The latest from Hamilton is a surprising one; a vintage aviation style chronograph, with a grey dial, modest 40mm case width and vintage details like the military style numbers and lume.

At £1800 this isn’t cheap and even with a 60 hour reserve and sapphire crystal, there are cheaper alternatives around from many Indie brands. You can pre-order on the website by the way, so yeah, they are trying that waiting list tactic beloved of Rolex and other brands.

Here’s the word from Hamilton;

With a distinct vintage military aviation design, the Khaki Pilot Pioneer Mechanical Chronograph brings back the form and function of the chronographs issued to British Royal Air Force pilots in the 1970s. Rugged and reliable, the 40mm watch is powered by our exclusive hand-wound H-51-Si movement.

Verdict: Beautiful old school styling but should be around £1300 RRP.  Alternatives include a Forza Drive King quartz at £400, a Certina DS-2 quartz at £700 or a Baltic Bicompax 002, which admittedly only has a Seagull movement. Only £540 though.

There is always the classic choice of picking up a Breitling Top Time secondhand for about the same £1800 asking price for this Hamilton. I guarantee the Breitling will have a higher resale value after 1 year, or 100 years.