# Would you wear this Hamilton Khaki as a dress watch?



## Jakub (Oct 29, 2015)

Hi,

I am new here and I am considering buying my first watch - Hamilton Khaki Field 40mm in "sand" color h70595593.

I really like this watch and I am thinking if I would change the strap for a black one, could I use it as a dress watch? I guess more casual dress watch then tuxedo type dress watch  What do you think?

Also, does anyone have a picture with these Hamilton on a different strap than the original? Black leather preferably. I searched this forum, but very very few pictures with this watch.

Thanks,

Jakub


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## tinknocker (Dec 29, 2009)

I would. You can always get the bracelet though Hamilton if you want.


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## cprrckwlf (Aug 18, 2012)

It's not a dress watch. Never going to be a dress watch. Too much happening on the dial. The enlarged indices at 12 and 6. It's a very military heritage. No change of band is going to help.

But you know that, you said so when you said "more casual dress with then tuxedo." 

I think we phrase this question wrong, time and time again. I don't think you are really asking "can I wear this as a dress watch" (answer: no) so much as "can I wear this with a suit" or "can I wear this to Christmas dinner with my girlfriend's parents" (answer to both: definite yes). Not only will the utilitarian/military style provide a welcome contrast to being dressed up, but there's a long precedent (such as the famous Connery/Bond Sub on NATO and dinner jacket). Ever see the fashion advice that when you wear a suit you should have one signature item that stands apart -- tie pin, pocket square, cuff links, whatever? Why not make it your watch?

Don't wear that stock band with patent leather shoes and belt, but other than that don't worry about it and don't self conscious about it (a far bigger faux pas than anything else you could do).

Besides, in the end the reality for most of us WIS* is that we are rarely going to be in a situation where someone notices our watch. When it does happen, it's far more likely to be another WIS then someone who might realize that, hey, that's not a dress watch.


WIS* = Watch Idiot Savant, slight self effacing nickname for someone likely to notice someone else's watch, possibly be able to identify the quality and/or brand at a glance and hang out on Watchuseek or in other, similar dusty corners of the interwebs


(Oh, and @tinknockers, advice on the bracelet will work really well cover you for a wide variety of suits (unless you tend to wear lots of shiny gold accessories). Funny, though, bracelets are traditionally considered less formal than leather :-d.)


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## Time Exposure (Aug 13, 2010)

You ARE new here! 
Most of us who have been around for a while would use this as an excuse to buy a nice New Hamilton Thinline/Jazzmaster automatic!
Honestly, the advice above is superb.


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## mpalmer (Dec 30, 2011)

Welcome to the forums! No. I would not because it is a casual watch, not a dress watch.


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## ConfusedOne (Sep 29, 2015)

If you wanted a true dress watch I would suggest investing in either the Hamilton Jazzmaster series or the Hamilton Intramatic.
If you would prefer something cheaper then I would recommend the Orient Bambino ($225).
Also you could ignore all of this and just wear the Khaki as is since no one cares about watches anymore (unless you are hanging out with some WIS).


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## Jakub (Oct 29, 2015)

Thank you all for your inputs. Especially post from cprrckwlf is very helpful.

Originaly I was looking for some very simple casual automats with limited budget (something like under 700 USD). Dark brown leather strap, white dial, steel case, swiss made, dial with numbers, big second, 40-42mm, last but not least some interesting watch maker. Something like Glycine Incursore - very nice watches but since those are 46mm and my wrist is 17cm, it is too big for me. Other then that I can't find other watches that would comply with my expectations and that I would like.

But when browsing through forums and eshops I found this Hamilton Khaki and eventhough it doesn't have simple or white dial, I started to like them. So now I am trying figure out if it would be OK to wear it with suit for example to an office. I am more worried about the "yellowish" color on dial (how does it look with black leather strap?). I know that those Khaki are also made with white numbers, but it also comes with some red markings that I don't like.

Nevertheless cprrckwlf wrote it nicely, so perhaps I will try it  I still have few weeks to decide though.


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## tinknocker (Dec 29, 2009)

Let me add, wear what you want, no one will notice.
I wore the watch below at my wedding, it was in better shape then and had a leather strap, but no one came up to me and said it didn't look right with my Tux. If they would have, I would have threw them out the door.

This was before I got into this watch thing and it was all I had. I never was the type to listen to the fashion police anyway


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## cprrckwlf (Aug 18, 2012)

I consider that Hammy a "tropical" dial. In some of the old Rolex Explorers (which have a similar utilitarian look and heritage) a defect in the paint causes it to yellow over time, and it's become a desirable thing for collectors. Probably the prettiest example you'll find is in the article here: Hodinkee's Watch Report: The One Rolex You Shouldn't Overlook | GQ


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## arogle1stus (May 23, 2013)

If I getta notion to wear my SKX781 (Black Monster) that's my bizness.
Too many folks (especially the Fashion .....) tellin other folk what to do!
First off they'll have to hog tie me to get a Tux on me, let alone dictate
which watch I wear. I worked hard to get the cash to buy it, even if it sets
off a fashion alarm.

