Whenever we hear the word “watch” we instantly think of Switzerland. Even in this modern era of technological evolution, Switzerland still manages to hold that prestigious numero uno position when it comes to watches. The collectors might argue that none can finish the movement like the way Germans do or Japan is not to be discounted after all they brought the quartz revolution and Grand Seiko can give all the big names a run for their money. So where does the mighty USA stand? How hard it is for a home-grown USA watch brand to capture the market share and make a name amongst the esteem watch collectors?
Enter Hamilton. Hamilton though currently owned by the Swatch group has special history and heritage. Founded in 1892 in Lancaster Pennsylvania, they came up with their first watch in 1893. They came up with the railroad watch with the intention of providing reliable timing devices which later was used by American Expeditionary Forces worldwide.
Hamilton was worn by the American troops in the WWI, it also went on expeditions to North and South Poles. In 1940 it stopped commercial production and focused on the military watches creating a million of them in WWII.
What next after the war? How to create an impact? Let’s think of an American product that is consumed and loved worldwide and the answer is HOLLYWOOD!! We know that Hollywood is the biggest movie production industry in terms of revenue and has a global presence. The easiest way to showcase your product in front of billions of eyes is to feature it in a movie. Not to forget that actors are style icons and fans always want to follow them. So it’s an ideal way to create a brand image and fan following. It’s not just for the American brand, even Swiss giants like Roles and Omega went down that path by being the go t watch of 007 James Bond (in a different era). We know Submariner mainly because it’s the cool watch that James Bond wore.
Just for your information, Hamilton too tried to go down that path and In 1972 the Hamilton Pulsar was featured in the James Bond movie where you can see the late Roger Moore sporting the watch. Elvis Presley wore the Hamilton Ventura in the movie Blue Hawai. To date, Hamilton has been featured in over 500 movies. One of the Iconic ones being Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar. The Murph watch was special where the actor used the watch to communicate via morse code. The movie was released in 2014 but the special watch was made available to the public only in 2019. the watch showcased a particular nuisance with the word “Eureka” engraved on the second’s hand in morse code.
In 2016, the movie Independence Day Resurgence showcased various Hamilton watches including the Hamilton Khaki X-wind and Jazzmaster. While the X-wind is a 44mm chronograph on tan calf leather strap with the pushers positioned to form the letter x, the Jazzmaster is more traditional watch with the GMT feature allowing the person to keep track of multiple time zones simultaneously
2020 saw the pandemic scare that resulted in the world shrinking and close down. Movie theatres shut down and releases got pushed back. We were eagerly waiting for the release of Nolan’s Tenet and Hamilton to play a crucial role in the movie. Hamilton had already created a watch for the movie Interstellar so it was no surprise that Nolan went back to the trusted partners as he wanted a new watch for the movie. Hamilton doesn’t offer a watch that’s 1000m water resistance and creating one was a challenge. The water pressure at such depth is too high and can easily cause the sapphire crystal to break. Moreover, Helium can enter the case of the watch and cause it to malfunction. That meant research was needed to be done which lead to new product development. The Hamilton BeLOWZERO took 18 months of preparation which included technical development, testing, and production. Much of the work was carried out at the Swatch Group’s lab in Switzerland. The most challenging aspect was integrating the display of the dial with the underlying technology. Around a dozen of them were produced and interestingly watchmakers were on the set to offer support.
The final product resulted in a new special edition line. The watch is available in two versions viz red and blue. Both the versions are identical except the color of the tip of the second’s hand. One is red-tipped and the other blue. Each version is limited to 888 pieces worldwide, as 888 is a palindrome much like the name Tenet. “Cased in lightweight titanium, this limited design features a red-tipped/blue-tipped second hand as a reference to a key color in the movie. The otherwise all-black watch is the epitome of stealth style and with 100-bar water resistance it’s ready for action in any environment.” The watch is 46mm in diameter and has the reference number H78505331 for the blue version and the reference number H78505332 for the red. It is powered by the dependable caliber H-10 and has a water-resistance of 1000m. Each watch will come in specially designed packaging and the color of the package will be based on the tip color of the second’s hand. The MSRP is CHF 2,100.00. We all are eagerly waiting for the movie and the watch as well.
The Enigmatic Pen 