While your garden variety gamer might be getting excited about the characters and action of Resident Evil Requiem, something else has caught my eye. The watch protagonist Leon S Kennedy wears.
Created in partnership with Capcom, Swiss matchmaker Hamilton has come up with the Khaki Field Auto Chrono x Resident Evil, a watch designed to fit the narrative setting of Racoon City some thirty years after the outbreak of the T virus.
The Khaki Field Auto Chrono x Resident Evil is based on the design of the Hamilton Khaki Field watches, with the ‘Field’ bit denoting this watch is a military-inspired watch designed to be easily read and synced when out on operations – or ‘in the field’.
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And the Khaki Field draws direct inspiration from the watches worn by the US Army in World War I, and Hamilton still has close links to the military when it comes to making robust watches.
So it makes sense that Leon with his combat experience would opt for a Hamilton field watch. But the Khaki Field Auto Chrono isn’t just a simple time-only watch, as it also has a chronograph function for timing elapsed minutes and hours, as well as a day and date complication; I’ve never had to survive in a city ravaged by zombies and other mutated horrors, but I imagine being able to track length of time between rendezvous point without needing to worry about a phone battery would be handy.
There’s also a lot of neat touches to the Resi watch, with the crown modelled on a knob used to tweak the focus of a sniper rifle scope, and the chronograph pushers are shaped to evoke bullet cartridges. A particular highlight is the black wings motif at the 9 o’clock position.
Hamilton hasn’t mentioned specs of the watch, but based on the standard Khaki Field Chrono, you’re looking at a watch with a 42mm dial, 14.5mm of thickness, and 100 meters of water resistance. Inside, the Resi watch will likely house the Hamilton H-21 caliber, which is an automatic mechanical watch movement that will keep ticking for 60 hours even if it’s not worn; automatic watches wind when you wear them and move about. A black fabric strap completes the rugged, action-centric look.
As an owner of the Hamilton Khaki Field Mechanical, I’m a big advocate for Hamilton watches, as I think they offer great value and a lot of capabilities, as they just look good in a world where increasingly people are wearing ubiquitous smartwatches.
If Leon’s watch doesn’t take your fancy, Hamilton has a Resi version of the American Classic Pan Europ. Worn by FBI analyst Grace Ashcroft, this watch is a little less rugged than Leon’s, and evokes someone who is more likely travelling between locations than on operations.
The American Classic Pan Europ is another 42mm watch, but is based on the idea of timepiece for road trips. As such it has a day and date complication, but rather than a chronograph, it uses a rotating bezel which can be used to track the elapsed time over; such a bezel is commonly found on diving watches, but I’ve found these bezels are good for timing walks and other such adventures.
With gold geometric motifs contrasting against the black case, and running down the black leather strap, I think the Resi take on the American Classic Pan Europ looks rather slick. Again, no exact specs but going by the standard American Classic Pan Europ, the watch is a wearable 11.85mm thick, has 50 meters of water resistance (enough to withstand a run under a tap or rainfall, but not one I’d recommend swimming in), and looks to house the H-30 automatic movement that has a healthy power reserve of 80 hours.
If you want either, or indeed both, of these Resi watches do bear in mind they’ll be limited to 2,000 pieces each, with the American Classic Pan Europ priced at $1,475 / £1,170 / AU$2,150, and the Khaki Field Auto Chron using $2,175 / £1,800 / AU$3,350.
They’ll be released on February 27 alongside Resident Evil Requiem.
Now that’s a decent chunk of money for a watch, especially when you can pick up a quartz watch that tells time more accurately for a tenth of the price. But mechanical watches can last a lifetime, and limited edition watches can be hot collectibles.
Of course, I’m a bit biased as a fledgling watch collector myself. Equally, I really like what Hamilton has done with these Resi watches and I think they could have a good dose of appeal beyond odd watch nerds like me.
Speaking of watches and games, I’m crossing my fingers that Omega, which like Hamilton is owned by the Swatch Group, makes a real version of the Omega Seamaster that a young Bond looks to be wearing in IOI’s 007: First Light.
Time will tell on that one…
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