# Just bought a Hamilton w/ ETA 2824-2, how accurate will it be?



## DaveInLA

I just bought a Hamilton Khaki Field Auto online, it'll get here next week. I have a few Seiko 7s26 watches that are very accurate, generally within +5 seconds/day, but I've heard the 2824-2 can be all over the place. I just read that there are 4 grades to this movement (Economique, Standard, Elabore, and Top); does the Hamilton stick the lowest grade one in their watches? If so, what kind of accuracy can I expect? Certainly not chronometer grade, but will it at least be within 10 seconds?


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## rnyland

While I don't own one, reviewers on this site experienced 6-7 seconds/day and off-site reviews had better accuracy than most watches in their collections, many high-end.


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## W123

Impossible to say man. It varies with every watch (unless they are high end and tend to be consistently regulated). 

For example I had a Tissot PRS516 (great watch, still miss it) that gained +15s a day. Have an Accutron Gemini that gains +5s a day.


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## Beyond 'The Box'

DaveInLA said:


> I just bought a Hamilton Khaki Field Auto online, it'll get here next week. I have a few Seiko 7s26 watches that are very accurate, generally within +5 seconds/day, but I've heard the 2824-2 can be all over the place. I just read that there are 4 grades to this movement (Economique, Standard, Elabore, and Top); does the Hamilton stick the lowest grade one in their watches? If so, what kind of accuracy can I expect? Certainly not chronometer grade, but will it at least be within 10 seconds?


It's all about how the manufacturer regulates it upon assembly. I believe that the 2824-2 has 6 places for adjustment. I've never owned a Hamilton, but know that it is one of the mid-range makers using ETA. Either way though, you can always take it to a jeweler and have it regulated by them to run however you'd like it. I have a Tissot Seastar with this movement and they are one of the economique or standard-style users, mine runs +3 per day.


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## DaveInLA

Anbybody know which grade Hamilton uses? Does Hamilton regulate or modify their movements in any way?

Also, let's just say it's +15-20 sec and I take it to a competent watchmaker to regulate. About how much would that set me back (ballpark)?


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## W123

It shouldn't be much considering its a brand new watch and nothing else would be needed while the case is opened up. Truth be told you could do it yourself with a caseback opener (if a wrench is needed) and a little screwdriver to turn the regulator screw on the regulator.


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## RON in PA

My Hamilton Khaki Automatic gains 7 seconds/day. Don't know if that's typical.

As for the grade of 2824-2 movement used, it's hard to tell as ETA does not mark the grade level on the movement. Mine does not use the balance wheel used in the top two grades so it's one of the bottom two grades.


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## DaveInLA

Yeah, I figured Hamilton used a lower end grade for their ETA movements. Hopefully it's the "standard" rather than the economic version.

Here's a question-- instead of having it regulated, should I choose to upgrade the 2824 movement, are they just plug-and-play? Or are there further adjustments needed? I'm thinking of this one:
http://www.ofrei.com/page893.html
the second one with the "Mondaine" label has a chronometer grade balance wheel.


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## NEG

Here are the performance figures from the 2824 document on the ETA web site...


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## DaveInLA

Thanks for the figure!

Does anybody know which grade is sold by Ofrei in the link I put up a couple posts earlier? It says the Mondaine one has the chronometer balance wheel, does that mean it's the "Chronometer" grade? Or might it be "Top"?


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## k7lro

DaveInLA said:


> Thanks for the figure!
> 
> Does anybody know which grade is sold by Ofrei in the link I put up a couple posts earlier? It says the Mondaine one has the chronometer balance wheel, does that mean it's the "Chronometer" grade? Or might it be "Top"?


Don't know but call them and ask them - they're pretty responsive.

One other suggestion - when you get the watch, don't worry too much about accuracy. Seems to me that you should allow it to break in a bit before you start making adjustments or swapping movements. I have an O&W that uses the same movement and I assume, based on the cost, that it's the lowest grade. It's w/i 5 seconds a day for me and is my most abused, beater watch.


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## Sharpsshooter

DaveInLA said:


> Anbybody know which grade Hamilton uses?


I received an answer to this question from Hamilton, "Hamilton uses the elaborated grade movement."

HTH


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## subrosa

I recently picked up a Hamilton Khaki field Mech using the ETA 2804 and it is very accurate, at least in my humble view.


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## DaveInLA

Sharpsshooter said:


> I received an answer to this question from Hamilton, "Hamilton uses the elaborated grade movement."
> 
> HTH


Good to know my Hamilton doesn't have a bottom-of-the-barrel movement in it!

Anyway, my watch is +1-4 sec/day. Pretty good for $240! (gray market)


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## Sharpsshooter

I couldn't be happier with my watch, a Hamilton Khaki Field.

Bought for only $104, delivered, from Ashford. Seems like a pretty good price for a stainless steel watch with a ETA 2824-2 elaborated movement, a saphire crystal, and water resist to 100ft.

Seems to be about +6 seconds/day for now.

The only thing I can see some not liking about it is it is on the small side for some people's taste.


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## RJRJRJ

Sharpsshooter said:


> I couldn't be happier with my watch, a Hamilton Khaki Field.
> 
> Bought for only $104, delivered, from Ashford. Seems like a pretty good price for a stainless steel watch with a ETA 2824-2 elaborated movement, a saphire crystal, and water resist to 100ft.
> 
> Seems to be about +6 seconds/day for now.
> 
> The only thing I can see some not liking about it is it is on the small side for some people's taste.


