Watch proportions vary greatly across brands, watch types, and models.
Regardless of your wrist size, just like with clothing and shoes that fit well, watches should also be the right size for your wrist. Oftentimes, case diameters from 38 mm to 42 mm represent a sweet spot for watch buyers. However, pilot watches, which have historically been professional tools purpose-built for high legibility while flying and to allow for gloved operation, tend to be larger by design.
Big watches work for some people, and Hamilton also offers a 43 mm version of the Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer, for those with thicker wrists, albeit a hand-wound mechanical variant. For those seeking a smaller-sized pilot watch, the Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer Auto 38 mm delivers.
Inspired by the Model 23, a pocket watch used by US soldiers during WWII, the Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer’s distinctive aesthetics pay tribute to Hamilton’s aviation and military heritage. With ultra-legible printed numerals, cathedral hour and minute hands, a long, easy-to-read baton-shaped center seconds hand, a clutter-free no date display, and a railway track outer scale, this 38 mm automatic pilot dial represents perfect pilot watch form and function.
At 38 mm x 11.4 mm, the Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer Auto 38 mm is favorably thin, and with an 18 mm lug width and a leather strap that tapers down to 16 mm, it looks great on the wrist, as opposed to the oft-over-sized pilot look where the watch hangs over the edges of your wrist.
In addition to the black dial, black bezel, and brown leather strap already in Hamilton’s catalog (pictured above), this month, the Swatch Group-owned, accessibly priced Swiss watchmaker added two new references, available with eggshell white textured dials, that feature thick two-stitch genuine leather straps that match the insert (hunter green or burgundy) of the rotating bezel.
Hamilton’s ETA-based caliber H-10 automatic movement features a Nivachron balance spring and drives the time-only display for up to 80 hours. You can see the movement through the clear caseback; however, all the finishing is industrial, completed entirely by machines, as to be expected at this price point. A sapphire crystal, with double anti-reflective coatings, protects the dial. Water resistance is rated to 100 meters. All three versions of the Hamilton Khaki Aviation Pilot Pioneer Auto 38 mm (Ref. H76255810 – green/white dial, Ref. H76265810 – burgundy/white dial, Ref. H76205530 – black dial/gilt print) retail for $995.
Photos by Hamilton.
