and one often changes the wrong function. Anyway, there are several ways to get the job done; to each their own.
I don't know what else I can tell you that isn't easily found on the website. I guess I should mention that Hamilton's are Swiss made. This model has a domed sapphire crystal as well as a see-thru case back. And it is water resistant to 50m. Not that I plan to take it into the water on a leather strap anyway! The lume is decent but not great. The hands and numbers are visible clearly for about 30 minutes and then the fading begins. I woke up one night and was still able to tell the time after about six hours though so it definitely does the job.
All and all I am really pleased with this purchase. It was a bit scary buying it without trying it on but it turned out to be all I expected and more. I can fully recommend this watch to anyone interested in a quality made military-styled automatic swiss watch.
http://i568.photobucket.com/albums/ss126/hillrob/Oct26-2009075.jpg