There’s no question that Hamilton has quickly become a brand renowned on the silver screen. While many see Hamilton as an “entry” level into Swiss luxury wristwatches, the brand has been on the wrists of many stars across some giant cinematic masterpieces and has become a Hollywood prop staple. Interstellar, The Martian, James Bond: Live and Let Die, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Ocean’s Eleven are just a few of the more than 500 films featuring a Hamilton watch–and the latest Christopher Nolan film, Oppenheimer, features some curated vintage beauties.
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Christopher Nolan and Hamilton have had great success in the past with Nolan’s aforementioned 2014 release, Interstellar, which brought us an entirely new watch created for the film: the “Murph.” The success of Interstellar would prompt Hamilton to create a production version of the Murph and release it in 2019, five years after the initial release of Interstellar.
While a new watch was created for Interstellar, Nolan–known for his fastidious attention to detail–wanted to keep the aesthetics for Oppenheimer as accurate to the 1940s as possible. This included his selection of the timepieces seen on screen. Thanks to the help of Hamilton and their curation of vintage Hamilton watches from collectors and enthusiasts, Nolan’s vision would be fulfilled and his need for accuracy satisfied.
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Watches were placed on the wrists of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), Katherine “Kitty” Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt) and General Leslie Groves, Jr. (Matt Damon). As mentioned earlier, while Hamilton’s archives are extensive, the watches featured in the movie were all sourced from collectors. Three models were selected for J. Robert Oppenheimer: the Cushion B, Endicott and Lexington. Katherine Oppenheimer can be spotted wearing a Lady Hamilton A-2, and General Leslie Groves, Jr. wears two rugged military-styled pieces–the Hamilton Piping Rock and Military Ordinance.
The film, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning book American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Kai Bird and the late Martin J. Sherwin, is produced by Emma Thomas, Atlas Entertainment’s Charles Roven, and Christopher Nolan, himself.
Check out Oppenheimer in theatres to see these watches on the big screen. For more information regarding the timepieces, click here.
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About the Author
Born into a family obsessed with motorsport, Tyler Frederick became enamoured with speed and beautiful cars at a young age. His love of Formula 1–and all things mechanical–eventually lead him to horology. You can follow him on Instagram.
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