The bottom line: How smooth can you go? The Hamilton Khaki X-Wind Automatic H77696793 Mens Watch is the first watch in history to get installed with a drift-angle calculator! A rugged and innovative chronograph, it’s for real flyers, sea travellers and road munchers. The air-speed scale around the outer rim makes it furthermore useful and utilitarian for them, as it is always essential to ensure your voyage, flight or road travel is smooth and trouble-free.
As far as Swiss-made, mechanical, automatic chronographs go; the Hamilton Jazzmaster Automatic Chronograph H77696793 Mens Watch has no equivalent! No, it’s not that there are no better mechanical chronographs; but when you want your stuff to strut without spending a great deal upon it, you simply can’t deny the Khaki X-Wind.
You’ll neither feel any pity, nor remorse or even panic when your X-Wind scrapes, knocks, bangs or maybe just drops off from the top of the table; as long as it doesn’t fall of the cockpit or comes under the nose-wheel, it will be all right. The 10-micron gold plating is not as touchy as you might think; neither the 25 jewels Valjoux 7750 movement. The rest of the things (sapphire crystal, watch case, bezel, screw-down crowns, strap and buckle) are readily recognizable as tough stuff and the feel of the soundless yet powerful spin of the rotor inside adds an extra dash of confidence. It is unidirectional spinning; by the way and doesn’t ratchet backwards. At a comfortable 44mm (50mm with crowns, on either side) by 16mm, it holds a black carbon fibre dial with rose-gold Arabic numerals. Its layout is lavish yet gives a restrained, sombre feel; it’s the 9’o clock day/date window that that strikes you first. The internal chapter ring and the black outer bezel rotate both ways; for the chapter ring to turn, use the 4’o clock crown.
The texture of the dial matches that of the strap, bringing a continuous flow that sprouts into an H-tang buckle and serves as an especially nice touch. You may highly take it to water as long as you do not cross the 300 feet mark; in case you have to, then for short spans.
Now comes the most interesting part – Hamilton Jazzmaster American Classic Drift angle. It’s not something you will find of use in a usual urban life; the said drift-angle is to calculate and record the crosswinds while flying to work (or flying is your work). The only reason it might fit in an urban life is its cool yet complex looks apart from keeping precious time.
Note: The ‘drift angle’ is the angle between ‘heading’ (the direction along which an aircraft is moving) and its ‘actual track’ (the route it’s supposed to travel ideally). On rough terrains where roads are absent, the same can be used to maintain a mean travelling path.
