The original Hamilton Pulsar was introduced in May 1970 and started the worldwide trend for digital timepieces that revolutionized the watch industry and the world of watchmaking. It was the world’s first completely electronic wristwatch. Pulsar was particularly unusual in that it only showed the time when prompted to do so by activating the pusher on the side of the case.
A Pulsar the same as this model was famously worn by James Bond in the film Live and Let Die. It is the only time a Hamilton watch has appeared on the wrist of the iconic British agent. The time display function was demonstrated by James Bond at the beginning of Live and Let Die not once, but twice.
In 2020 the Hamilton PSR celebrates the launch of that revolutionary first digital watch. Today, an hybrid display and a stainless steel case bring this game-changing invention back to the future.
Case material : Stainless steel
Crystal : Sapphire
Movement : Quartz
Case size : 40.8 x 34.7 mm
Water resistance : Water Resistance 10 bar (100 m) /145 psi (328 ft)
Hamilton and the movies…
These are some examples of the literally intimate relationship Hamilton has with the film industry… More to discover in the video!
A watch like this Flintridge appeared in the 1932 movie Shanghai Express, starring Marlene Dietrich. Actor Clive Brook’s character wears the watch, which has a photo of Dietrich’s character under the lid. The movie was the fourth of seven that Dietrich made with director Josef von Sternberg and the action takes place on an eventful train journey across China. Shanghai Express was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director awards that year and won the award for cinematography. This particular 14k yellow gold Flintridge was one of just 191 with a 979 movement Hamilton produced. The watch was produced in both yellow and white gold versions with either a 979 or 987 movement. The watch was marketed as a sports watch. According to the advertising at the time, the cover “serves as a protection against dust and dampness, jolts and jars, and broken crystals! Undoubtedly it will find favor with America’s sportsmen!”
A yellow gold Ventura like this one was worn by Elvis Presley in the movie Blue Hawaii. The watch features prominently in several scenes, shown in one in particular in extreme close up. The Ventura is known by many as ‘the Elvis watch’ and it was this movie that first linked the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll with Hamilton’s iconic timepiece. It is not known whether the watch Elvis wore in Blue Hawaii was his own personal Ventura or if it was bought and supplied by the studio as a prop. What is known is that Elvis went on to buy more than one Ventura for himself as well as others as gifts for close friends and colleagues. At least two museums claim to own the watch Elvis wore in Blue Hawaii.
In 1966, Stanley Kubrick, one of America’s most celebrated film directors and producers, commissioned Hamilton to create the timepieces for his groundbreaking science-fiction movie, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Hamilton design team created a futuristic wristwatch and a desk clock which have since achieved cult status. The Hamilton designs were extremely eye-catching and appeared in fashion magazines at the time, prompting a huge number of requests from customers who wanted to buy the watch and the clock. The prototypes Hamilton had created were so complicated that it was not possible for them to be mass produced at the time.
The same as the model worn by the main characters in Men in Black, this Ventura quartz is still a popular model in the current Hamilton collection. The Ventura is an iconic piece in the Hamilton collection and is instantly recognizable by many worldwide but for different reasons depending on their era and frame of reference. Those who remember its launch in the late 50s consider it a futuristic design piece. For those growing up in the 60s, it will always be known as ‘the Elvis watch’. For children and teenagers in the late 90s, this is very definitely the Men in Black watch, featuring prominently on the wrist of Agents J and K and even playing a key role in the plot.
Smash hit movie Interstellar was one of 2014’s biggest films and Hamilton, true to its reputation as ‘the Movie Brand’ provided watches for the two main characters. Set in the future when our time on Earth is coming to an end, the action focuses on a team of explorers on a mission to travel beyond our galaxy to discover whether mankind has a future among the stars. Murph (played as a child by Mackenzie Foy, as an adult by Jessica Chastain and as an old woman by Ellen Burstyn) is the daughter of lead explorer Cooper (played by Matthew McConaughey). Time is a central element of the plot and Hamilton produced a unique watch for Murph. Known simply as the ‘Murph’ watch, it is a unique and customized piece, composed of different elements of signature Hamilton watches perfectly suited to her character.”
