Hamilton CEO, Vivian Stauffer and Mike Pallad, president of Modern Luxury, at the Hamilton Behind … [+]
November was a busy month for Hamilton Watches as it celebrated its long-term relationship with the motion picture industry followed by a look at the company’s roots as it prepares to honor its 130th anniversary as a watch manufacturer.
Many watch brands, particularly those who can afford it, partner with celebrities in music, fashion or the film and television industry by naming them as brand ambassadors. Another route is to partner with a popular film franchise, such as Omega’s long-term relationship with James Bond films.
Hamilton has taken a different approach. First, it primarily focuses on the motion picture industry. Then, instead of directly approaching actors and film production companies, Hamilton creates relationships with those who work behind the scenes, such as prop masters (also known as property masters), set designers, and costume designers. These are the people who often make the decisions of what items to use in a film or show.
This model has proven to be quite successful for the company. The first known appearance of a Hamilton watch was in the 1932 Marlene Dietrich movie “Shanghai Express.” Since then, Hamilton watches has appeared in approximately 500 films and TV shows. Among the more memorial showcases for Hamilton watches was the digital electronic watch, Hamilton Pulsar, in the 1973 James Bond film, “Live and Let Die,” worn by Bond; the Hamilton X-01 Odyssey in the epic space drama, “2001 Space Odessy;” and the Hamilton Khaki Navy BeLOWZERO worn by Matt Damon in the movie, “The Martian.”
The triangular shaped Hamilton Ventura, created in 1957 as a tribute to the newness of the space age at the time has proven its versatility in design as a both vintage piece and its use in science fiction productions. It has appeared in movies as diverse as 1961’s Blue Hawaii, worn by Elvis Presley, and more recently in the Men in Black franchise worn by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones as their characters’ MIB standard issued uniforms.
A significant part of this relationship with off-screen creators is its annual sponsorship of the Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards. The most recent installment of the awards presentation was held at the Avalon Hollywood with all the hype and excitement of the biggest award shows.
From left: Julius Tennon, Gina Prince Bythewood, Cathy Schulman, Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu at the … [+]
“Cinema has organically become an integral part of the Hamilton’s universe,” said Vivian Stauffer, CEO of Hamilton International. “For decades, we’ve been supporting the filmmakers with our timepieces that are inseparable from the movie characters and their stories. Just like the movements in our watches, the film crew is the driving force behind these characters. We value their talent, and we celebrate it.”
Among the presenters, Jaimie Alexander who bestowed the Property Master Award to Guillaume DeLouche for “Thor: Love and Thunder,” said: “Sometimes props are meant to blend into the background so that you don’t even notice them. And sometimes, in a Marvel film like ‘Thor: Love and Thunder,’ those props are so crucial to the story that they need to pop off the screen in an unforgettable way.”
The movies represented by the individual winners are often a preview of what will be spotlighted at the Oscars. The movies in each winning category, the film, the honorees and the presenters of the 2022 Hamilton Behind the Camera Awards are as follows:
Property Master Award: Thor: “Love and Thunder,” Guillaume DeLouche; presenter: Jaimie Alexander
Screenwriter: “She Said,” Rebecca Lenkiewicz; presenter: Carey Mulligan
Producer: “The Woman King,” Cathy Schulman, Viola Davis, Julius Tennon; presenters: Gina Prince-Bythewood, Thuso Mbedu, Sheila Atim
Director: “Bones and all,” Luca Guadagnino; presenter: Taylor Russell
Set Decorator: “The Fabelmans,” Karen O’Hara; presenter: Paul Dano
Editing: “Top Gun: Maverick,” Eddie Hamilton; presenter: Jay Ellis
Visionary: “Glass Onion,” Rian Johnson; presenter: Kathryn Hahn
Visual Effects: “Nope,” Guillaume Rocheron; presenter: Jordan Peele
Production Design: “The Menu,” Ethan Tobman; presenters: Paul Adelstein and Aimee Carrero
Craft Achievement: “Women Talking,” Luc Montpellier, Quita Alfred, Peter Cosco and Christopher Donaldson; presenter: Sarah Polley
Cinematography: “The Son,” Ben Smithard; presenters: Laura Dern and Florian Zeller
Costume: “Till,” Marci Rodgers; presenters: Jalyn Hall and Frankie Faison
Sound: “Top Gun: Maverick,” Al Nelson; presenter: Monica Barbaro
Hair & Makeup: “The Woman King,” honorees: Sergio Lopez-Rivera, Jamika Wilson and Louisa V. Anthony; presenter: Viola Davis
The Hamilton Black & Gold Collection
During the event Hamilton introduced its Black & Gold Collection. The brand took five of its most popular models — the Jazzmaster Automatic 36mm, the Jazzmaster Auto Chrono 42mm, the Pan Europ, the Ventura Chrono Quartz, and the Ventura S — and covered their stainless steel cases in a black PVD coating with gold accents for what the brand describes as an “under-the-radar look that is at once stealthy and conspicuous.”
