# New Hamilton intra-matic



## camb66 (Jan 25, 2010)

Now this caught my attention on Hodinkee- it the new Hamilton intra- matic. Available in March in two sizes, 38mm($845) and 41mm ($945) both with an ETA 2892. It takes the whole retro watch fad to a whole new level, it actually looks like a vintage watch. Anyway, I will be awaiting this one quite eagerly. Thoughts..........

Pics lifted from Hodinkee


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## KustomLincoln (Dec 19, 2010)

I like everything but where it says intra-matic.... Otherwise I will be picking one up!


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## ffeelliixx (May 22, 2007)

Absolutely fantastic design! Is the crystal sapphire?


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## camb66 (Jan 25, 2010)

ffeelliixx said:


> Absolutely fantastic design! Is the crystal sapphire?


Not sure- it doesn't say.

Heres another pic


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## mike120 (Aug 1, 2010)

Any thoughts as to whether there will be a black dialed one?


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## GlennO (Jan 3, 2010)

ffeelliixx said:


> Absolutely fantastic design! Is the crystal sapphire?


It says 'sapphire crystal' on the case back. I wonder if there's any AR coating. Love the vintage design. Perfect dress watch.


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## subrosa (Dec 2, 2008)

Wow! I am happy to see pieces like this coming from Hamilton. The vintage "H" Is quite interesting, looks nearly identical to vintage Hamiltons I have seen...I hope they keep going down this path, would love to see some up-sized old square watches.


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## ffeelliixx (May 22, 2007)

GlennO said:


> It says 'sapphire crystal' on the case back. I wonder if there's any AR coating. Love the vintage design. Perfect dress watch.


If prior Hamilton models are any indication, it won't come with AR coating. But the lack or AR coating will lend to the vintage appeal.


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## Watchbreath (Feb 12, 2006)

b-) This is what a real homage is like.


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## Likestheshiny (Nov 28, 2011)

> If prior Hamilton models are any indication, it won't come with AR coating. But the lack or AR coating will lend to the vintage appeal.


Am I imagining it, or does it look like it has a domed crystal? That would be better than a coating for reflections, to my mind.


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## camb66 (Jan 25, 2010)

Likestheshiny said:


> Am I imagining it, or does it look like it has a domed crystal? That would be better than a coating for reflections, to my mind.


correct- domed crystal


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## Cypher (Sep 23, 2010)

OMG ,i thought that is a vintage. I hope is not coming with a cristal, a plexic is more appriopriate.


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## gyang333 (Jun 12, 2010)

ffeelliixx said:


> If prior Hamilton models are any indication, it won't come with AR coating. But the lack or AR coating will lend to the vintage appeal.


some of their newer stuff comes with AR coating. My JazzMaster Maestro with the H21 movement comes with AR coating.


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## ffeelliixx (May 22, 2007)

gyang333 said:


> some of their newer stuff comes with AR coating. My JazzMaster Maestro with the H21 movement comes with AR coating.


I was unaware that Hamilton started using AR coating. That's good to hear. Does it include outer AR? How good is it?


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## gyang333 (Jun 12, 2010)

ffeelliixx said:


> I was unaware that Hamilton started using AR coating. That's good to hear. Does it include outer AR? How good is it?


i'm not sure which side it's on but it's a very thin layer


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## napel (Feb 21, 2011)

Now that's a throwback. They can feature this watch on Mad Men


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## Cypher (Sep 23, 2010)

Yeah,i had emailed a couple of months ago Hamilton and they say that in the new collections they will use AR coatings. They didn't named but i think that the more expensive models will enjoy that i guess.


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## scyoung121 (Apr 23, 2008)

If anyone is interested I have one for sale at the link below

New Hamilton Intra-Matic 42 mm (h38455151) Intramatic Watch


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## wwarren (May 1, 2011)

I love the vintage-style logo on this one! I may get it just for that.


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## mebiuspower (Sep 24, 2009)

I assume the price OP posted is for one with leather strap... how much more for gold plated version or one with bracelet?

Any owners here can post feedback about their purchase?

