Watchmaker Hamilton has been teaming up with Hollywood for more than 80 years and continues to play a big part in the future of film.
A close-up view of the Ventura watch featured in 1997's Men in Black.
Watches have always landed pivotal roles in movies. From the Rolex Speedking Steve McQueen checked to mark the hours he spent in the cooler in The Great Escape to the futuristic Seiko Giugiaro sported by Sigourney Weaver in Alien, storytellers use timepieces to help pull the narrative together.
But no watch brand has had more of an impact on Hollywood than Hamilton. The company made its big-screen debut in 1932 in the movie Shanghai Express starring Marlene Dietrich and Clive Brook—and a Hamilton Flintridge and Hamilton Piping Rock watch. These timepieces were more than mere wardrobe accoutrements—they played an essential part in the resolution of the film.
Since then, Hamilton watches have appeared in more than 500 movies. Many directors, such as Michael Bay and Stanley Kubrick for their classic films Pearl Harbor and 2001: A Space Odyssey, respectively, have collaborated with the brand to provide special watches and clocks for characters and scenes.
Hamilton continues to support the future of the cinematic community through its Behind the Camera Awards and with special editions such as the Jazzmaster Regulator Cinema—an automatic watch featuring a superb asymmetric design that captures the turning reels of vintage movie cameras.
Photography by: Photography courtesy Hamilton Watches
