Hamilton Khaki Field Murph Review – One of the most famous movie watches in the world

Tags: Review | Hamilton | Men's | Classic | Traditional

19.1.2023 | 7 MIN

Anyone who has seen the blockbuster Interstellar knows this watch as if it was their own. Hamilton Khaki Field H70605731 Automatic nicknamed Murph have earned a unique place and, moreover, there is also a unique story of creation behind the name.

It's only been a few months since Hamilton surprised Murph fans with a smaller version with a 38mm case. And it's also only been a few days since we got our hands on the Baby Murphs, and we've once again recalled a strong backstory to the famous Murphs. The realization that we haven't covered this now iconic model in our magazine has led us to a compelling need to fix it as soon as possible. So there you have it: all about the Hamilton Khaki Field Murph.

Interstellar film connection

It's hard to start with anything other than the cinematic connection that the Hamilton Khaki Field H70605731 made famous.

Not that it would be rare for a watch to appear in a film as a product placement, most often as a costume accessory. But here it's about much more.

This watch was made directly and exclusively for the film Interstellar directed by Christopher Nolan, and props master Ritchie Kremer chose namely Hamilton to create a watch that will play a key role in the film.

Kremer is an old greaser who is "to blame" for stage properties of countless films and series, including In The Skin Of John Malkovitch, The Big Lebowski, Catch Me If You Can, Westworld and more. He certainly did not underestimate the choice of watches. Hamilton reportedly had just three weeks to come up with a watch that would meet all the requirements.

The model, with a touch of field-watch style, appears in the film for the first time when Matthew McConaughey as "Cooper" gives it to his daughter Murph (played by Mackenzie Foy) before going on a space mission to find a new habitable planet. And from which, at best, he will return in decades.

What can go wrong will go wrong. Implications: 1. Nothing is as simple as it seems at first glance. 2. Everything costs more time than you anticipated. Basic Murphy's Laws 101

Later, Cooper sends important information to his adult daughter (played by Jessica Chastain) using the second hand of this very watch. When Murph finally decodes everything, he exclaims "Eureka". Well, feel free to remind yourself of the conclusion here, for example.

The watch was created for the film and was also supposed to remain in the 2014 film. Originally, there was no plan at all to have them in regular production. And it was mainly the fans who relentlessly begged Hamilton to put this model on sale.

But Hamilton was pretty relunctant on that matter, until one day, in 2019, the watch unexpectedly appeared among the new items. And fans immediately nicknamed them Murph.

Hamilton is associated with Hollywood perhaps more than any other watch brand. Hamilton watches have appeared in over 500 films including The Martian, TENET, Men in Black, Independence Day and more.

There was even a limited edition, or a limited edition of the special box in which they were delivered. Hamilton collaborated with award-winning production designer Nathan Crowley on it. The inspiration came from the movie tesseract, you can listen to the details of the creation of the 2555-piece box set here.

After the limited number sold out (and it was really fast), they were sold in the regular Hamilton box and are still on the market today.

It was an exact copy of the movie watch, with only one (for me) fascinating detail and a great idea from Hamilton's workshop: the seconds hand has "eureka" engraved in Morse code.

• • • ― • ― • • ― • ― • ― EUREKA

It's really subtle, and for those who haven't seen the movie or aren't buying the watch because of this binding, the few dots and dashes won't bother you. But for those who, in addition to the watch, also liked this movie connection, it is a perfect homage.

Other Hamiltons also appeared in the film, worn directly by the main character NASA pilot Cooper. It is Hamilton Khaki Pilot Day Date Automatic H64615135 and you can read details about them in our article:

Design and dimensions

It is a new watch in terms of design. It is not a reincarnation of a historical model, we are not talking about a reissue. They were created based on the requirements of the production team of the film Interstellar, but the style and appearance itself is new and, despite the relatively simple concept, impressively unique.

Of course, it is based on the tradition of military watches (however, we can also find them in the Khaki Field line), and looking at the case, these roots are strongly felt. And yet, compared to the rest of the military watch collection, the Murphy is... what's the right word? More sophisticated. In the imaginary sporty-elegant section, they lean towards the elegant ones, even if they are not exactly for-the-suit type of watch.

They have a special essence about them that leaves an impression and you can't easily mistake Murphy. It's no wonder that fans (of the movie, the watch, both) wanted them, and that they've been among Hamilton's most sought-after models since they went on sale.

The diameter of the case is 42 mm, with a thickness of 11 mm. The lug to lug value is quite a surprise, i.e. the length of the watch from leg to leg, which is a goodly 52 mm. Certainly, this is nowhere close to a small watch, and for owners of medium to smaller wrists (or women's) these values were quite a thorn in the side.

With the Murph, there will be no "but thanks to the short legs or the curvature of the case they will fit even more subtle wrists", on the contrary, in such cases I would recommend trying the watch on beforehand. Or - go for the smaller version (38 mm diameter), which Hamilton released towards the end of 2022 and appeared on our market at the beginning of 2023.

This smaller, 38mm version is a completely faithful design copy of the original Murphs, only smaller and without the "eureka" on the seconds hand. This link to the film remained only with the original ones.

And we will also pay them a quick visit. The hands and numerals carry SuperLumiNova luminescence, which is in a beige shade, often called fauxtina (false patina), which gives the watch a special retro touch.

The case is made of surgical steel, in a grounded finish, but with a polished bezel. The crown proportionally corresponds to the size of the case and bears the signature H. However, only the crown is screwed and the watch is water resistant to 100 meters.

They come on a calf strap with a thorn buckle and an alligator pattern. The strap at the legs of the case is reinforced and overall gives a sturdy and high-quality impression. The light stitching harmonizes nicely with the shade of the numbers on the dial. There is 22mm between the legs, so the door to swapping for another is wide open. I can best imagine the Murphy in black NATO or some other rustic stitched leather.

Do you prefer a smoother seconds hand or a longer reserve?

You can find a mechanical movement with automatic winding inside the Murps. It bears the designation H-10, but Hamilton does not make its own movements today. It uses the background of the Swatch Group and the H-10 is thus a modified ETA C07.611.

It offers a power reserve of 80 hours, which has undergone several modifications, mainly reducing the frequency from 28,800 semi-oscillations to 21,600 semi-oscillations per hour. This change did not have a major effect on the accuracy, however, you will of course recognize it on the second hand.

However, if I had to choose between a smoother operation of the seconds hand or a power reserve that will survive even the weekend, I find the modification that they chose in Hamilton to be more practical.

Of course, the movement also has hacking, 25 jewels and a Hamiltonian rotor. You can then watch the whole process through the transparent tube. Some may be surprised that it is not richly decorated, but for me this austerity belongs to the imaginary functionality of a military watch.

Would Murphy have survived even without a film background?

Despite having one of the strongest film connections possible, I don't think only die-hard Interstellar fans are buying Murphy. It is simply a beautiful watch with an original design. So original that while other models are based on this or that, Murphy is a new, unencumbered piece. And detail in the form of morse code? This is just an unobtrusive but clever reminder for those whom the film got under their skin.

Cathedral hands, ocher luminescence, font, case shape, muted colors, all in perfect harmony. Of course, Murphy won't appeal to everyone. But those who desire them once, rarely get out of their influence. And with each viewing of Interstellar, the bond will grow stronger...

And, be honest, are you planning a movie night right now as well?

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