Earlier this year, we showed you the announcement of the Hamilton Murph. This watch is inspired by the Hamilton used in the Interstellar movie from 2014.Michael did a write-up on the Hamilton Murph and its role in the Interstellar movie, so I am not going into that in this article. I will be looking at the watch as such. Hamilton sent us the Khaki Field Murph Auto for review, including the limited box. Only the first 2555 pieces will come with this beautiful bright box, that was designed with the help of Nathan Crowley, the production designer of the Interstellar movie. After these 2555 pieces (with box) have been sold, the Hamilton Murph will come in a regular Hamilton box. Weve been informed that a number of boxes have been allocated to the different markets, so inquire with which box your Hamilton Khaki Field Auto Murph will be delivered before you order.Hamilton MurphI have to admit that I did not see the Interstellar movie, so I am doing this Hamilton Murph review based on the watch and I am not bothered with any background information. Of course, I am familiar with the movie plot and know where the watch got its name from and which role it played. I am just not that much of a movie guy in general, except for some lost hours during a long flight I rarely watch movies.
It leads me a bit to the point if this watch is worthwhile when you are not a movie buff or at least not a fan of the Interstellar movie. Being one of the few out there that have not seen it (I know I exaggerate), I think I am able to give a clear answer to that. But first, lets have a look at this 42mm stainless steel Hamilton.The Morse code on the hand is a nice little gimmick, especially if youve seen the movie.Cathedral HandsThe first thing to notice is the vintage-inspired design for both the case, dial and hands. I have to say that I really like the case style, with the long lugs, and a combination of brushed and polished surfaces. It gives the watch a bit of sophistication to it, which I like. On the dial, you will find Cathedral hands filled with lume. The lume colour in the hands and on the dial itself is a bit yellow/brown-ish, to create that vintage look. Some people like it, some dont. I happen to like it and think the faux-patina discussion is more a matter of taste than whether it is historically or technically correct. There was no Hamilton Murph before, it is a new watch, based on the watch used in the movie, that wasnt based on a particular model anyway. The long sleek seconds hand has a little gimmick, that is barely visible with the naked eye. With a loupe you will see it for sure, and our macro lense also captured it on some of the pictures in this article: theres Morse code on there. It is a reference to the Interstellar movie and reads Eureka. Apparently, in the movie the seconds hand was used for communication (in Morse code) between Murph and her father. A nice little gimmick, especially if youve seen the movie. If you didnt seen the movie, it is barely visible and certainly not annoying. I like the fact that each of the hands have a good length. Theyre all touching the scale they are meant for. It may sound obvious, but it really isnt. Even messed it up once (remember the first 39mm Explorer?). Designing a good set of hands is truly a challenge and I think Hamilton did good here. Also by choosing the Cathedral type hands they didnt go for the obvious route.
Lumed hour and minute handsI am happy that Hamilton decided not to use a date window for this watch. It wasnt on the one used in the movie I think, so I am very glad they didnt decide to put it on there afterwards. It would have ruined a very clean looking dial in my opinion. Who needs a date window anyway.The lug-to-lug length is 52mm and thats not short.Lug-to-LugAs I wrote above, I like the case because of the brushed and polished surfaces. I also like the design of the case in general: long and curved lugs, a big crown (signed H) and a screw-down case back. The size of 42mm is very acceptable, and the thickness of 11mm is also fine for this watch in my opinion. The lug width is 22mm, which is relatively wide for a 42mm case but it still works. It also gives you the opportunity to relatively easy swap straps yourself (22mm straps are out there on the market, I mean). But 20mm would open up more possibilities I guess, or at least easier to source those straps. Perhaps it would even look a bit more elegant, but Hamilton chose 22mm and it doesnt look bad at all. In the end, it is not a dress watch but a watch inspired by pilots and military watches. The lug-to-lug length is 52mm and thats not short. As a comparison, a Speedmaster Professional measures 42mm in diameter and has a 47mm lug-to-lug length. A modern 40mm Submariner measures 48mm from lug to lug. You might want to give this a try before you buy if you have medium or smaller sized wrists.
It leads me a bit to the point if this watch is worthwhile when you are not a movie buff or at least not a fan of the Interstellar movie. Being one of the few out there that have not seen it (I know I exaggerate), I think I am able to give a clear answer to that. But first, lets have a look at this 42mm stainless steel Hamilton.The Morse code on the hand is a nice little gimmick, especially if youve seen the movie.Cathedral HandsThe first thing to notice is the vintage-inspired design for both the case, dial and hands. I have to say that I really like the case style, with the long lugs, and a combination of brushed and polished surfaces. It gives the watch a bit of sophistication to it, which I like. On the dial, you will find Cathedral hands filled with lume. The lume colour in the hands and on the dial itself is a bit yellow/brown-ish, to create that vintage look. Some people like it, some dont. I happen to like it and think the faux-patina discussion is more a matter of taste than whether it is historically or technically correct. There was no Hamilton Murph before, it is a new watch, based on the watch used in the movie, that wasnt based on a particular model anyway. The long sleek seconds hand has a little gimmick, that is barely visible with the naked eye. With a loupe you will see it for sure, and our macro lense also captured it on some of the pictures in this article: theres Morse code on there. It is a reference to the Interstellar movie and reads Eureka. Apparently, in the movie the seconds hand was used for communication (in Morse code) between Murph and her father. A nice little gimmick, especially if youve seen the movie. If you didnt seen the movie, it is barely visible and certainly not annoying. I like the fact that each of the hands have a good length. Theyre all touching the scale they are meant for. It may sound obvious, but it really isnt. Even messed it up once (remember the first 39mm Explorer?). Designing a good set of hands is truly a challenge and I think Hamilton did good here. Also by choosing the Cathedral type hands they didnt go for the obvious route.Lumed hour and minute handsI am happy that Hamilton decided not to use a date window for this watch. It wasnt on the one used in the movie I think, so I am very glad they didnt decide to put it on there afterwards. It would have ruined a very clean looking dial in my opinion. Who needs a date window anyway.The lug-to-lug length is 52mm and thats not short.Lug-to-LugAs I wrote above, I like the case because of the brushed and polished surfaces. I also like the design of the case in general: long and curved lugs, a big crown (signed H) and a screw-down case back. The size of 42mm is very acceptable, and the thickness of 11mm is also fine for this watch in my opinion. The lug width is 22mm, which is relatively wide for a 42mm case but it still works. It also gives you the opportunity to relatively easy swap straps yourself (22mm straps are out there on the market, I mean). But 20mm would open up more possibilities I guess, or at least easier to source those straps. Perhaps it would even look a bit more elegant, but Hamilton chose 22mm and it doesnt look bad at all. In the end, it is not a dress watch but a watch inspired by pilots and military watches. The lug-to-lug length is 52mm and thats not short. As a comparison, a Speedmaster Professional measures 42mm in diameter and has a 47mm lug-to-lug length. A modern 40mm Submariner measures 48mm from lug to lug. You might want to give this a try before you buy if you have medium or smaller sized wrists.