Hamilton Refreshes The Khaki Navy Frogman Just In Time For Summer Adventure

Summer is the season for longer days, jumping in the water and wearing a big dive watch. There’s a comforting feeling that a bigger watch, especially a diver, gives us during this time of year. It’s the robustness, larger water resistance (Smaller divers are also more than capable nowadays) and if you elect to have it on one, a thick rubber strap that gives us that extra confidence that our companion on wrist is ready for any spontaneous Summer adventure. And plus, a chunky diver looks especially good with a t-shirt too. Earlier last week, and just in time for big dive watch season (Can this be a thing?), Hamilton debuted their newly refreshed Khaki Navy Frogman.

This most certainly isn’t the same Khaki Navy Frogman we’re used to seeing, especially when comparing to the previous iteration of their maritime-ready diver. According to the case specs the Khaki Navy Frogman in stainless steel gets beefed up from 42 mm to 46 mm. But don’t let that number scare you off, as the larger case width is attributed to some of the unique case features. Looking at three o’clock, the case extends beyond the crown and crown guards to create a barricade around the crown, providing sure-fire protection should the watch be subjected to extreme physical activities. The case also features a slight protrusion at the nine o’clock side which also adds to the broad case size. The case asymmetry gives the Khaki Navy Frogman a distinct look and although the crown protector adds to the amount of real estate the diver will take up on wrist, the new streamlined case design more than makes up for it.

The case is not the only thing that Hamilton decided to hit the refresh button on. The dial and bezel on the Khaki Navy Frogman also gets a new look, sporting a welcomed cleaner and more minimal display. The dial no longer has a date window and the hour markers are uniform in their rectangular shape aside from the numeral marker at 12. The Khaki Navy Frogman also displays a faded black dial with a grainy texture contrasting nicely with the white dial markers. The count up bezel now houses a set of raised numeral markers and a dash-dot set up from the zero marker to the fifteen marker.

The handset remains the same with a broad arrow hand telling the hour and a minutes hand, as well as an arrowed seconds hand outlined in a deep orange for higher legibility. Behind the SCUBA mask embossed caseback, the Khaki Navy Frogman uses an ETA based H10 movement. The Khaki Navy Frogman comes ready to run reliably beneath the surface or topside, and if you happen to set the diver aside, expect it to still tell the time accurately for a touch over three days, as the H10 automatic movement is equipped with an ample 80 hour power reserve.

The Khaki Navy Frogman has definitely evolved over the 130 years that Hamilton has been producing watches. The Frogman design can trace its roots all the way back to the World War II era with their US Navy “BUSHIPS” models that utilized the distinct canteen-style screw-down crown. The new Khaki Navy Frogman is sleek, modern and thoughtful (check out the use of polishing on the bezel grip, crown and lug facet that continues throughout the crown protector) without sacrificing the robustness and utilitarian-ness that made it the dive watch that it is within the Khaki Navy collection. The Khaki Navy Frogman comes in three different variations: a steel case with a matte gray bezel, another steel case with the traditional black bezel and a PVD coated case with a blacked out bezel. Hamilton also offers the Khaki Navy Frogman with two different rubber straps options or on a stainless steel bracelet. The olive green rubber strap and the stainless steel model with the black bezel might be the move here in my opinion.

Accompanying the release of the Hamilton Khaki Navy Frogman was a short film entitled, “Behind the Breath” featuring world champion freediver Pierre Frolla. In the film, we follow Pierre Frolla navigate the different terrains and waters of Kona, Hawaii. The Khaki Navy Frogman gets plenty of action while on Frolla’s wrist and it seems that Hamilton has thoroughly tested their new diver to make sure it’s ready to go on your wrist for big dive watch season.

The Khaki Navy Frogman is currently available directly from Hamilton and retails for $1,195. Hamilton