As the many watchmaking-related achievements of 1969 are celebrated across the industry, Hamilton is emphasizing their role in pioneering one of the first automatic chronograph movements that year. The new Chrono-Matic 50 watch, a reissue of a vintage model that used the famous Chrono-Matic movement, references that 50-year anniversary. It’s a bold and imposing timepiece with a design that could only be born of the funky ’70s.
The Chrono-Matic E, on which the new watch is based, was actually released in 1972. Hamilton had been part of a group of companies that developed the Chrono-Matic movement, which found use in a range of watches (called Calibre 11 in Heuer watches). The reissue from Hamilton is thoroughly modern in its movement and in other respects, with the a modified ETA/Valjoux 7753 automatic movement featuring a 60-hour power reserve.
The Chrono-Matic 50 is an imposing 48.5mm wide, which is pretty close to the 1972 original’s sizing of 47mm — “not for the faint hearted,” says Hamilton. Hamilton gives this chronograph some additional functionality with quick-set date and a rotating inner bezel that can be used for countdown timing, operated by the crown on the lefthand side of the case.
The Hamilton Chrono-Matic 50 watch is limited to 1,972 pieces, each with a price of $2,545, and it’s available for preorder now from Hamilton.