In this review, I’m going to look in depth at a very beautiful dress watch, the Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic. There are several models of this line of watch from Hamilton so I’ve selected the H32515555 which is one of the most good looking of them all. It looks very smart, sleek and sharp as a dress watch with guilloche dial design at the center. Now, let’s get on to the Hamilton Jazzmaster review shall we.
Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic (H32515555) Specification
Diameter: 40 mm
Thickness: 11 mm
Lug Width: 20 mm
Case: Stainless steel case
Strap: Brown leather strap
Dial: Silver guilloche dial
Dial Window: Sapphire crystal
Markers: Index and numeral markers
Hands: Stick hands with lume
Movement: Swiss ETA 2824-2 automatic self-wind movement
Movement Features: 25 Jewels, 28800 vibrations per hour or 8 beats per second, hacking, manual winding
Power Reserve: 38 hours
Accuracy: +-15 seconds per day
Water Resistance: 50 m / 165 feet / 5 bar
Other Features: Date display, Exhibition caseback, Lume on hands
Best Place To Buy: Amazon
Slim And Sharp Stainless Steel Case
One look at the Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic and you know that this is a very smart and sharp dress watch. And it is built that way too. The diameter is just 40 mm, quite small by today’s standard, and measures 11 mm thick. This make the watch small and look very dressy.
It’s obviously will fit with most people’s wrist, except if you are a very big guy of course. I like the slim profile as it will slip effortlessly underneath shirt sleeves and won’t get stuck like other bulky watches.
The lug width is a typical 20 mm, and sports a dark brown leather strap. One unusual thing that I notice is the leather strap is using pin buckle, instead of butterfly clasp usually found in Swiss made watches. I would prefer butterfly clasp as it is more friendly to the strap and won’t damage it as much as the pin buckle will.
The stainless steel casing is highly polished and features slim lugs, which is very suitable for the small, sharp and dressy theme of the watch. There is a layer textured design at the sides of the watch, which will not make it look too boring. On the back is the open caseback (which is where the “Viewmatic” name comes in.
You can “view” the “automatic” movement) where you can see the ETA 2824-2 automatic self-wind movement ticking away. On “flaw” that I can complain is the very low water resistant – only 50 m or 165 feet.
This is quite a low water resistance rating, even for a dress watch. Because of this, don’t try and get the watch close to wet area (rain, sauna, etc) as moisture could get inside it.
At the back of the Hamilton Jazzmaster is the open caseback to show the ETA 2824-2 automatic movement. This open caseback is what “Viewmatic” means, you can view the movement and be amazed at this mechanical marvel.
Beautiful Guilloche Dial
Apart from the slim casing, the sleekness of this Jazzmaster Viewmatic is contributed by its beautiful guilloche dial. The dial is white in color, with an inner circle of guilloche textured at the center.
The white dial is complemented by the silver hands and markers which make the whole dial design looks fabulous without any contrasting elements.
The hands are sharp slim hands with little bit of lume on top. The markers are combination of index markers and numeral markers at 6,9 and 12 o’clock (or better known as explorer style markers).
I really love how the markers and hands look so sharp with those clean edges. It really gives a modern look to an otherwise simple and clean dial. The font of the numeral markers are also a bit different than other watches too, a detail that I kinda like.
For added functionality, Hamilton added a date display box at the right of the dial. The date display is surrounded by a not so symmetry box frame, which is another design element that I absolutely adored. At the outer edge of the dial are minute markings to help telling time with greater precision.
There are no bezel for this watch, leaving us with lots of dial space for our viewing pleasure =). I really love how simple, clean and sophisticated the dial looks.
The sharp silver stainless steel elements really makes the watch look modern. And not to mention the gorgeous guilloche at the center. A very beautiful watch indeed!
ETA 2824-2 Automatic Self-Wind Movement
Inside the Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic is the venerable ETA 2824-2 automatic self wind movement. For those familiar with Swiss made watches, you might have heard about this movement. It is one of ETA’s most popular automatic movement and used in many low to middle range of watches, normally in the Swatch group brands.