Gold hands, indices, and minute/seconds tracks provide contrast against the matte black surfaces of the cases and dials. The watches in the collection are completed with matte black or black-and-gold straps that reinforce the color scheme. The collection includes a mix of automatic and quartz movements, and various case shapes.
A Hamilton Watch Company safe in its original manufacturing complex, now a condo building
A few days following the awards ceremony, Hamilton officials traded the glitter of Hollywood for the bucolic Amish countryside and the small-town vibe of Lancaster, Pa. Today, Hamilton is owned by the watch and jewelry manufacturing company, Swatch Group, and located in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland. However, the watch brand was founded in 1892 as the Hamilton Watch Company in this Pennsylvania city, which at the time was a manufacturing center for timepieces. During its early days, it was best-known for producing highly accurate railroad timepieces at a time of rapid expansion of the railroad system. Over the years the company manufactured clocks and watches for all sorts of personal and professional uses. During World War II its total production went toward the war effort producing timepieces for all branches of the military. This year marks Hamilton’s 130th anniversary and much of the company’s history remains in this area.
The former Hamilton Watch Complex, a collection of red brick buildings, is now the Clock Towers condominium campus. The complex is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and perhaps because of this, and some good marketing, the timepiece theme is a constant throughout the building. A few Hamilton clocks appear at the red-brick entrances to the 7.5 acres of manicured grounds. The original tower clock remains as well as the wrought iron gates with the “H” and “W” initials. Inside is an original safe that was used storing raw materials that would be manufactured into Hamilton watches. It’s now used by residents for personal storage.
On the walls of the hallways there is plenty Hamilton memorabilia, including old advertisements, magazine articles, movie posters and framed pictures of employees working on watches. A common area has at least one round table depicted as a watch dial. There is also a tall Hamilton pendulum clock in one of the rooms.
A group of vintage Hamilton watches at the National Watch & Clock Museum
Nearby, in Columbia, Pa., is the National Watch & Clock Museum. Within its vast and diverse horological displays, there’s a section dedicated to Hamilton Watch Company that includes pocket watches, wristwatches, clocks and watchmaking tools. Among the interesting Hamilton pieces is the Hamilton Space Clock or Mars Clock, manufactured in 1955, according to the museum. The numbers around the dial indicate Mars time. Three subsidiary dials show Martian date, earth time and earth date.
There’s also a Hamilton Engine Hour Meter, which tracks the running time of special equipment to assure proper maintenance and there are several Marine chronometers. One of the earliest Hamilton wristwatches in the museum’s collection is a 1917 Hamilton Grade two-hand timepiece with a 17-jewel 986A movement.
In the same month Hamilton introduced two special-edition watches.
The 38mm Hamilton Khaki Field Murph
The first is the second recreation of a Hamilton production model that was an integral part of the 2014 movie, “Interstellar,” starring Matthew McConaughey as a pilot named Cooper and his daughter Murphy, played by Jessica Chastain. In the film, which has earned a cult status among science fiction fans and watch aficionados, Cooper communicates to his daughter across time and space through a watch he gave her. The prop watch, known as the “Murph,” received an electrical charge that mimicked Morse code.
People began requesting the Murph watch from Hamilton. In response, in 2019 the company introduced the 42mm Khaki Field “Murph,” pretty much identical to the production watch in the movie. However, the case and extra-wide lug sizes weren’t a good fit for smaller wrists. So, people started requesting a smaller version of the timepiece. Hamilton complied with a 38mm version of the same watch, a “mini Murph,” if you will. It has a steel case, black dial, beige vintage-style Super-LumiNova finished hands and black leather strap. It contains all the key aesthetic codes of its predecessor.
The watch is powered by the H-10 automatic movement with an 80-hour power reserve, visible through the exhibition case back.
The Hamilton Ventura L with 14k yellow gold case
Hamilton also introduced a limited-edition version of the Ventura: the Ventura L. The iconic triangular-shaped case measures 33.1mm and is made of 14k gold. The black dial is contrasted with gold-colored hands, hour markers and the iconic electric display. The caseback has a special engraving of the Hamilton crest. Powered by quartz movement, it is limited to 130 pieces, honoring Hamilton’s 130th anniversary.
The Hamilton Railroad Pocket Watch
Finally, Hamilton released a pocket watch to honor its railroad roots in a limited edition of 917 pieces, recalling the firm’s address at 917 Columbia Avenue, Lancaster, Pa. Housed in a 50mm stainless steel case, its white, enamel-like dial echoes those of vintage railroad timepieces, red 5-minute demarcations along a fully graduated, outer minute track; oversized Arabic numeral indices; black lacquered hands; and a small seconds counter at 6 o’clock.
A closed caseback has an engraving of a train and the words “130th Anniversary Railroad Special.”
It is powered by the ETA/Unitas 6497 mechanical movement with a 50-hour power reserve. It comes with a removable chain and leather travel pouch.