One of the better looking retro watches from Hamilton...! Solid 2892 movement too!!!


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## johnj (Apr 13, 2006)

I love this watch and think it's one of the coolest designs of the Hammy Swatch era. There's a picture of the black face dial in this thread:

https://www.watchuseek.com/f357/what-i-love-about-hamilton-703518.html


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## Horologic (Apr 26, 2012)

Black is cool, but the silver dial is amazing on this watch. The pattern helps create the retro look of the watch.

I thought I wanted a jazz master but this intra-matic is tugging at my desire. What does intra-matic mean anyways ?


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## gyang333 (Jun 12, 2010)

johnj said:


> I love this watch and think it's one of the coolest designs of the Hammy Swatch era. There's a picture of the black face dial in this thread:
> 
> https://www.watchuseek.com/f357/what-i-love-about-hamilton-703518.html


too be fair, you can't give the designers too much credit, since it's a rehash of an old Hamilton design, pre-SWATCH.


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## johnj (Apr 13, 2006)

gyang333 said:


> too be fair, you can't give the designers too much credit, since it's a rehash of an old Hamilton design, pre-SWATCH.


Actually it's the same design of at least a dozen watch brands in the sixtys. But it's the first Swatch design that is so close to the lineage.


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## BrentYYC (Feb 2, 2012)

I just tried a couple of these on this week at my AD and.... OMG, what a gorgeous piece on the wrist!!! The photos are great, but you just don't appreciate how beautiful it is until you try it on. I'm completely torn about which to get (trying hard to control myself and not get a couple of them). I've been waffling about getting the new Breitling 3-hand Transocean, but I could buy six Intra Matics for the same price... hmmm, maybe I should pick up a couple.


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## gregnice631 (Dec 31, 2011)

its a nice watch. it reminds me alot of my seiko sportsmatic.


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## scooby (Jun 3, 2009)

I just wish it had a seconds hand...otherwise looks great!


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## BrentYYC (Feb 2, 2012)

scooby said:


> I just wish it had a seconds hand...otherwise looks great!


That's my only wish with this watch, too. I'm no watch maker, but I believe the movement will accommodate a seconds hand. It might require the replacement of the minute hand too, but it should be doable (unless someone with more expertise than me can correct me).


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## abingdon (Oct 1, 2008)

I've been looking closely at getting one of these, but I'm stuck on whether I want the 38mm or 42mm. I know the 38mm is closer to a traditional size for a watch of this style, but in general I just don't like the way anything under 40mm looks on my wrist these days. So the 42mm version sounds perfect to me - a "modern sized" version of a vintage-looking watch. But then again, I hear the 42mm version of this watch looks absolutely huge. So I'm leaning toward the 38mm even though I've flipped every <40mm watch I've bought in the last few years.

Does anyone have the 42mm version? I'd love to see a wrist shot. Unfortunately I don't have a convenient Hamilton dealer to stop by to try these on.


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## BrentYYC (Feb 2, 2012)

abingdon said:


> I've been looking closely at getting one of these, but I'm stuck on whether I want the 38mm or 42mm. I know the 38mm is closer to a traditional size for a watch of this style, but in general I just don't like the way anything under 40mm looks on my wrist these days. So the 42mm version sounds perfect to me - a "modern sized" version of a vintage-looking watch. But then again, I hear the 42mm version of this watch looks absolutely huge. So I'm leaning toward the 38mm even though I've flipped every <40mm watch I've bought in the last few years.


I'll post some pics later today that might answer your concerns. It all comes down to dial size, not case size, and the Intra-matic has a huge dial in relation to the case.

Yesterday I went into one of my watch cases to measure a dive watch (42mm) that was nested beside an IWC Mark XI (38mm) and the significantly smaller IWC actually looked bigger than the dive watch due to it's larger dial (35mmm vs. 30mm). The 42mm dive watch looked positively puny beside my 42mm Mido Baroncelli, even though the case size is identical. My opinion is the 38mm Intra-matic will wear like a 42mm watch, without looking hideously large, and you would probably be very happy with it. I'll post pics later, because the side by side comparison will blow your mind.


