Two Different Swimmers
It’s been a while since I’ve posted. Things have been busy; I’ve been wearing a wide variety of watches and collecting a few more since last writing. I’ve also been reading a lot of watch articles, so the watch world continues for me.
Summer is here, which means my school teacher wife is about more, which also means I am doing more with her such as estate sales and home projects. Yard work has also been at the fore with the nice weather. But, to tell you the truth, it has been too hot most days to work in the sun for me, so I get up early for the yard work. The ADU remodel continues at is slow and costly pace, so I am constantly interfacing with various contractors and doing odds and ends. Sometimes its great to just forget about it, like now, and talk about watches.
My biggest preoccupation has been the World Cup. If there is anything I care about more than watches it is soccer and especially the international games that only the World Cup can deliver. With over 100 games to potentially watch, time is at a premium! Of course, I’m not trying to watch every game, but I will check every score and watch as many as possible. What that means is mostly parts of games. Its hard to get whole games in without neglecting something! So posting has been tough; its now halftime in the Spain-Uruguay game!
I did manage to attend three games in Seattle, even though tickets were hard to come by. Luckily I have friends who were more successful than I in the draws. Of course I had do decide which watch to wear to the games and ended up choosing Timex for all three. All with some color-coded choices. I have been to two other World Cups; In Germany 2006 and South Africa 2010. The fan participation and revelry and passion is hard to match. I really didn’t do any watch spotting because there is so much else to see.
Hamilton Khaki Navy Scuba
What got me writing again was this Hamilton H823150 I have had for years. I love the look of this watch. I just saw the new version of the Khaki Navy with the wavy dial, dot hour markers and the newer H-10 movement. It has too many names. I can’t say I like the new dial? I have owned this black-dialed, blue-trimmed model for five years but have not worn it much. It’s the bracelet! It is just a little big and I can’t make it fit. I got it second hand, so did not order a specific bracelet size. I don’t know how to tell what size it is. At the time I got it, I did not know the situation with Hamilton bracelets and the lack of adjustability. I normally like my bracelets a little loose, but this heavy watch/bracelet combination with sharp edges was not working.
The reason this matters is that the watch and bracelet are hefty, so one notices a loose fit more than with a lighter watch. Finally I decided I had to take the bracelet off and try something else. Easier said than done…The tight tolerances of the solid end link and spring bars demand the right tool. Access to the spring bar shoulder is narrow. Once I had it off, rubber was on my mind. My first thought was a blue Hamilton rubber strap with the big Khaki graphics, but the price kept me looking.
To me this is a modern looking dive-style watch, not a vintage looking watch, so a tropic was not the thing. It needs a square edge and straight lines rubber strap. Also a curved fit snug to the case. Strapsco had just the ticket with a blue FKM. This is a new look for me. In the mean time I had a single-pass grey FKM rubber also from Strapsco.
Hybrid
The bracelet situation has diverted me from the watch itself. It has taken me years to get around to contemplating it. As I said, I have liked the look of it. The dial is a hybrid dive-field layout. Unconsciously I see the field watch inner 24-hr track, while most outward features say diver. It is called a Khaki Navy. One big point is that it has a (only) 100m water resistance, albeit with a screw-in crown. It is in fact a field watch that looks like a diver. I get a similar feeling from the Timex Archive Navi watches. This may be its main problem, this identity crises, with potential buyers.
This is a big deal when it comes to classifying watches. What pot do I put a watch in? It also raises a touchy subject among enthusiasts; what constitutes a diver. I have written about this many times in previous posts. This also applies to the other watch in this post, the Foster, but in a different way. Consider also that Seiko chose to make all the reborn Seiko 5 line 100m watches–no 200m diver–even though all characteristics say diver. We have to accept that we don’t really need divers most of the time and a well-built 100m watch should suffice for most of our water activities.
This Hamilton Khaki Navy, that pleases me so, is just nice looking. The big trimmed hour markers at 12, 3, 6 and 9 and the trimmed Dauphine hands and elongated arrowhead on the second sweep are all great. The simple classic dive-style bezel is not great for grip and has no lume pip, but works just enough. The blue colored Superluminova lume is pretty strong and long-lasting. The early H-10 movement is solid and has an 80 hr power reserve.
