A new Black Version of the Hamilton Khaki Aviation X-Wind Auto Chrono Air Zermatt

Now that we’re in countdown mode for the holiday season, here’s a watch for those with a passion for pilot-themed action-packed watches lucky enough to be wintering in Zermatt. Hamilton’s Khaki Aviation collection, where you’ll find vintage-inspired pilot’s watches and state-of-the-art flight instruments, is home to the X-Wind Auto Chrono, an impressive tool watch bristling with scales and counters designed with input from pilots of the Air Zermatt Mountain Rescue Service. The catch: it’s only available at Hamilton‘s store in Zermatt.

Now donning an all-black uniform, the steel black PVD-coated version of the X-Wind Chrono has a formidable 45mm diameter coupled with a height of 14.85mm and a depth rating of 100 metres. The three crowns and two chronograph pushers, all protected by crown guards, hint at the complexity of the functions on board.

The crown and pushers corresponding to the chronograph are positioned on the left side of the case, resulting in the layout of the counters at 12-3-9 on the black sunray-brushed dial. The two chronograph counters – at noon for 12-hour elapsed times and at 6 o’clock for 30-minute totaliser – have black snailed interiors, white inscriptions and silver frames. The third counter at 3 o’clock corresponds to the running seconds and has an orange area marking 1-15, orange being the colour of Air Zermatt pilot’s helmets. Directly opposite the running seconds is a large day-date aperture with a white background. The prominent Arabic numerals and the hour and minute hands have Super-LumiNova, and the central chronograph seconds hand is orange.

Pilots will undoubtedly understand the function of the bezels, but for mere mortals, the two rotating inner bezels, operated via the crowns on the right side of the watch, are designed to be used with the external bezel to calculate cross or drift winds mid-flight. Without getting into the complexities of these bezels (Hamilton provides a thorough explanation in the manual), suffice it to say that the reading a pilot will be interested in appears in the orange-framed window.

The Khaki Aviation X-Wind Auto Chrono is powered by calibre H-21-Si, a Valjoux/ETA 7750 base with a 4Hz frequency, a 60-hour power reserve and a silicon balance spring to counter magnetism. The sapphire window on the caseback features the Air Zermatt logo. The watch comes with a black nylon Velcro strap with orange stitching and the phrase “Ready for Take Off”; an additional black leather strap with rivets and an H buckle is included in the package.

Available exclusively at the Hamilton store in Zermatt (Hofmattstrasse 12), the watch retails for CHF 1,995. More information at HamiltonWatch.com.