1970's Hamilton Chrono-Matic Pan-Europ 703 (Ref. 11003-3)

This funky beast displays pure bravado, and it has the muscle under the hood to back it up!  

ABOUT THE CALIBRE 11

Collectively developed by Heuer, Breitling, Hamilton, and Buren (then a subsidiary of Hamilton), the Calibre 11 was one of the first automatic chronographs to come to market. It’s competition of the day…none other than the Seiko 6139 and the Zenith El Primero.

Watches powered by this work-horse of a movement can easily be identified by their left side setting/winding crown, positioned opposite to the chrono pushers.

One of my favourite details of this movement is that it uses a micro-rotor, neatly tucked out of sight on the underside of the Chronograph parts. 

CONDITION AND SPECS

This watch is in exceptional condition, with very minimal wear, particularly for a tool watch of this age. The case appears to be unpolished, with the brushed finish still very pronounced. The beveled edges on the case are crisp and sharp. There are some surface blemishes on the side of the case, as can be expected with a watch of this vintage.

The blue bezel is in fabulous condition, and rotates cleanly around the watch. 

The brilliant straight-grained blue dial is blemish-free, and the tritium lume on the hour markers and hands is completely intact, and has aged evenly into a warm cream colour. As typical for acrylic crystals, this one has very light surface scratches, but are hardly visible.

Mounted on the watch is a super cool brushed steel, folding clasp bracelet that speaks directly to the tool-like aesthetic of this great watch. 

The watch has recently been fully serviced, and is running great.