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## abingdon (Oct 1, 2008)

BrentYYC said:


> I'll post some pics later today that might answer your concerns. It all comes down to dial size, not case size, and the Intra-matic has a huge dial in relation to the case.
> 
> Yesterday I went into one of my watch cases to measure a dive watch (42mm) that was nested beside an IWC Mark XI (38mm) and the significantly smaller IWC actually looked bigger than the dive watch due to it's larger dial (35mmm vs. 30mm). The 42mm dive watch looked positively puny beside my 42mm Mido Baroncelli, even though the case size is identical. My opinion is the 38mm Intra-matic will wear like a 42mm watch, without looking hideously large, and you would probably be very happy with it. I'll post pics later, because the side by side comparison will blow your mind.


Much obliged, thanks. I definitely know that certain watches can "wear bigger" due to specific proportions of dial/bezel/etc. But I've also bought a 38mm watch or two that people swore up-and-down "wears like a 42!" and just was not happy with it. In this case, since the watch has a retro design, I'm leaning toward the 38mm either way, but your pictures would definitely be helpful. Thanks again!


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## BrentYYC (Feb 2, 2012)

I'm just not happy at all with the shots I took. When you're looking at the watches in your hand or on your wrist, you can clearly see how much larger the 'all dial' style like the Intra-matic appears compared to styles that are beefier, with bezels. Unfortunately it just doesn't come through the same way in photos.

Tomorrow I will try to take some wrist shots of a couple of all-dial watches that are the same sizes as the two versions of the Intra-matic, and that might give a better idea of wrist presence you can expect.

In the mean time here's an interesting comparison between a couple of watches that are the same size as the large Intra-matic. The MIDO is an all-dial dress watch, similar to the Intra-matic, and the vintage Elgin dive watch is a typical bezel design. Both have the identical case size to each other (and match the size of the large Intra-matic), but you can clearly see the illusion of larger size you get with an all-dial design. This is why I feel the 38mm Intra-matic will have similar wrist presence to other watches that are in the 40-42mm range.


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## cprrckwlf (Aug 18, 2012)

While looking at intra-matic (I'm in love with that silver dial) I came across this article: Hamilton Intra Matic - The Baily Blog which makes the same point as BrentYYC. It also has a pic of what looks like the gold case 42 next to the silver case 38. Unfortunately, the watches are angled in such a way that it isn't a perfect comparison but it does give some idea.


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## BrentYYC (Feb 2, 2012)

I decided taking shots of the watches side by side doesn't give the impression of scale very well, so here are a couple of large dial watches (same sizes as the two Intra-matics) to give you a better idea of what all all-dial 38mm watch looks like when being worn. The 38mm watch in the photo is an IWC Mark XI, and the Intra-matic has a slightly larger dial (same case size), so it would look even bigger on the wrist than the IWC. The IWC is on the left, a 41mm Mido is on the right. Wrist size is 7.25".

My personal opinion is that if you're going with a 'vintage look' watch, a slightly smaller size is the way to go (bigger than a real vintage piece, but smaller than the gargantuan watches that everyone seems to be building these days). It just doesn't look 'right' if it's too large.


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## BrentYYC (Feb 2, 2012)

cprrckwlf said:


> While looking at intra-matic (I'm in love with that silver dial) I came across this article: Hamilton Intra Matic - The Baily Blog which makes the same point as BrentYYC. It also has a pic of what looks like the gold case 42 next to the silver case 38. Unfortunately, the watches are angled in such a way that it isn't a perfect comparison but it does give some idea.


Good article. I think the 38mm, silver dial, gold case on black strap is a stunning vintage dress look. I'm thinking of pulling the trigger on that combination.


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## BrentYYC (Feb 2, 2012)

I went back to my local AD today to do a little 'trigger pulling' and, wouldn't you know it, they were completely sold out of 38mm Intra-matics. I tried on the 42mm and it confirmed my opinion that it's too large for this style of watch. It didn't look or feel right. It doesn't look too too bad in the photo, below, but 'in the flesh' it made the Speedmaster I wore today look small in comparison. 7 1/2" wrist, btw.


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