1978 Hamilton MilitaryOne of the most widely available military watches today may be those made by Hamilton and issued to American GIs. They have your typical black military 12/24 hour dial, H3 radiation symbol, stainless steel case, manual-wind mechanical movement, and one-piece olive drab nylon band. No fancy buttons or bezels. Just a very simple and reliable watch that does what it is specified to do: tell time in the combat field.
1978 Hamilton Military
1982 Hamilton Military
1988 Hamilton MilitaryThese Hamilton watches with H3 radiation symbols are made under various versions of MIL-W-46374 military specifications and were mainly issued to GIs on the ground. There's another military watch specification, called GG-W-113, which do not have the H3 radiation symbols and were issued to pilots with black instead of olive nylon band, but I will write about those watches in another review.
1988 Hamilton Military MIL-W-46374D (Hack Movement)My interest in Hamilton military watches grew after I went through R.O.K. Army boot camp last summer. The watch I wore back then was totally trashed during the training and I needed a replacement bad. I wanted a mechanical military watch because I learned during the training that it would survive a nuclear blast (okay, okay, I'm just trying to justify my watch purchase).
Anyway, not knowing the existence of Hamilton watches, I've searched around the city but most of the watch shops carried cheap military style watches that had quartz movements. I even looked at Swiss Army watches which were the closest to Hamiltons in styling but they just didn't cut it. Then I saw a Hamilton at a local flea market. The guy who was selling it wanted $180. I wasn't a watchnut back then and thought the price outrageous for a used watch. But I really liked the fact it was a genuine military issue watch. I told him I'll think about it. I came back a week later planning to ask for a discount only to find out that it was already sold. Poor me.
1982 Hamilton Caseback with Original Protective StickerWell, I did manage to find out more about the Hamiltons from a surplus dealer. He told me they were commonly referred to as "Dollar Watch" within the Korean black market during the seventies and eighties because American GIs stationed here used them like currencies to purchase clothes, shoes, and other inexpensive Korean goods. Other surplus dealers told me that they used to carry them a lot but Japanese military buffs came over and bought all of their stocks. Damn! I wished there was a time machine that'd bring me back to the eighties so I can purchase a brand new Hamilton with original cardboard box for a dollar. A new old stock Hamilton military watch would fetch anywhere from $300 to $400 in Japan, not that I would sell it if I had one.
1988 Hamilton MilitaryThe Hamilton watches I have posted here were mostly purchased through e-Bay. They were in terrible shape and some were not running at all, but my watchmaker has magically transformed them into their pristine form. The '78 and '82 models have 7 jewels non-hacking movement. The '88 model has 17 jewels movement with hack feature. They are all running great, in like new condition. New plastic crystals were installed on all three watches. Enjoy the scans!
1982 Hamilton Military