The thing is Hamilton and ETA are both subsidiary of Swatch, so it is no surprise here. This movement also is featured in many watches that I’ve reviewed such as Certina DS Podium, VSA Alliance Mechanical and Tissot Le Locle.
This movement uses 25 jewels and has 28800 vibrations per hour, or 8 beats per second. This gives it a smoother sweeping seconds hand action as compared to most low-middle range Japanese watches from Seiko or Citizen.
The movement can be hacked and manual wind. It also has an accuracy of +-15 seconds per day, though most owners report that their watches will run more accurate than that.
A great thing about the 2824-2 movement is how robust it is without much problems to the owners. It comes as no surprise as the movement has been around for about 3 decades and ETA/Swatch don’t have any indication of replacing it. This gives testament to how trustworthy it is.
One thing that I would consider ETA/Swatch to improve is the low power reserve which is about 38 hours. They should really consider giving it at least 50 hours power reserve to keep up with the Japanese. Other than that, this is a great movement that will lasts for a long time.
Above is an unboxing video review of the Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic automatic watch. Notice how sleek and gorgeous it looks on hand!
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Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic is one of the brand’s good stuff that most people aren’t aware of. It has a beautiful guilloche dial, encased in a gorgeous sleek stainless steel casing which make it one of the best dress watch I’ve ever seen.For those wanting a smart dress watch, want it to have that “Made In Swiss” tag without breaking your bank, then this gorgeous timepiece is for you.
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I hope you guys enjoyed this Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic review. Feel free to drop any comments or even experience owning this watch. Really look forward to hearing from you guys. Till next time.
Cheers!
Isaac
Hey man, great review. I am a watch collector and often get heckled about my affection for Hamilton watches. These watches are built as good, if not better, than some of their many times more expensive counterparts. Also, they have their roots in the USA. A great watch, even better price point…Everyone should own a Hamilton!
Yes there are great watches Robert. People are always mentioning about the Swiss when talking about automatic watches but I’d say Swiss is not the only place that produces good automatics in this world. There are other great watch brands out there besides the Swiss brands and Hamilton is definitely one of the better brands for sure. Great watches with long brand history, and best of all its priced appropriately – its definitely one of my favorite brands out there =)
5bar (50m) is too much WR for a dress watch actually. Most are 30m. You can swim with a 5bar watch which is what you DON’T want to do with a dress watch. Not sure you knew that.
I love the look of the Seiko Cocktail Time watches but they’re too thick for a dress watch in my opinion. After looking at a lot of brands around the $500 mark, I just bought this Jazzmaster, my first Swiss watch. Very beautiful dial that really looks great in person. Not too detailed, not too plain. Real quality feel to it. The video you posted showcases it well. Great review!
Hi Doug. Unfortunately that’s one of the problem with the Cocktail Time – it’s just a bit too thick to be used for a dress watch. Other than that, the dial is one of the gorgeous that anyone can get in its price range of sub-$500.
I’m happy that you love your Jazzmaster and find my review helpful. Hope the watch will be the starting point for your watch collecting journey LOL! =)
Cheers!
“Japs” is considered a racist, derogatory term; “keep up with the Japanese” is more appropriate. I suggest you update your review to not use this inappropriate term. Thanks
Hi John. Many thanks for pointing that out =)
Cheers
HI
This is surely a good looking watch, and Hamilton has been a trusted name in wrist watches for many years.
I like that it’s going toward the smaller spectrum instead of what seems to be so popular—seeing how large you can have a wrist watch?
And does automatic mean that there is no battery to deal with, and you don’t need to wind it either?
Thanks for telling me about the Hamilton Jazzmaster.
Hi Mike. You’re right. The automatic means there is no battery inside the watch. What’s powering it is true mechanical parts (springs, gears, jewels, etc.) without any single electronic parts.
