You might have noticed that the cinema is at the centre of an almighty, if unexpected, battle right now. Two big-budget movies, one that takes us to the dark heart of the human soul, the other Oppenheimer. Understandably, the merch opportunities for Barbie are a little more straightforward—and omnipresent—than for Christopher Nolan’s epic about the man who created the atomic bomb. But that’s not to say they’re impossible. Ladies and gentleman, we give you the Hamilton watches of Oppenheimer star, Cillian Murphy.
Murphy can be seen in three period Hamilton watches throughout the film. The Cushion B, Endicott and Lexington, which offer the brand’s typical take on American design with an art deco hit.
Nolan has a long history with Hamilton (also the brand of choice for Elvis, incidentally). Firstly in 2014’s Interstellar, a retro piece brought to life by combining parts of historical Hamiltons. Then, in 2020’s Tenet, the Hamilton Jazzmaster Seaview Chrono worn by John David Washington featuring multiple dials that mirrored the movie’s time travelling theme.
The association in Oppenheimer doesn’t end with Murphy’s hat-trick of Hamiltons either. Matt Damon, who plays Lieutenant General Leslie Groves, Jr., director of the Manhattan Project wears both Piping Rock and Military Ordnance models, while Emily Blunt, who plays Kitty Oppenheimer, wears the Lady Hamilton A-2 in 14k gold.
For Oppenheimer, Nolan decoded against using any current production models, opting for ruthless accuracy instead. Easier said than done. Even the brand didn’t have some of the models in their archives. Thankfully, all of the vintage models were eventually sourced by Hamilton from its network of collectors and enthusiasts.
In a Hamilton promotional video for the Oppenheimer film, Nolan explains how the brand was integral in securing period-appropriate watches.
“We’ve had a great experience working with Hamilton in the past. In the case of Oppenheimer, it is about recreating the history, really looking back at the Hamilton watches of what these characters would have worn at the time,” said Nolan.
“They were incredibly helpful in securing the appropriate watches for these characters. It is that kind of detail working in combination with … the costume work and the prop work in the film that becomes so important to involving the audience in the story in a world that they can recognise. And it has a nice tactile and a relatable sense to it … that is historically accurate.
“The whole film is one big countdown to this world changing event,” he concluded. “It’s the portrayal of time, the importance of time to the characters in the story is enormously important.”