Thank You For Smoking: Hamilton’s New Intra-Matics with Fumé Dials

While cocktail bars are now a staple in cities across the world, the cocktail itself is a distinctly American phenomenon. Hamilton, whose mission statement is all about melding “American spirit” with “Swiss precision,” has added to its vintage-inspired American Classic family of timepieces with new versions of the venerable Intra-Matic Auto that are well-suited to being worn in a dark cocktail bar or smoky cigar lounge.

The new American Classic Intra-Matic models — the latest additions to a contemporary collection based on a classical mid-20th-century Hamilton timepiece, one of the first to contain an automatic movement — are notable for their curved, smoked-finish dials that other francophone Swiss brands often refer to as “fumé” dials. The lighter shade in each dial’s center gradually increases in intensity as it radiates toward the edges, with the color effects changing depending on the light and imparting a “patina” effect that calls to mind the look of well-aged leather.

The cases are either a modest 38 mm, or a more contemporary 42 mm, in diameter and made of stainless steel, steel with rose-gold PVD, or steel with yellow-gold PVD, with each case color-coordinated with its smoke-effect dial. Combinations include steel case with warm gray dial, rose-gold PVD case with “Havana brown” dial, and yellow-gold PVD with “bourbon” dial. The soft-touch calf leather straps, outfitted with simple pin buckles, are available in a complimentary array of styles, from black to coffee-brown, and a stainless steel bracelet with folding clasp is also available for the gray-dial models in both sizes.

The new Hamilton Intra-Matics are outfitted with a slim, self-winding movement, an ETA 2892-A2, on display through an exhibition caseback, which powers the watch’s time (on yellow gold- or rose-gold-colored hands) and date display (in a window at 6 o’clock). This reliable Swiss-made movement has a frequency of 28,800 vph and a power reserve of 42 hours. The dial’s printed hour indices are simple, slender baton shapes that contrast with the dials, and the Hamilton logo directly beneath 12 o’clock is in a vintage font that is authentic to the watch’s historical forebears.

Prices for the Hamilton Intra-Matic models are $945 and $1,045, respectively, for the steel-case/gray dial model in 38-mm and 42-mm sizes; and $995 and $1,145, respectively, for the yellow-gold- and-rose-gold-PVD models in the 38-mm and 42-mm versions.