In November of 2022, Hamilton seemingly answered the watch community's unending requests for a smaller version of the Interstellar-associated Khaki Field Murph by releasing one in 38mm. A full 10 years since the movie's release (time flies), Hamilton comes out with two updates to the 38mm Khaki Field Murph that I'm not sure many people asked for, but certainly can't complain about.
First, the black dial variant of the 38mm Murph gets a stainless-steel bracelet. As the watch originally seen in Interstellar was on a leather strap, this appears to be a move to position the Murph as a watch not just for the intersection of movie geek and watch nerd, but also as a permanent offering in Hamilton's lineup to suit someone looking for an solid all-rounder offering.
Despite the seemingly ideal 38mm diameter and 11.1mm thickness, I've always found the Khaki Murph to wear larger than the dimensions would suggest, even at a very reasonable 44.7mm lug-to-lug. Perhaps it's partially due to the thin bezel, but I mostly suspect it to be the way the lugs are shaped. With that in mind, I felt that the new bracelet did a much better job of feeling more proportional on my wrist – I think it's the endlinks that are doing wonders. The bracelet is done in a three-link style, with the facets of the middle links polished to add some contrast to the mostly brushed bracelet. A twin-trigger milled clasp features three positions of micro-adjust, but in the traditional way that requires a spring bar tool.
The bracelet is solid feeling and comfortable, but if I were to find one point to criticize, the bracelet just seems visually a bit too generic for my liking. The dial of the Murph is quite distinctive, with its cathedral hands, so I wonder if having a more stylized bracelet would have proved more interesting. Also, the angles of the bracelet, especially at the polished sections, could be sharper, especially when we are seeing microbrands come out with stunning bracelets at the same price point. Regardless, I'm sure most people can't complain about a bracelet option being added to the lineup, so I'm glad it's here. While the Murph 38mm on strap currently retails for $895, the bracelet variant debuts at $945. I'm glad that it's still under $1,000.
The second, perhaps more dramatic introduction to the lineup is the Khaki Field Murph 38mm with a white dial. On paper, yes, it's just a color change. But I think it's quite notable because this is the first time in the variations of Murph that we see a watch visually depart from the one seen in Christopher Nolan's film. While the original variant sports a flat black dial, Hamilton adds a bit of texture to the white. While we've seen Hamilton roll out quite a few white dial variations of Khaki Fields, Expeditions, and more, I appreciate that this additional texture separates the Murph as something special in the lineup.
The numerals are in beige SuperLuminova that's a smidge brighter than the ones found on the black dial variant, and in a nice touch, the numerals are outlined with black. While the numerals and text aren't applied, they are printed with a subtle raised effect that gives some additional dimension to the dial. It's a very clean dial and well-executed.
All the other aspects of the watch are identical to the regular 38mm Khaki Murph, including the price, at $895. A sapphire caseback gives way to the automatic H-10 movement, with 80 hours of power reserve. The watch comes on a black leather strap that's embossed with a crocodile scale pattern, with a signed Hamilton buckle. As the strap was brand new, the leather was extremely stiff and almost impossible to break in. While the brand says that the pairing of the black strap was for contrast, I think I would have loved to have seen this watch on a softer calfskin strap, perhaps a rugged side-stitched brown strap. But, with a 20mm lug width, that should be a very easy problem to fix if you are like me and have plenty of straps at home.
It's quite strange to me that Hamilton decided to only release the bracelet on the black dial variant. But, I would assume keeping both changes of the bracelet and dial color to one SKU each probably is a good way for the brand to test the water – if the white dial is a hit with customers, I'm sure we can expect the bracelet to be added to the white dial very soon.
Overall, I didn't expect to like the white dial variant as much as I did. I think the texture of the dial makes this watch feel different, and it's a nice complement to the original Murph in the assortment. Given that the 38mm Murph with black dial was a runaway hit, I'm sure that this will do very well.
One of Hamilton’s claims to fame is its enviable presence in Hollywood movies. Since its screen debut in the 1932 hit Shanghai Express, Hamilton’s watches have starred in over 500 movies and TV shows. In 2014, Hamilton played a crucial role in Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi masterpiece, Interstellar, by producing a watch especially for the movie. The custom-made prop watch reappeared five years later as a real 42mm Khaki Field Murph, followed by a smaller 38mm reference two years later, both with black dials, retro touches and, in the case of the 42mm version, a special feature on the seconds hand linked to the film. Known fondly as the Murph, Hamilton gears up for the autumn with two new references of the popular and compact Khaki Field Murph 38mm, one with a crisp white dial and contrasting black leather strap and a second model with the original black dial paired with a stainless steel bracelet.
Without retelling Interstellar’s plot, Cooper, a former NASA pilot, joins a team to find a new planet and gives his daughter Murphy one of his two Hamilton watches before departing. Murph’s humble field watch serves as an emotional bond with her absent father over time and space and will also become instrumental in saving humanity.
The Khaki Field Murph forms part of Hamilton’s highly successful Khaki Field line that looks back at the brand’s wartime field watches. Designed as a “go anywhere, do anything” model, the Khaki Field packs the reliability, robustness, simplicity and legibility of Hamilton’s original military watches with well-dosed vintage elements and contemporary specifications.
The new Khaki Field Murph models come in straightforward 38mm stainless steel cases with a thickness of 11.1mm, a lug-to-lug span of 44.7mm and 100m water-resistance. True to its tool watch imprint, the case is brushed, but the bezel and large H-signed crown are polished for contrast. Thanks to the tapered and curved lugs, the watch sits well on the wrist with no lug overhang.
The novelty here is the new “antique white” dial with its matte, grained surface. Underscoring its vintage appeal are the cathedral hour and minute hands with beige vintage-looking Super-LumiNova, also applied to the Arabic hour numerals. Unlike the 42mm models, the central seconds hand does not have the word Eureka printed on it, perhaps a missed opportunity for Interstellar fans. A nice detail is how the thin sandblasted tips of the three central hands alight perfectly on the tracks and numerals they indicate. The white dial is paired with a contrasting black leather strap with white stitches and a steel pin buckle.
The dial is protected by a sapphire crystal with anti-reflective coating, and the caseback has a sapphire crystal viewing pane revealing the H-10 automatic calibre with its signed rotor. The H-10 automatic, also known as Swatch Group’s Powermatic 80, is an upgraded version of the ETA 2824 with a reworked kinetic chain, a 3Hz frequency, a longer 80-hour power reserve, and an anti-magnetic Nivachron hairspring.
The Hamilton Khaki Field Murph 38mm with a black dial and steel bracelet retails for CHF 945 / EUR 1,075 / USD 945, while the white dial and black strap reference has a price of CHF 870 / EUR 995 / USD 895. For more information, please consult hamiltonwatch.com.
