The Watch From Interstellar: How Hamilton Watches Caught Hollywood’s Eye

Did the watch from Interstellar catch your eye? You’re not alone. Let’s talk about it.

Watches have come hand in hand with pop culture, especially cinema, for ages. We all know about James Bond’s long-term relationships with Omega and Rolex, as well as some one-offs from Seiko and Hamilton. Jimmy Stewart’s referenceless Tissot in Rear Window is as much of a mystery as the movie itself.

In fact, I’d argue that the relationship fictional characters have with specific watches is more important than real-world associations. After all, movies are modern-day myths and legends.

Christopher Nolan is known for serving up movies that make you think twice — and make you want to watch it a second or third time. For watch lovers, though, 2014’s Interstellar had us rewatching for a completely different reason. 

The Hamilton Watch From Interstellar 

If you’ve seen Interstellar, you know that there are two important watches in the film. 

One is worn by Cooper, played by Matthew McConaughey. The other is worn by Murph, played by Mackenzie Foy, when Murph was a child, and by Jessica Chastain when she was an adult. 

Murph’s watch is likely the model people are thinking about when they refer to “the watch from Interstellar”. 

It was specially made for the movie and plays a key role in the plot.

Both Interstellar watches are Hamilton watches. Christopher Nolan and the movie’s prop master wanted to incorporate tool watches with an American design language.

And while Swatch now owns Hamilton, making it technically a Swiss brand, Hamilton was American for so long that it maintained its homegrown design sensibilities.

 The Murph Interstellar Watch 

The Murph Watch from Interstellar was made custom for the movie. In the film, Murph uses it to solve an important equation regarding the gravity needed to depart Earth for other hospitable planets.

She also uses it to communicate in Morse code through space and time.

Hamilton only made 10 pieces for the movie. In fact, Hamilton requested all ten of them be returned to them once they were done filming. Until five years ago, only one fan owned a Murph watch, earned through a Hamilton giveaway..

Due to fan demand, however, they eventually released the timepiece commercially. And it’s still available today.

It’s a beautifully vintage-inspired piece with patinated Arabic indices, a stepped bezel, and a large crown that makes it easy to operate. 

It’s also a rare dateless model in the Khaki line, giving it a design distinction on top of its pop culture cache. The cathedral hands give it an exquisite stateliness without taking away from its pragmatic tool watch aesthetic.

Functionally, this watch runs on Hamilton’s H-10 movement, which has a whopping 80-hour power reserve.

Here’s a fun fact about the Murph watches used in the movie. The prop master actually had to deconstruct the movement and put a motor inside it to simulate the Morse code complication.

I’m afraid the watch you can buy from Hamilton doesn’t have this function, but it does have the word Eureka printed in Morse code in lacquer on the second hand.

The Cooper Interstellar Watch 

The watch that Cooper wears is also pretty important to the plot. After all, he takes it with him for his journey away from home. I think Nolan did such a beautiful job of illustrating the memories and associations watches can be imbued with.

The Cooper watch comes straight from the catalog. It’s a Hamilton Khaki Pilot Day-Date, which has a classic Flieger aesthetic about it. If you love tried and true pilot watches, this guy exudes that but is built to modern standards.

The watch has applied Arabic indices which are, therefore, dimensional as well as highly legible. Meanwhile, the bezel is so thin it gives the busy yet easy-to-read dial all of the spotlight. It looks absolutely huge on the wrist but isn’t overpowering.

FAQs 

Here are some answers to commonly asked questions about the watches in Interstellar:

What Is the Watch Used in Interstellar?

The model referred to as the Interstellar watch is usually the Murph watch. It’s a Hamilton field watch, reference number H70605731. The other watch from the film is Cooper’s pilot watch, a Hamilton reference H64615135.

What Is a Murph Watch?

The Murph watch is the timepiece the namesake character wears in the film Interstellar. It’s a vintage-inspired, automatic field watch with stylish cathedral hands that give it a distinct flavor.

Is the Hamilton Murph Worth It?

You can usually find the Murph under and around the $1000 mark. If you like the design, this is a reasonable price for a Swiss-made automatic.

Conclusion: Space and Time 

I personally love the Murph watch. Anytime you can add cathedral hands to an otherwise simple and classic design, I’m on board.

As mentioned, Nolan did such a brilliant job of incorporating timepieces into the plot of the movie. 

Just as we’ll always remember the added laser to the GoldenEye Seamaster, fans of Interstellar will always remember the Morse code complication on the Murph watch. And the movie takes it to the next level by adding depth and sentimentality. 

Which Interstellar watch do you like best? The Murph or Cooper’s Khaki Aviation Day Date? Let me know in the comments!