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Dear Apple Watch: My Hamilton survived two wars without needing a software update [1]

['Séamus Bellamy']

Date: 2025-08-11

I have a deep affection for mechanical Hamilton Field Watches. During my first career, I wore one to work every day. Like any good field watch, it was small, stayed out of my way until I needed to know the time, was super easy to read, day or night, and never got caught on the cuff of my shirt sleeve like bulkier watches and smartwatches (I'm looking at you, Apple Watch Ultra 2) do. My first Hamilton ended up getting hammered to death at the same time that I sustained an ugly injury to my left hand and wrist. I've never gone without a watch, but I never bought another Hamilton—until recently. I purchased a new, older-stock Hamilton Khaki Field Watch on eBay, which was made before the company was acquired by Swatch. I don't care about the history of timepieces, but before I made my purchase, I conducted thorough research on what I was considering investing in.

I found this video to be fascinating: Hamilton's fortunes as a company had a lot to do with the winds that blew our civilization to and fro during the 20th century. It's strange, to me at least, how many individuals relied on the same timepiece for years, to keep them alive during war and to help them to kill. Maybe it was the first watch they ever owned. Then, after their war, they would have felt naked leaving it in a drawer. Perhaps they kept on wearing it. It let them know they were going to be late for a first date, a first job, or a walk down the aisle. A thing worn until a timely death. A thing passed down.

That the Hamilton field watch's style has changed so little over the decades and has been copied by so many is a heck of a thing.

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[1] Url: https://boingboing.net/2025/08/11/dear-apple-watch-my-hamilton-survived-two-wars-without-needing-a-software-update.html

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