What is the watch? You will have to provide a whole lot more info, best to have a watchmaker look at it and let you know.

 

It's a Field Mechanical (and what more information should I provide?-)

 

Sorry to hear. As far as more info, when you wind, can you feel any tension at all, hear anything turning inside or is the crown completely free spinning? First thing that comes to mind is the mainspring may have broken at the arbor. But without being hands on it could be a lot of things (stem, click, click spring, barrel arbor, etc).

 

I suggest taking it to a local watch maker & getting an expert opinion..that shouldn't cost much you may find yourself w/ an 'as new' watch for very little $ expenditure..let us know how it goes!!..

 

Did you buy it NOS? Just shy of 2y.o.? I constantly read that mechanical nowadays have built-in mechanism to prevent overwinding to avoid what you went through.

 

Yes it’s the mainspring, yes it’s worth repairing. Sorry that happened, the timing sucks.

 

Definitely sounds like a broken mainspring. Only you can decide if it is worth it to you to fix it, but if you find the right watchmaker, who can fix it for the right price, it would be a good watch for (hopefully) many years to come.

 

I had a broken mainspring on a manual wind Khaki field officer model and was quoted $100 by a local shop to fix, a few years ago.

 

Full Maintenance Service from Hamilton is $190, I believe, and it should cover this. If it's the 80-hour mechanical movement then it may be a good idea to let Hamilton do the work. If it's an ETA 2801 then it may be worth letting a trusted independent watchmaker have a look, if you have such a resource.

I love my Khaki Mechanical, so if I were in your shoes then I would have it repaired and continue enjoying it.

 

Curious: Why you recommend independent if ETA 2801? Shouldn't Hamilton charge the same regardless of movement? When I was getting quotes for my 3 hand, ETA movement but non-Swatch family brand 90% of independent quotes were significantly over $190.

 

Sorry to hear that (again). It's a shame it happens so often...

 

Hasn’t happen to me and I’ve have three and use them often. Maybe a certain batch ?

 

Still, I kind of hate to just trash it because it's in essentially mint condition otherwise.

However, I am also not sure it's worth getting repaired Searching this watch on this site makes me think the mainspring broke...

Any idea what's broken and what a repair would cost?

Since you’re only 1 month out of warranty, I’d contact Hamilton and see if they take pity on you. They might, you never know.

Given that you’ve barely worn it, it’s unlikely you have any sentimental attachment to the watch, so is it really worth all the messing about?

Of course don’t trash it, if you want to offload it, auction it on eBay being completely honest about the condition it’s in. Someone will buy it to either fix it up or use it for parts, so you’ll get some money and the watch won’t go to waste.

 

Since you’re only 1 month out of warranty, I’d contact Hamilton and see if they take pity on you. They might, you never know.

Yeah, I'm thinking this could be the case. I wouldn't try to get Hamilton to agree to this ahead of time, but if you send it to them for service and include a note describing the situation then they may decide to cover it.

 

Given it is only 1 month out of warranty, I would say there is a good chance Swatch will still fix it under warranty. In my experience, they are pretty good about that. Reach out to them and see what they say.

 

Thanks for all the thoughts. I think I will contact Hamilton.

While I don't particularly "love" this watch, I did get it at the start of the pandemic so it holds some meaning for me...

Will report back here when I get a response.

 

That's a real bummer.

I agree that it's likely a mainspring/arbor/drum issue.

Hopefully Hamilton will get it sorted out for you.

 

So far Hamilton have been very helpful. They immediatly sent me shipping label for sending watch to NJ service center for assessment. Very impressed

 

Good to hear. That's how brands SHOULD help their customers.

Not like some brands that I hear about how poorly they TREAT their customers. FYI: I crossed that particular brand off of my list of consideration.

 

One month out of warranty and the watch "popped" while I was winding it. Everything just STOPPED--the stem spins freely and the second hand stopped--so it seems like something critical and likely not an easy fix. Watch is effectively dead.

I had only actually "worn" the watch for a few weeks total (over the 2 years, 1 month I've had it) so I am not attached to. .

Still, I kind of hate to just trash it because it's in essentially mint condition otherwise.

However, I am also not sure it's worth getting repaired Searching this watch on this site makes me think the mainspring broke...

Any idea what's broken and what a repair would cost?

Many thanks in advance

Sorry to hear it. The watch is worth repairing.

See this thread:

Swatch Group Repair Experience: Hamilton Khaki Field...

I recently sent my Hamilton Khaki Automatic 38mm (H70455533) to Swatch Group for service, and I'd like to share my experience with the WUS community. (TL;DR: it was a positive experience that took 10 weeks start-to-finish and cost about $200.) I bought this watch from a grey-market dealer in...

www.watchuseek.com

Edit: I just saw that you've already engaged with Swatch Group-- smart move.

 

This happened to Khaki about weeks ago. Winding it up one morning and “pop”. Luckily, the watch was only maybe 4 months old. The AD where I bought it swapped it for a new one without even questioning a thing. The new one is running like a champ.

 

Glad to hear Hamilton is helping you out! Hopefully you will get your watch fixed at no cost!

 

Just got the notification from Hamilton. After receiving my broken watch they decided to repair it under warranty!!!

Absolutely stellar customer support.

 

Just got the notification from Hamilton. After receiving my broken watch they decided to repair it under warranty!!!

Absolutely stellar customer support.

That's great news! After all the back and forth here on other threads about which brand of watch is ultra-lux, mid, and meh... ENTRY luxury. Seems SW's treat their customers like VIPs, even those of us that only bought their ENTRY-lux brands.