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Not too long ago we did a post on Hamilton Watches and some appearances of Hamilton in movies throughout the decades. In November the brand is back on the big screen, in a big way, in the Christopher Nolan directed film, Interstellar.
The movie follows a team of explorers who travel through space in an attempt to find a habitable planet that will sustain human life. Earth has been devastated by changes in climate that have lead to famine and drought. A glimmer of hope is found when a mysterious rip in the space time continuum is discovered. A crew must head out into the unknown in an effort to save the human race. Hamilton watches can be seen on a couple of the movie’s stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain and Mackenzie Foy. The watch worn by the character of Murph (played by both Chastain and Foy at different periods in the character’s life) plays an important role in the movie. In the case of both watches the production team behind Interstellar worked closely with Hamilton to provide proper watches for both characters.
First, the watch worn by McConaughey’s character Cooper is the Hamilton Khaki Pilot Day Date Auto. The watch is currently available in Hamilton’s line-up as reference H64615135. The Pilot Day Date Auto is 42mm in diameter and is powered by the ETA 2834-2 automatic movement. Given the character’s background as a farmer, engineer and pilot the Khaki Pilot Day Date Auto was a good choice. It has a robust movement, stainless steel case and bracelet and enough water resistance to be suitable at 100M. Additionally it is legible and of a reasonable modern size.
The watch worn by the character of Murph, played by Jessica Chastain and Mackenzie Foy (and even Ellen Burstyn), was developed by Hamilton specifically for the movie. The watch, known as the “Murph Watch” was built from elements of the existing watches in Hamilton’s Khaki lineup. The watch was put together specifically for the movie and will not be available for purchase by the public, although a small number are out in the wild as part of a giveaway. The watch plays an important role in the film as it is set up to communicate via Morse code through space and time. The watch movement was modified by the prop master for Interstellar to provide the required movement of the seconds hand. It was all a practical effect, no CGI or post processing.
The watch itself is a very attractive piece and looks like would fit in well with the existing Khaki lineup. Products are designed to appear in movies frequently, but hopefully Hamilton will make some variation of the watch available to the public. The prominent appearance of these two watches in the movie will certainly help the general public awareness of Hamilton, while the work they have done on the film continues to boost their claim as “The Movie Brand”.
