Hamilton’s ties to cinema go back decades. Indeed, over the course of the past 90+ years, the brand’s watches have appeared in a mind-boggling 500+ films, from 1932’s Shanghai Express to 2020’s Tenant. However, it isn’t just normal production models that find their way onto the wrists of star actors — rather, the brand is renowned for tweaking its existing wares to fit the vision of individual directors, or even designing completely new watches in processes more akin to Hollywood prop work than conventional horology.
Austin Butler Is the Best Movie Villain in Years in “Dune 2”
The actor is campy, terrifying and a total delight as Feyd-RauthaTo wit: Witness the new limited-edition watches inspired by Dune: Part Two. Or, rather, inspired by a special prop watch created by Hamilton at the behest of director Denis Villeneuve that is not available for purchase: Working alongside Doug Harlocker, the film’s prop master — and without any knowledge of the timepiece’s actual use in the film — Hamilton crafted a special device that would be worn by the Fremen. Perhaps learning from the frenzy resulting from its creation of a unique watch for Interstellar, the brand developed two limited-edition, working timepieces to be released in concert with the film, which should (hopefully) serve well to sate fans’ lust for the prop watch.
Both timepieces are based upon the brand’s famed Ventura model, an electric watch launched in 1957. The first, the Hamilton Ventura XXL Bright Dune Limited Edition ($1,750), is housed in a hefty 52 x 46.6mm stainless steel case with black PVD coating, a conventional crown at 3 o’clock, and a button at 9 o’clock. When activated, this button lights up a special blue design on the black dial inspired by the fierce blue color of the Fremen’s eyes and featured on the prop watch. Powered by a quartz movement, it features a conventional, lume-filled analog handset, comes paired to a black rubber strap, boasts 50m of water resistance, and is limited to 3,000 pieces.
The second watch, the Hamilton Ventura Edge Dune Limited Edition ($2,500), is arguably cooler, its full embrace of digital technology rendering it more akin to a sci-fi prop. Measuring 51x 47.2mm, it’s likewise housed in a black PVD-coated, stainless steel Ventura case, but unlike the XXL, its dial features a digital display arranged vertically, with the hours appearing in an upper-left quadrant, and the minutes in the lower left. Upon activation using the crown’s button, the blue display glows brightly, fading back slowly to a slightly duller glow. Quartz powered, it comes paired to a black leather strap but features 100m of water resistance and is limited to 2,000 pieces.
While the prop watch has been treated to look weather-worn and, well, Arakian, the two limited-edition Ventura pieces are sleek and shiny — though they still boast elements of the utilitarian nature of their cinematic inspiration. And while the Ventura collection’s distinctly 1950s curves may be an acquired taste, the new Dune: Part II pieces surely have enough cool factor to sway the hearts of jaded collectors — and especially cinephiles — everywhere.
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