The story · Since 1914
The story of the Hamilton Khaki Field
Christopher Nolan's Interstellar needed a watch, so Hamilton created one specifically for the film. After five years of enthusiasts begging, Hamilton released it as the Khaki Field Murph in 2019.
- 1914 to 1918 From railroad to trench The US military first noticed Hamilton's accurate pocket watches in 1914.
- 1942 to 1945 Every line for the war In 1942 Hamilton halted all consumer production to build for the armed forces, and it earned five Army-Navy "E" awards for manufacturing excellence.
- 1967 to late 1980s The Vietnam-era spec From 1967 watches built to the GG-W-113 specification, with a 24-hour inner track, were issued in large numbers to American soldiers; Benrus, Bulova and Marathon made them too.
- 1980s to 2000 The soldier's watch goes civilian The Khaki Field began in the 1980s as Hamilton's civilian version of the GG-W-113.
- 2001 to 2013 Hollywood enlists The line became a film regular: a hand-wound Khaki Field on both pilots in Pearl Harbor (2001), a 38 mm Khaki Field Automatic on Hilary Swank's Amelia Earhart (2009), and a Khaki Field Auto on Chris Evans's Captain America in The Avengers (2012).
- 2014 to today A message through time In Interstellar (2014) Cooper leaves his daughter Murph his wristwatch as a keepsake, and the watch ends up central to the plot.
80 hours
power reserve of the H-10 movement in the Murph
Worn by
Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett, Hilary Swank, Chris Evans, Mackenzie Foy
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Chapters
- 1914 to 1918
From railroad to trench
The US military first noticed Hamilton's accurate pocket watches in 1914. In the First World War, Hamilton railroad watches went to General Pershing's soldiers, converted for the wrist so they could be read at a glance, and in 1917 the company introduced its Grade 983 and 985 Gent's Wrist Watch.
- 1942 to 1945
Every line for the war
In 1942 Hamilton halted all consumer production to build for the armed forces, and it earned five Army-Navy "E" awards for manufacturing excellence. Since 1945 it has kept refining its watches with feedback from servicemen.
- 1967 to late 1980s
The Vietnam-era spec
From 1967 watches built to the GG-W-113 specification, with a 24-hour inner track, were issued in large numbers to American soldiers; Benrus, Bulova and Marathon made them too. Hamilton filled its last US military contract in the late 1980s.
- 1980s to 2000
The soldier's watch goes civilian
The Khaki Field began in the 1980s as Hamilton's civilian version of the GG-W-113. Its 38 mm mechanical model is still the one Gear Patrol calls the most iconic of the Khaki family.
- 2001 to 2013
Hollywood enlists
The line became a film regular: a hand-wound Khaki Field on both pilots in Pearl Harbor (2001), a 38 mm Khaki Field Automatic on Hilary Swank's Amelia Earhart (2009), and a Khaki Field Auto on Chris Evans's Captain America in The Avengers (2012).
- 2014 to today
A message through time
In Interstellar (2014) Cooper leaves his daughter Murph his wristwatch as a keepsake, and the watch ends up central to the plot. The 42 mm Murph went on sale in 2019 with the H-10 80-hour movement and EUREKA in Morse code on the seconds hand, and a smaller 38 mm version followed.
Worn by
As Capt. Rafe McCawley in Pearl Harbor he wore a hand-wound Khaki Field, modelled on the watches Hamilton supplied to US troops.
She played the young Murph, who receives the watch from her father in Interstellar.
She played the adult Murph, whose watch becomes the key to the Interstellar plot.
As the CIA analyst in Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan he wears a Khaki Field Auto Chrono.
Moments
2019. The Murph launched with an optional tesseract-style box, designed with Interstellar production designer Nathan Crowley and limited to 2,555 pieces.
2019. Hamilton made one change from the film prop: the word Eureka in Morse code printed on the seconds hand, a nod to the film's turning point.
1967. The GG-W-113 field watch began reaching American soldiers in large numbers, the template the civilian Khaki Field would later copy almost exactly.
1942. Hamilton halted all consumer production to supply the huge number of watches required by troops.
Generations and strap changes
- 2018Khaki Field Mechanical H-50
A revised reissue with a 38 mm case, hand-wound H-50 calibre and 80-hour power reserve; Fratello reviewed it in March 2018.
20 mm lugs, sold on a textile NATO strap with pin buckle.
- 1980Civilian Khaki Field
Gear Patrol dates the civilian Khaki Field to the 1980s, a civilian version of the GG-W-113 military watch.
- 19601960s field watch
Hamilton says today's Khaki Field Mechanical recreates its original 1960s field watch; Gear Patrol links the line to the GG-W-113 spec.
- 1942WWII military supply
Hamilton halted commercial production to supply timepieces to the U.S. military, earning five Army-Navy E Awards.