Dive into the Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto

When we got our loaners in for the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical, there was another watch lurking in the box as well. In case your predilections are more in the direction of water than land, have no fear – the Khaki lineup can still cover you. We spent some time with the Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto, and are here to share our thoughts on the watch with you.

Through and through, the Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto is a classic example of a dive watch. Some might quibble at that with the 100m WR rating, but for the vast majority of us, that will be more than enough to keep the insides nice and dry while you splash around in the pool or lake. Size-wise, the watch is on the more compact side (for a diver) coming in at 40mm by just under 13mm thick. To my experience, the watch wears fairly compactly for one of this size, while still allowing for a good amount of wrist presence.

And even if it was a touch smaller (say, 38mm and a millimeter thinner) it would still be bold on the wrist. At least, this example of the Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto would be, with the navy blue dial and rubber strap, with the blue-and-white bezel insert picking up the colors of the dial. Good thing for me that I like blue, eh? The dial itself – while quite legible – is also bold, due to the large indices and properly-sized handset. They also keep the military theme going for the Khaki line by including the 24-hour scale just inside of the indices.

Around back, the casebook of the Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto is engraved, but fairly simple. It gives you all of the necessary specs, but there is no view of the H-10 movement inside. With the watch only carrying a 100m WR rating, that may be a bit surprising (given modern trends), but a simpler caseback (one assumes) helps keep costs and thickness down a bit. And it’s not like you can’t see the large seconds hand moving it’s way around to tell the watch is running.

While I wore the Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto on the weekends here and there, this was primarily an office driver (aka desk diver) which is where this watch will live most of it’s life on the wrists of its owners. It was an able companion ,with quick reads of the time keeping me, well, on-time throughout the day. The date display was reasonably large enough, and in this particular color combination, it was not dismaying for the white date disc to make an appearance.

While the Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto has been available with a black dial previously, the blue dial here is the new addition to the lineup. As tested here, on the rubber strap, the watch will run you $745 which is not bad for dipping a toe into the waters of a Swiss-powered mechanical dive watch. Between the two Hamilton models I recently spent time with, I’d lean more towards the more compact (and affordable) Field but I think this is a solid option if you’re a fan of the Hamilton brand, and want to get something a bit bolder on the wrist. hamiltonwatch.com

Review Summary

Brand & Model: Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba Auto
Price: $745
Who’s it for? You’re looking for something more entry-level Swiss mechanical, and want the colorful boldness of a diver

Would I wear it? Sure, but I’d probably go for the version on the bracelet. The strap is nice enough, but I find steel more versatile than rubber
What I’d change: The bezel insert. The flat (presumably aluminum) insert just feels underwhelming compared to the rest of the watch
The best thing about it: For me, the through-and-through blue