The main drawback for me about this watch is the chunkiness of the 41mm case. Hamilton calls it a 40mm, but it is bigger. With the heavy (non-tapering) bracelet with almost no adjustment, this also heavy slab-sided case is a load. Measuring 41mm x 50mm x 13mm, it doesn’t look that big, but feels it. Maybe I should try the 37mm? But there are few colors in that size.
Foster Skin Diver
Now for something completely different. Big brand versus independent. When I think of one of these two watches, I often think of the other, too. Mainly because both are diver-heavy designs, but basically 100m water resistant. Although quite different from each other they have a common position in my watch classification spectrum. They are not full-out divers, yet look it, and are both solid, steel, well-built watches with reliable movements. Until recently, as explained above, I also mostly wore them on their bracelets.
The overall form and wearing experience of these two is so different. The Hamilton is heavy and chunky while the Foster is smaller, lighter, and slimmer. While the Hamilton bracelet is irritating, this Foster 5-link is lovable. The Foster is so much easier to wear for me. In my classification system the Hamilton is a diver/field hybrid and the Foster is a Skin Diver.
If I had to choose a favorite analog watch general category, I might have to say the skin diver is it. The field watch would probably be second. I love the idea of the mid-century, low cost, adventure watch. Simple and purposeful with distinctive shapes, the classic skin diver captures my imagination. The Foster has these qualities while delivering some modern, maybe irreverent tweaks.
Foster has done some things that the purist might scorn; a 48-click bezel, a 12-hr numbered bezel, 110 m WR, not 100m, and a eclectic handset and dial layout. These features are maybe discordant with its look, and I am probably more vintage/retro leaning than this watch wants to be, but I still like it. It does have a box vintage-like acrylic crystal which I like versus the flat sapphire of the Hamilton.
Foster is out of Eugene OR, so being a NW guy I am all in. (No, I don’t have a Vero yet, but, I’m working on it.) The size of the Foster skin diver is just about perfect for me; 39mm x 48mm x 12mm. It has a classic skin diver barrel shaped case, flat-ish deck, curved profile, no crown guards, quick-release bracelet tapering from 20mm to 16mm. It also comes with a black tropic rubber strap, perfect. I found mine in excellent preowned condition
The movement is a Miyota 90S5, with no date, so simple, reliable, 42hr power reserve. Not as fancy as the Hamilton movement, but solid all I really need. Still it is a step up above the NH35 or Miyota 80 series that many of my auto watches use.
Now, that dial. Not much to say here…The dot hour markers and triangle are basic diver. I guess the unique detail is the 3, 6, 9 markers have one round end and one flat. Faint minute track. It is almost a minimalist interpretation of a dive dial. I chose the orange version which has a slight metallic finish. The hand set is interesting in that it is also simple vintage; thin baton hour and minute hands. They resisted the normal route of bold arrow heads. For a bit of flare, they give us a stop light second sweep that reaches all the way to the perimeter.
The standout feature of the watch is the PVD-coated 12 hour bezel, which can be used to track a second time zone without the need for a GMT hand. The 48 clicks is for keeping time in quarters, halves and full hours like we usually do. Four clicks per hour, or four 15-min periods. Did I forget to say it is a bi-directional bezel, too. The other thing is the 110 atmospheres rating–not 100.
For a nice more detailed Foster review I recommend this one on Mainspring. Or this on from The Time Bum. Its always nice to get more than one opinion.
Moving Along
Its been nice to write about some watches again. Its also nice to revisit some watches I don’t wear often. I really like both of these even thought they are so different. Man, I wish I Hamilton would offer a replacement bracelet that has more adjustments. A solution other than buying a different size. I just have to find another that is up to the finish standard and matches the Scuba’s build. A taper would also be great. It is also difficult to remove. The price of these watches has really increased. I probably got mine for half of what a new one would cost.
The Foster is so easy to get along with. Smaller, lighter, but still rock solid. Easy to change strap/bracelet. The unique skin diver case is a beauty. The dial layout and hands are a tad boring, but at the same time ultimately functional. The orange is just nice. The Hamilton is a bit of a brute, but the dial layout is so nice. Those hour markers and hands really do it for me. Black, with just enough blue to make it interesting. Its vintage and modern all in one. On rubber it is more manageable.
Funny how we admire unique things about different watches and find ways to incorporate them into our lives. The Hamilton Scuba is bold and says, “look at me”. This Foster, even though it is orange, still is less noticeable? Just imagine if it was the black version? They both do similar things but in their own way.
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