(You can read my article on what is automatic watch and how does it works to learn more about it)
On the topic of winding, it’s true that automatic watch does not need winding like mechanical watches. But sometimes, we still need to wind automatic watches to keep its power reserve at 100% for best accuracy.
So to answer your question: No, we don’t need to wind automatic watches since it’s self-winding via wearing it. But to ensure your watch has the best accuracy, a periodic winding is recommended.
let me know if I can help you more Mike.
Cheers!
Hi Isaac, I was impressed with the Viewmatic watch design, where we can view the small gear movement at the back of the watch. The watch is pretty stylish and can match well with different office wear. I like the Guilloche dial design, which is elegant.
Thanks for your sharing about the technology behind the watch’s second hand movement, which is the ETA 2824-2 automatic self-wind movement that uses 25 jewels. Now I know why this watch has smoother second-hand movement as compared to those low-middle ranges Japanese watches from Seiko or Citizen.
Hi there. I’m glad that you love the watch. The guilloche dial is easily the best part of the watch in my opinion =)
Cheers!
That is one handsome watch! I am one of those people who wants to buy a watch but does not know how to choose before hand. It’s all done via ‘window shopping’ mode physically.
It’s awesome that you set up this site to let people like me have a more informed choice and your review of Hamilton Jazzmaster Viewmatic is simply divine!
Now I have a knowledgable reason to buy this watch and I appreciate your review. I would not have known about this brand. Thank you for this review.
Hi Hans. It’s also one of my objective to spread the less known watches to others. At least, normal people will know that they are affordable automatic watches out there instead of the usual Rolex watches.
In doing so, I’d like to let more people enjoy these mechanical timepieces and the wonder it is. =)
Cheers!
Hey Isaac, Great review on a dress watch review. I like this watch as the price is very reasonable and come with guilloche on the dial itself. Which more identical for the watch and looks elegant. More importantly, I like sleek and simple watches that stands out.
I hear ETA movement very lasting and Swatch did a very good job on this movement. I like to collect watches and I personally have few manual winding in my collection. Perhaps this hamilton auto will be my next target?
Great review and I wish to read up more watches review from your site. Keep up the good work.
Hi Maxx. I’m sure the Jazzmaster will serve you well =)
Cheers!
Hi There,
I was thinking about getting a new watch and I think this could be it. Although there are many watches in this category,I think this was can give a tough competition to any so called big brand which is out there in the similar category.
What other watches would you recommend in a more similar price range?
Hi Dhanraj. Apart form this Hamilton Jazzmaster, you can also check out the Tissot Visodate. Both are dress watch, Swiss Made and in the same price range.
If you are find with Japanese watches, consider the Seiko SARB033, SARB035 and SARX015. They are very beautiful with great quality. Not to mention they are cheaper than their swiss counterparts above. A true value for money in my opinion.
Let me know if you have further questions buddy =)
Cheers!
This watch looks really elegant – I think it would perfect gift for my husband. As this is Swiss production it gained my trust at once – I have had only good experience with Swiss products. And it features really nice packaging, as well. Do you know if this watch has the ticking sound? We once had a watch that was quite noisy so I am always double checking about the sound to avoid that bad experience repeating 🙂
Hi Arta. All automatic watch movements will have some sound due to the repeated contact of balance wheel and escapement (read my post HERE to know more about how automatic watches work). The noise is also a faster ticking sound than a normal quartz watch.
I don’t have this particular watch or ETA 2824-2 movement, but in my experience with my Seiko 5 with a 4R36 caliber (which is definitely lower grade than the Swiss ETA movement), the ticking is there but not obvious. In fact, I can only hear the ticking when I really bring it closer to my ear.
So I’m quite sure an ETA movement would not have that much noise. I think you got yourself a lemon watch there. That’s quite a bad experience that you have. May I know what’s the make of the watch and have you fixed it?