The movie Interstellar features two watches from Hamilton, one that is straight out of their regular catalog, and another that was made custom for the movie.
The former is a regular production Khaki Aviation Pilot Day Date, worn by Matthew McConaughey (Cooper) throughout the movie. However it’s the latter watch that’s the most interesting watch of the two, and from Hamilton in general. And not just because it was in the movie, which I’ll explain below.
The custom “Murph” watch is worn by the character Murph, who is played by three different actresses: Jessica Chastain, Ellen Burstyn, and Mackenzie Foy. The watch is an integral part of the movie plot, but we will not spoil that for you.
According to Hamilton representative, we spoke with, the Murph watch is a combination of several different Hamilton watches. And upon further investigation, the two watches are the Khaki Field Pioneer Auto and the Khaki Field Auto 42 mm.
The Murph watch uses the 42 mm steel case from the Khaki Field Auto, which features a polished bezel and a circular brushed cased. And the dial comes from the Khaki Pioneer Auto, including the awesome poire squelette hands, vintage style printed Arabic numerals, printed minute track, and even the vintage-esque cream lume that is used on the hands and hour markers. All the watches are powered by the same ETA 2824-2. And maybe most notably, the date is omitted, something not seen on any of the production Khaki collection.
When we spoke to Hamilton yesterday, this is what they told us as far a production of the Murph watch, “A very limited quantity were made just for the film – it will not be produced for market.”
This brings me to my original point. Why this watch is more interesting than the regular Hamilton production timepieces. Of course it’s interesting because it was prominently featured in the film. And because its production was basically limited to 10 or less. But what about the fact that it’s just a good looking watch, with a compelling retro style that no other Hamilton watch I can think of has ever achieved? Isn’t that a good enough reason to produce it? I guess it’s good enough for Hollywood but not for consumers. And therein lies the problem with so many watch companies, they are more interested in promoting their brand – in Hollywood movies – than producing great products.
