Hamilton Khaki Navy Frogman 2016 brings rugged style and reliable functionality to wristwear

This 2016, Hamilton relaunches the Khaki Navy Frogman watch. This on-trend revival line is a tribute to a piece of real and onscreen diving history: the iconic submersible watch created for the US naval “frogmen” teams and featured in the 1951 smash-hit movie The Frogmen and the brand’s very first on-screen appearance.

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This first foray into the movie industry, in which the company has become a leader, has its roots in its military reputation that dates back to World War I and II when Hamilton, founded in 1892, equipped the American military.

Fast forward to 2016 and the sportier, more rugged Khaki Navy Frogman collection with a technical, aggressive edge, matching style with function in an appealing choice of variations. Fronted by world renowned free diver Pierre Frolla, each model is equipped with a stunning crown-protection device, inspired by its 1951 ancestor with its inimitable military canteen design.

Meeting high demands

In keeping with its double billing as a super-sporty watch and stylish accessory, the 2016 collection comprises 42mm stainless steel cases that may be fitted with a triple-row bracelet secured by a smart adjustment folding clasp, featuring a convenient and stylish diving extension. These models are available in two colors with a blue or black bezel to suit individual tastes.

The perfect face for the Khaki Navy Frogman

Like Jacques Mayol, the hero of Luc Besson’s film The Big Blue in 1988, Monaco-based super diver Pierre Frolla caught the diving virus as a child. Growing up with fins on his feet and the Mediterranean Sea as his playground and field of exploration, Pierre was in the process of becoming a physical education teacher in Nice when he met Claude Chapuis (world record holder in static apnea in 1990 and member of the French Apnea team).

Chapuis took Frolla under his wing to share the adventure and by 1999, Pierre Frolla held the world record for freediving. Freediving is one of the three disciplines of competitive freediving and apnea and requires descending with nothing but the sole strength of the arms, without fins and mask. In 2004, Frolla achieved his fourth world record in the Variable Weight category, in which weighed down by a lead sled, the ascent to the surface requires the sole strength of the limbs. Frolla reached 123 meters, an uncanny depth the pressure of which (13 kg/cm²) can only be withstood by a fully trained body with incredible self-control.

Besides his own challenges, Pierre Frolla’s life path and work are also those of a team driven by values of FREEDOM, HUMILITY, COURAGE, COMMITMENT, the need to share, passion and honor. All these values are conveyed by L’Ecole Bleue and through other initiatives to help disadvantaged children (Opération Poséidon, Amade Monaco project, the fight against cystic fibrosis, etc…). The protection of the environment is the link to make today’s children of the Earth tomorrow’s great “sea-carers!”