Lou Snutt


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## mui.richard (Aug 13, 2014)

To each his own...but I wouldn't

Sent from my D6653 using Tapatalk


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## appophylite (Jan 11, 2011)

I actually have that EXACT same watch on the default suede band it comes with. Like cprrckwlf says in his post, this is not traditionally the type of watch that you would wear with a suit, but that said, fashion changes at the drop of a pin, and in all fairness, the sand colored indices against the black dial and the 40 mm size lend it to not looking particularly out of place were you to choose to wear it on a suit. The only part that won't work is the suede band. I know it is a standing rule that Black Shoes = Black Belt and Brown Shoes = Brown Belt, but I do change that up every once in a while and no one really calls me out on it. However, I can't see a way that that suede band could be worn with a suit and NOT look out of place. 



Jakub said:


> Hi,
> 
> I am new here and I am considering buying my first watch - Hamilton Khaki Field 40mm in "sand" color h70595593.
> 
> ...


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## Jakub (Oct 29, 2015)

appophylite said:


> I actually have that EXACT same watch on the default suede band it comes with. Like cprrckwlf says in his post, this is not traditionally the type of watch that you would wear with a suit, but that said, fashion changes at the drop of a pin, and in all fairness, the sand colored indices against the black dial and the 40 mm size lend it to not looking particularly out of place were you to choose to wear it on a suit. The only part that won't work is the suede band. I know it is a standing rule that Black Shoes = Black Belt and Brown Shoes = Brown Belt, but I do change that up every once in a while and no one really calls me out on it. However, I can't see a way that that suede band could be worn with a suit and NOT look out of place.


It is a pitty that I cant find any photo of this hami with some dark strap. Could you please send a photo of yours? Especially if you have it with some other strap


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## cprrckwlf (Aug 18, 2012)

appophylite said:


> However, I can't see a way that that suede band could be worn with a suit and NOT look out of place.


Edward, Prince of Wales (later crowned King-Emperor Edward VIII before abdicating to marry a divorced american socialite, Wallis Simpson, becoming a prince again, briefly, and then Duke of Windsor... oh just go watch The King's Speech) was considered quite the fashion hound and often wore suede shoes with a suit. Today, it's perfectly acceptable with certain shades of blue or light grey, even light grey flannel, though some might still see it as a bit fashion-forward. ;-)


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## trogdor1289 (Aug 4, 2015)

These days people wear all sorts of watches with suits, I wouldn't get too wrapped up in it.


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## brandon\ (Aug 23, 2010)

tinknocker said:


> Let me add, wear what you want, no one will notice.
> I wore the watch below at my wedding, it was in better shape then and had a leather strap, but no one came up to me and said it didn't look right with my Tux. If they would have, I would have threw them out the door.
> 
> This was before I got into this watch thing and it was all I had. I never was the type to listen to the fashion police anyway


You got me beat. I wore my Black Monster with a tux at my wedding.


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## BTucson (Nov 4, 2015)

cprrckwlf said:


> in the end the reality for most of us WIS* is that we are rarely going to be in a situation where someone notices our watch. When it does happen, it's far more likely to be another WIS then someone who might realize that, hey, that's not a dress watch.
> 
> WIS* = Watch Idiot Savant, slight self effacing nickname for someone likely to notice someone else's watch, possibly be able to identify the quality and/or brand at a glance and hang out on Watchuseek or in other, similar dusty corners of the interwebs)


On point, cprrckwlf.

This is a great question/topic, Jakub. I, too, am a newbie here. Long time lurker, first time poster. I see people wearing all kinds of style watches where it normally would be considered "inappropriate". But, I think the only people that notice are watch collectors.


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## appophylite (Jan 11, 2011)

Jakub said:


> It is a pitty that I cant find any photo of this hami with some dark strap. Could you please send a photo of yours? Especially if you have it with some other strap


Sorry mate, I haven't re-strapped mine. Mine stays on the suede strap and I just wear it with whatever I feel like, except for when i have to go for something formal - then I usually just swap to my Omega, or an HMT Sona


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## CSB123 (Jul 2, 2014)

I dressed up a Hammy with field watch origins with a better strap and I like the outcome. Wouldn't call it a dress watch, really, but as a nice sporty casual watch it works.


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## Everybodyhatesraymond (Dec 21, 2015)

tinknocker said:


> no one came up to me and said it didn't look right with my Tux. If they would have, I would have threw them out the door.


This.


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## bigrez (May 2, 2018)

CSB123 said:


> I dressed up a Hammy with field watch origins with a better strap and I like the outcome. Wouldn't call it a dress watch, really, but as a nice sporty casual watch it works.
> 
> View attachment 6001066


i have the exact same watch with bracelets. replaced with black crocs and wore it to my office everyday. nobody seemed to complain. then again my colleagues wear gshocks with suits so...


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## pauljas (Aug 9, 2011)

bigrez said:


> i have the exact same watch with bracelets. replaced with black crocs and wore it to my office everyday. nobody seemed to complain. then again my colleagues wear gshocks with suits so...


My office environment is more and more going to Apple Watches. Seriously, a rubber strap with what is essentially a digital watch. what is funny is I am in the same dileman as the OP: trying to figure out which Khaki Field I can pull off every day in a suit and tie environment. I keep looking at the Day-Date model and the more traditional H70555533 and wondering if I could pull those off.


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