Thats an astonishing deal. You cant even buy the base movement by itself for that price.


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## niles316

I bought a eta 2824 BelowZero series n it was +20s/day. Was a tad disappointed considering it was a 1k watch. Anyway,i regulated it myself n got it down to about +12s/day. Though still not very accurate,i definitely feel much better about it.


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## Yooper

subrosa said:


> I recently picked up a Hamilton Khaki field Mech using the ETA 2804 and it is very accurate, at least in my humble view.


I have had a Hamilton Khaki field mechanical for about a year. If I keep the crown up at night, then I consistently measure a gain of about 3 seconds per day.

It is a great watch. It is reliable and robust. The winding mechanism is very smooth. I am really impressed with the quality of Hamilton watches. Considering that this watch only costs ~$200 brand new, it is a great deal. Also, the strap that it comes with is very comfortable and durable.

It is not the type of watch that most people would wear with a suit, however, it can really take a beating. I use it when I ski and play baseball.


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## arizonawind

hamilton makes some fine watches, especially in the khaki line. some of those are dress watches like the rootbeer dialed 38mm chrono. accuracy is consistant across the board with the brand as a whole. now the s26/36 seiko movements. some claim 5 seconds a day. not true, never was. they are a non hacking, non winding movement that arrive running between -20/+30 day. since they don't hack, its pretty tough to set them to a known timing source unless you do the slight back pressure on the crown to stop the second hand. those aren't accurate movements. they weren't meant to be. they were meant to be durable and last. they can be regulated to perform with +/- 10 seconds a day but don't expect much more out of that movement. its unrealistic at best.


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## brainchill

Lets be really very frank here ... accuracy is important but if accuracy to the 3-5 seconds a day (or month) were the most important factor we would not be buying automatic watches at all. Quarts is far more accurate even in cheap Gshock varieties but it has no romance, style or mystique


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## Raza

niles316 said:


> I bought a eta 2824 BelowZero series n it was +20s/day. Was a tad disappointed considering it was a 1k watch. Anyway,i regulated it myself n got it down to about +12s/day. Though still not very accurate,i definitely feel much better about it.


That's rough. I have two mechanical Hamiltons, one runs a 7750, the other a 2893, both are much more accurate than that.


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## murfdog

I have an American Classic Jazzmaster Seaview 1000 giving me chronometer readings. The ETA 2824-2 movement is -2 to 3 seconds daily averaged over a two week period with the atomic clock in Boulder Colorado. So far I am impressed with Hamilton's quality control, although I have read posts on this forum stating their movements were sometimes 20 seconds a day off. Oh well, just my experience, enjoy your new Hammy!!!!


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## invicta60

I have a khaki air race gmt and its running in 24 hours about +2 that is SUPER .


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## Mot524

arizonawind said:


> ... now the s26/36 seiko movements. some claim 5 seconds a day. not true, never was. they are a non hacking, non winding movement that arrive running between -20/+30 day. since they don't hack, its pretty tough to set them to a known timing source unless you do the slight back pressure on the crown to stop the second hand. those aren't accurate movements. they weren't meant to be ...


Ridiculous. Whether or not you can hack a watch plays absolutely no role in how accurate it is, in the sense of how many seconds does it gain or lose per day.

Easy solution, synchronize a quartz watch to the mechanical watch in question and go from there.


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## HvyChvy

My Seiko 5 Military with the s26 has been great! The last 3 weeks it was a total of -17. Being a $80 watch I was impressed, but I'm new at this.


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## lazyvalet

Replying to an old thread, I know. 

My hamilton field khaki with 2824-2 has been running steadily at +12-13 spd ever since I got it 5 months ago. I am wondering when a good time would be to pop off the caseback and adjust the timing screw.

Also, this has been my daily watch for the entire time I have owned it, meaning it has only unwound completely once while in my possession. Is there evidence that letting it unwind fully from time-to-time increases the accuracy?


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## jigg

lazyvalet said:


> Replying to an old thread, I know.
> 
> My hamilton field khaki with 2824-2 has been running steadily at +12-13 spd ever since I got it 5 months ago. I am wondering when a good time would be to pop off the caseback and adjust the timing screw.
> 
> Also, this has been my daily watch for the entire time I have owned it, meaning it has only unwound completely once while in my possession. Is there evidence that letting it unwind fully from time-to-time increases the accuracy?


5 months ago would mean that there should still be warranty on it right? I think you should bring it back and have them look at it for you.

-jigg


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## lazyvalet

@jigg:

Yes, I bought it from Jomashop (gray market) and they service watches they sell for 1-5 years after purchase. According to their warranty page:

"Watches that have symptoms of abnormally gaining time, losing time, or not keeping proper time will be serviced under our warranty program."

Now I figured since I didn't pay for a chronometer that I shouldn't expect chronometer performance, but really I have a seagull 6497 manual that operates within COSC specs that was hundreds of dollars cheaper than this.


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## Mot524

lazyvalet said:


> ...
> Now I figured since I didn't pay for a chronometer that I shouldn't expect chronometer performance, but really I have a seagull 6497 manual that operates within COSC specs that was hundreds of dollars cheaper than this.


Luck of the draw.

+12 seconds isn't bad.

Try resting it overnight in different positions to see if you can slow it down, and you might be able to "regulate" it this way to keep basically atomic time. Most watches run slower when resting on their sides, I've found. Rolexes are actually designed/adjusted to do so.


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## lazyvalet

Seems to help a bit, thanks for the tip.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 4


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