Hamilton Create Prop Watch for Dune: Part Two and Release Ventura Dune Limited Editions

By now, Hamilton and Hollywood’s enduring co-star relationship is well-trodden ground. The American born, Swiss watchmaker has had leading wrist roles in projects as diverse as Shanghai Express (their first on-screen appearance in 1932) to Ocean’s Eleven and every staple genre in-between.  They’ve become the de facto timepiece of serious directors so, if you’re trying to guess what watch you’re seeing on screen, there’s a good chance it’s a Hamilton. So, let’s talk about the new Hamilton prop watch for Dune: Part Two and the Ventura Dune Limited Editions.

Hamilton Prop Watch for Dune: Part Two

First, a little bit on Hamilton’s extensive cinema history. While there are plenty of Hamilton watches to choose from, sometimes even their expansive range doesn’t quite scratch the itch of a particularly demanding director. Stanley Kubrick, for example, was nothing if not demanding and for 2001: A Space Odyssey, he commissioned an insane slice of faux futurism from the watchmaker for his unfortunate crew to wear, one that led directly to the fantastically cool Pulsar.

The watches used in 2001: A Space Odyssey / Christopher Nolan’s Tenet

More recently they built a cool digital timekeeper for Christopher Nolan’s Tenet in two versions, one with blue LEDs and one red. If you’re wondering why, go watch the film, there’s a good reason. The difference here is that the Tenet watch was actually available after the fact, albeit in a mass-production way that meant it was similar but not precisely the same as, the one in the film.

Now, you can add Denis Villeneuve to that particularly picky list of directors as Hamilton is back on the big screen once again – the biggest, in fact, because if you’re not planning to watch Dune: Part Two at an IMAX theatre then shame on you. If the first film was anything to go by, the new instalment will deserve it.

While it’s odd to come in halfway through a franchise, Dune: Part Two will focus more on the Fremen’s way of life, one that was only briefly explored in Part I. Part and parcel of that is their equipment, primarily their water-collecting Stillsuit, but also their shiny new desert-appropriate timepiece.

Well, timepiece might be the wrong word there; the workings of the ‘Desert Watch’ are esoteric and particular to its otherworldly setting. The design was created with Doug Harlocker, the film’s prop master to embody the Arrakis natives’ survivalist pragmatism, but without a view to what it actually, you know, does. There’s no dial, no numerals, nothing but some symmetrical electricals in a case more fortified than a Fremen Sietch.

As Dune: Part Two is out next month, you’ve likely already decided if you’re going to see it or not. As you have great taste, you’ve probably already booked your ticket. So, keep your eyes peeled for a humble, practical piece of Fremen equipment inbetween Timothy Chalamet / Austin Butler face-offs and sand worms tearing up the scenery. And if you can figure out what the Desert Watch actually does, more power to you.

Needless to say, it’s not exactly a device that anyone on Earth would be particularly interested in wearing outside of a film studio. Instead, we civilians have the closest thing in Hamilton’s arsenal, the Ventura.

Hamilton Ventura Dune Limited Editions

The Ventura is a watch with its own film history, initially made popular on the hip-thrusting wrist of Elvis Presley and shared plenty of screen time as part of the Men in Black’s well-dressed set-up. As you can see, it’s a galaxy away from the on-set Desert Watch, but still has some of the same hallmarks in its two film-dedicated editions.

First is the Ventura XXL Bright Dune, which is similar to the standard full black Ventura but with the outline of those mystery electronics in bright blue on the dial. That blue is of particular significance. The Fremen’s eyes – and the eyes of anyone exposed to Dune’s Spice Melange for a long time – turn a glowing blue. It measures 52mm x 46.6mm so the XXL notation in its name is extremely apt. It will definitely look like an insane futuristic device on your wrist, which is entirely the point.

The second is the Ventura Edge Dune, which opts for a digital display instead of the Bright Dune’s hands. It’s also the more authentic, with those same device elements in raised relief rather than just printed on. It’s a technically smaller than the XXL model, but really there’s not much in it and it’s still very large, measuring 51mm x 47.2mm.

In traditional Ventura fashion both watches feature quartz movements – the Ventura being famed as the first electric wristwatch. The Ventura XXL Bright Dune is limited to 3,000 pieces at £1,585; the Edge Dune to 2,000 at £2,235. If you’re a massive Dune fan or perhaps fancy creating your own Stillsuit, it doesn’t get more authentic than these watches, the real-life interpretations of the prop watch for Dune: Part Two. Bold, futuristic and intriguing timepieces in the extreme.

More details at Hamilton.