The Breitling Watch Blog

Check it – reviewed the Hamilton Below Zero, which is Hamilton’s interpretation of the instrument watch made popular by Bell & Ross. It is one of the better made cases from Hamilton, but still suffers from some design weaknesses that are common in entry level luxury watches. Still, a great effort and a generally nice watch to wear and experience.

Hamilton H-20-S
The Hamilton H-20-S Hamilton is an exclusive skeleton movement, uniting proven craftsmanship with relentless accuracy. Contemporary decoration, ranging from brushed, skeletonized rotors to an intricate ‘H’-pattern on individual elements, add a sense of theater to traditional precision timekeeping. The H-20-S is making its debut in the Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic Skeleton Lady and Gents watches in 2013, with the open dial design offering it a strong position center-stage for hours of fascination featuring skeletonized rotors and beautiful barrel drums and main bridges.

Hamilton H-12
This regulator movement opens up new doors for the Hamilton design team to create original ways of presenting the passage of time. The Hamilton H-12 acts as a facilitator of eye-catching design architecture. Behind the movement is the objective of modernizing a traditional horological complication, a true and proven symbol of accuracy, and turn it into a contemporary design object. The separation of the three hands creates new possibilities for design, in this case the off-center positioning of the hour and second hands for asymmetric appeal. Its first execution is inside the Hamilton Jazzmaster Regulator. The regulator complication first appeared in the late seventeenth century and was used by watchmakers for verifying the rates of their creations. Close to the heart of the brand celebrated as the “Watch of Railroad Accuracy” in the 1890s, the regulator was also relied on by railroad staff and made a huge contribution to safety.

See a Video on the Hamilton H-21 and H-31 calibers that were released a couple years ago.

Been really busy with work in the last few months and haven’t been able to post as much as I would like, but had a few moments and figured I should squeeze out a quite mini-review of my Hamilton Below Zero that I got not too long ago. The model I picked up is the 42mm model, silver dial on tan leather strap. I personally think this is the nicest of the models as the applied arabics really set off the light silver face.

The dial is characterized by the “0” at the 12 o’clock position, likely inspired by the name “BelowZero”. The watch comes in two sizes, 42mm and 46mm mirroring the Bell & Ross instrument watches from the BR03 and BR01 lines respectively. Its no secret that these watches are inspired by B&R, as they bare much resemblance, but they still maintain some identity and manage to look different enough.

As you might notice above, I mounted it briefly on a black sueded Steinhart pilot strap, but decided that I prefer it on the tan. The casework on the BelowZero is a notch above previous Hamiltons that I have owned, which is a welcome treat. I’ve always liked the Hamilton Designs, but felt that they fell a bit short on the craftsmanship of the cases. They could have been done much better for a prominent Swiss Watch company. I feel the BelowZero is slightly above expectations which is what every good watch company should deliver.

As seen above, the back features an exhibition crystal showing off the fairly stock looking ETA 2824 movement. The case is water resistant to 200m, and featured two-toned brushed and polished stainless steel. The bezel is uni-directional, and also features luminova dots so it can be read in the dark. Overall the most satisfying Hamilton I have owned. This is the complete package finally from a company who has some very cool designs but has always dropped the ball a bit when it came to that last few bits of fit and finish. Good Job, Hamilton.

Movement: Automatic ETA 2824 Movement
Case: Polished with Brushed Steel Case, Exhibition CaseBack
Crystal: Scratch Resistant Sapphire
Water Resistance: 200 Meters / 660 Feet Water Resistant
Diameter: 42mm = 1 5/8″ Case

HAMILTON – Hamilton Pan Europ

Building on a rich heritage of watchmaking know-how, Hamilton is offering a revisited and gently nostalgic interpretation of the Pan Europ, the brand’s first automatic chronograph launched in 1971 and equipped with the famous Calibre 11. With its sturdy, slightly square case, its red hands making a striking contrast with the deep blue dial and bezel, the new Pan Europ radiates tradition viewed from a resolutely contemporary perspective. The 1,971-piece limited edition is equipped with a Swiss high-grade automatic chronograph movement, the H31 calibre.

Movement
Automatic, Calibre H31, 60-hour power reserve

Functions
Hours, minutes, seconds, date, chronograph and tachometric scale

Case
Stainless steel, 45 mm
Sapphire crystal
Water-resistant to 10 bar (100 m)

Dial
Blue
Colourful nickel hands
Blue unidirectional rotating bezel
Counters at 9 and 3 o’clock
Date window at 6 o’clock

Strap
Crocodile pattern chestnut brown leather

Here is the video review for the Hamilton X-Wind Chronograph. As I had mentioned in my regular review, I had always wanted an X-Wind since I tried one on in the Caribbean. Its a nice looking watch, like most Hamiltons. Just a small refresher.. 44mm Diameter, swiss made, Valjoux 7750 movement. Sapphire Crystal. Left-hand crown. Enjoy!