{"id":26624,"date":"2021-06-28T18:48:17","date_gmt":"2021-06-28T18:48:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/the-hamilton-intra-matic-chronograph-h-watch-hands-on\/"},"modified":"2021-12-05T17:04:33","modified_gmt":"2021-12-05T17:04:33","slug":"hamilton-intra-matic-chronograph-h-watch-hands-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.horbiter.com\/en\/hamilton-intra-matic-chronograph-h-watch-hands-on\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hamilton Intra-matic Chronograph H watch hands-on"},"content":{"rendered":"

We asked, and they listened and delivered: here is the\u00a0Hamilton American Classic Intra-matic Chronograph H<\/strong>\u00a0in all its beauty or, let\u2019s cut a long story short, the\u00a0Hamilton Intra-matic Chronograph H<\/strong>. What matters the most is that the Swiss-American watchmaker has released a four-piece collection of timepieces that place it ahead of the competition when engineering a chronograph geared towards the most demanding vintage Chrono die-hard fan. The cherry on the cake is that the new offering comes standard with a manual-winding mechanical movement for the first time. You\u2019ll read more by reading the article; in the meantime, watchmaking proves it is a business where tradition often wins hands down over innovation, and, case in point, the new one is a jab to those who are eager to innovate or disrupt for the sake of it.<\/p>\n

\"hamilton-intra-matic-chronograph-h\"With the\u00a0Chronograph H<\/strong>, the seventies-inspired manual-winding two-register chronograph reaches new heights and might easily outperform its self-winding sibling while sharing most of the specification sheet; the case measures\u00a040 mm<\/strong>\u00a0and is paired to either a panda or a reverse panda dial; it houses a large crown and oversized pushers. The\u00a0Hamilton Intra-matic Chronograph H<\/strong>\u00a0pays tribute to the\u00a01968 A and B chronographs<\/strong>. Let\u2019s ask\u00a0Hamilton<\/strong>\u00a0to reissue the\u00a0Chrono-matic<\/strong>\u00a0equipped Chrono of the past, with the winding crown placed on the left, too, and we\u2019ll end up wearing the coolest two-counters chronograph priced\u00a0under the 2000 Euros<\/strong> threshold<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

\"hamilton-intra-matic-chronograph-h-4\"Hamilton Watch\u00a0<\/strong>aimed to offer two similarly sized and performing chronographs, on paper, to different groups of admirers and potential buyers. Housing a manual-winding movement and offering a slightly different style, the new\u00a0Chronograph H<\/strong>\u00a0watch is a call to action to vintage watches aficionados, who\u2019ll find cues from a long-gone era. The dial comes with baton indexes partially filled with vintage\u00a0Super-Luminova<\/strong>\u00ae and no date window at all, while a glass box sapphire crystal mimics a\u00a0Chronograph A<\/strong>\u2018s plastic glass.<\/p>\n

\"hamilton-intra-matic-chronograph-h-6\"Once secured onto your wrist, you might find yourself disappointed in discovering the case thickness\u2019 reduction is negligible. The case moves from\u00a014.7 mm<\/strong>\u00a0(the automatic Intra-matic) to\u00a014.35 mm<\/strong>\u00a0you\u2019ll measure on the\u00a0Chronograph H<\/strong>\u00a0instead. We all want a slimmer case when buying a watch this engineered, yet the two options are comparable in size, back to back. Here is why from a technical standpoint: the new\u00a0calibre H-51<\/strong>\u00a0derives from the self-winding\u00a0H-31 calibre<\/strong>. While sharing the same baseplate, they also share the same power reserve and a technical layout looking for robustness rather than stand-out features, like a column wheel mechanism or a silicon balance spring, hard to get in this price range.<\/p>\n

\"hamilton-intra-matic-chronograph-h-3\"I think the package is acceptable; you\u2019re short on exclusivity under this set of constraints. However, I can\u2019t deny I\u2019d love to see the new Chrono slide under the cuff and offer a smaller presence once on your wrist. Here is where both\u00a0Hamilton<\/strong>\u00a0and\u00a0ETA<\/strong>\u00a0engineers should join their forces to upgrade further a watch whose boldness, touch and feel, outperform the self-winding options and several options out there. Among the upgrades, I\u2019ll add the chance to replace a bracelet with a strap, and back, quickly. A quick-change device is something you can\u2019t miss across your product portfolio, and I\u2019d love to swap between a mesh bracelet and a strap at the single push of a button.<\/p>\n