Victorinox Ambassador vs. Hamilton Khaki

[FlyingMoose]

This is mainly a comparison between two watches, so I didn't go into a lot of detail except to point out differences between the two.

I've wanted a nice mechanical watch for about a year now. I thought of Rolex, but it's a bit above my budget at the moment. I also wanted to get a first watch that wasn't very expensive, and didn't have a high resale value, so I won't be tempted to flip it. I wanted a day/date since I can never remember what day of the week it is.

I considered the Hamilton Khaki King Scuba (black face), the Oris BC3 (gray face), and the Victorinox Ambassador Day/Date (black face). The Hamilton is too plain, neither dressy nor sporty, and gives the impression of a wall clock shrunk down to fit on the wrist, so I decided against that one. I decided I wanted something a bit more sporty, and with a bezel to time things, and so went with the Hamilton.

I ordered it and when I received it, I noticed that one end of the bracelet, where it attaches to the watch, was very stiff. The outside links on that end were tapered and stuck out far enough to grind against the lugs. Since the other end of the bracelet isn't tapered, I have no idea how this could have happened. Perhaps the bracelet was intended for another watch. I returned the watch and ordered the Victorinox, and so I will offer my comparisons between the two. As far as I know, most of the comments about the Hamilton also apply to the non-scuba version of the Khaki King.

Bracelet:
On the Hamilton, the machined clasp had some tooling marks on some of the brushed surfaces on the ends, and the whole bracelet felt loose and looked non-uniform. On the Victorinox, the bracelet is very well made, nice and tight, and the butterfly clasp hides nicely. Instead of having a series of holes on the clasp for adjustment, it has full links and 3/4 links, which allows you to adjust the bracelet in 1/4 link (1/16") increments. This is slightly obscure, so if you have a jeweler or watchmaker adjust it, he'll have to know how the system works. I've ordered a tool to push the pins out, since it's difficult to do with a thumbtack, and I want to be able to adjust it myself. The clasp on the Victorinox does leave an impression in my wrist, it could have been a bit wider to spread out the force more. It could be because the bracelet is too tight, since I don't have the toolkit to adjust it properly yet. The hamilton has the usual springbar which can be adjusted to a series of holes in the clasp.

Movement:
Both have the exact same movement, as far as I can tell, held in place with a plastic spacer. The ETA 2834, which is the outside-day version of the 2824, is a workhorse movement which is considered a tier below the ETA 2892 or Rolex 3135. (The Oris has the 2836, the inside-day version of the same movement.)

Crown:
The crown on the Victorinox is not a screw-down crown. It is nice and large and easy to pull and turn. Even though it's not screw-down, it's rated 100m water resistant, same as the Khaki King Scuba, which is supposedly a dive watch. The crown on the Hamilton is almost impossible to start on the threads, and even harder to screw down. I hurt my fingers trying to turn it.

Face:
Both watches have a sapphire crystal (and also a display back). The Hamilton has a domed crystal, and is almost impossible to read because of the light reflecting off of the crystal and the polished applied numerals. It does have a nice rotating bezel, which is another reason I initially picked it over the Victorinox, and something I wish I had. However, I won't put up with all the other problems for this feature. The Victorinox, even though it also has highly-polished applied numerals, is extremely easy to read. The lume is also brighter and lasts longer. Even though they're technically the same size, the Victorinox looks much larger, which I don't really consider a plus or minus.

Conclusion:
I was surprised at the difference in quality between the two watches, which cost about the same (to be fair, the Victorinox costs a bit more). As an owner of 3 Victorinox Swiss Army knives, the watch met the quality standard I've come to expect from them, even though the watch probably isn't made by the same company. The Hamilton seemed to be made more to an American standard (Hamilton was originally an American company), in other words, just barely good enough. I can't believe someone would make a watch that's so hard to read. One last note, on brand recognition: Among my friends, all have heard of and respect Swiss Army, but none have heard of Hamilton. So, brand-recognition wise, I'd rate it almost as good as Rolex, but without the snob factor.

[DSJ]

Interesting review. Our own Mailman had a very nice Khaki automatic that I came very close to buying a similar piece, based on his review.

http://www.rolexforums.com/showthread.php?t=33064

[DSJ]

Also, my brother had opposite results with Victorinox watches several years ago. He went through a couple, returning each for problems, before getting his LL Bean watch that held up for many years before finally getting his Submariner.

[jzsailor]

I also onw a victorinox, a ST5000, and at least this watch it is quite a bad watch, as a matter of fact, it is the worst watch i worn, the machinery fail a couple of time and the glass broke itself four time see my avatar, even the rubber band broke.
for the same price, there is many other brand much more better.my sugestion if you dont to have a watch keept in a drawer dont buy a victorinox.
jzsailor

[htc8p]

ive have victorinox ambassador 3 years now got it as a wedding gift and it is a great watch. used it every day. day in day out. the watch didnt last the 3 year warranty. the movement sped up 15 minutes. but the service center did a good job. now its back in great condition.

the ambassador model is a robust movement and nice looking too. its my workhorse watch.

[htc8p]

ive have victorinox ambassador 3 years now got it as a wedding gift and it is a great watch. used it every day. day in day out. the watch didnt last the 3 year warranty. the movement sped up 15 minutes. but the service center did a good job. now its back in great condition.

the ambassador model is a robust movement and nice looking too. its my workhorse watch.