A Prodigal beater from Greenwich? Hamilton’s Navy GMT
By Straight-Six, published on 17 August 2010
It’s a fact that we’ve always believed there to be a no-man’s land between luxury watch brands of design and mechanical repute that you can quite literally bank on and, well, a monstrous horde of watch brands that inhabit the Badlands just below. What this means for us at The Prodigal Guide is this: why would you spend anything resembling serious money when for a bit more you can have what we would refer to as Prodigal watch brands – new or second-hand?
Let’s take Straight-Six as the guinea pig here: his watch collecting days started with Casio digitals (including a brilliant translation watch lost in the back of a car), moving through Swatches before purchasing a vintage Longines Conquest off the Net for $200. This marked a seminal moment, when he realised just how vast the choice of vintage timepieces actually was and how low the entry point had been set. There was no going back.
Fabulous, heady days of surfing hundreds of pages of timepieces ensued with several more “cute” purchases, all for under $500. And then he discovered the Rolex Air-King, marking yet another seminal moment that would eventually lead to his financial downfall and breakdown of all rational thought when it came to ticking hunks of metal.
Anyways, since those days are now long gone and we look ever upwards and sideways for watch brands and gorgeous pieces of note, we often fail to look at the lower price points (Marvin being a notable and worthy exception). Sure, part of that is due to snobbishness and the dearth of decent design, but mostly it’s just because we would almost always advise our friends (both of ‘em) and other bozos to make their entry into quality watches a worthwhile one. “Don’t fuck around. Do it right the first time.” That, or buy vintage when you’re considering dropping hundreds of bucks rather than thousands.
Simple, right? If only it ever was…
And so it was that the Hamilton Navy GMT strolled into our perfect, structured world – where all know their place and bow to the powers that be – and made us understand that we were just plain wrong. For here is a timepiece that ticks all the mod con boxes (mechanical movement; sapphire crystal; water proof, etc.) and yet also manages to exude a level of confidence and, yes, timelessness that caught our eye almost immediately.
Its design holds up to genuine scrutiny: nicely integrated crowns; discreet lettering; the amphitheatre-like second dial piece which reminds us of our beloved Rolex 1530; a discreet matte case and a balanced case-to-strap ratio. Oh, and the fact you can pick one up with a brown dial and croco strap combination has us feeling decidedly frisky.
That you can acquire all this goodness up for a mere €750 makes the Hamilton Navy GMT a goddamn steal in our book. Oh, and you’re getting this little baby from a watchmaker with an incredibly rich history despite it only stretching back almost 120 years. Quality American watch brands with genuine heritage are not exactly in great supply, adding another star to the Hamilton’s case file.
We’ve often had conversations with other watch enthusiasts about “beaters” – watches you wear with reckless abandon. Truth be told, we’ve never been able to wear our watches in a completely nonchalant and uncaring manner. We’re horological sissies that way, we admit. But were we ready to adopt the concept of a Prodigal beater, well the Hamilton Navy GMT would definitely be it.
A Prodigal beater from Greenwich? Hamilton’s Navy GMT
It’s a fact that we’ve always believed there to be a no-man’s land between luxury watch brands of design and mechanical repute that you can quite literally bank on and, well, a monstrous horde of watch brands that inhabit the Badlands just below. What this means for us at The Prodigal Guide is this: why [...]
This section is supported by the patronage of:
3 Responses to “A Prodigal beater from Greenwich? Hamilton’s Navy GMT”
-
-
Straight-Six
30 August 2010
Laguna,
Am very curious to see what this Ventura Sub looks like and had some difficulty locating it online. Any link you could provide us with?
Cheers and thanks for stopping by,
Straight-Six
-
-
A Prodigal August « The Prodigal Guide
6 September 2010
[...] number 10 – A Prodigal beater from Greenwich? Hamilton’s Navy GMT – In which Straight-Six concludes that if he were a little less of a sissy and actually could [...]
Laguna
29 August 2010
I purchased a Submariner in 1978, a 1680. Still wear it but not daily even though it’s on perfect condition. I’m a ‘babier’ so my stuff looks new years later. I’m also a tough parter because my buying decisions are carefully weighed. Painstakingly so. But in 1998 I discovered the ventura line. Yes, a small v. Kind of like Audi’s
allroad. Specifically, the Sub. Yes, capital S… who knows why? But oh my, the absolute
minimalist design (the brilliance of the late Hannes Wettstein) took me over. The nitrogen hardened titanium case and buckle sealed the deal but as is my style I waited until 2002 to buy this superb COSC Soprod-tuned 7751 Valjoux chronograph. Stunning piece and one that I believe will be even more sought after than my 1680.